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NHL Hockey Player News
Wiesblatt (undisclosed) will not play in the Predators season opener on Thursday.

Wiesblatt made his NHL debut with Nashville last season, recording one assist in five games, and hopes to be a more regular NHLer in the 2025-26 season. He took warmups with the team on Thursday but will not be on the opening night roster. The 23-year-old forward was San Jose's 31st-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Ozzy Wiesblatt
Power (illness) will not play in Buffalo's season opener against the Rangers on Thursday.

Power has been absent from most of Buffalo's training camp due to an undisclosed injury, but was expected to be ready for their season opener on Thursday against the New York Rangers. The 22-year-old Power is coming off a career-best season in 2024-25, scoring 40 points (7G / 33A) in 79 games. With Rasmus Dahlin locked into Buffalo's top powerplay unit, Power will likely spend most of the season quarterbacking the second unit upon his return.

Owen Power
Walman (undisclosed) has been placed on IR retroactive to the start of the season and will miss Saturday's game vs. Vancouver.

Days after signing a seven-year, $49 million contract extension, Jake Walman has been placed on IR retroactive to the start of the season with an undisclosed injury. The 29-year-old will have to miss the Oilers' next game on Saturday vs. Vancouver, but his window to return will begin after that. He had a goal, eight points and a +5 plus/minus in 15 games with the Oilers last season after being acquired at the Trade Deadline from San Jose.

Jake Walman
O'Brien (lower-body) is out for Utah's season opener on Thursday and is still considered day-to-day.

O'Brien has been sidelined for most of training camp due to a lower-body injury and appears to be nearing a return to the lineup, but will not be ready for the season opener on Thursday. The 31-year-old grinder nicknamed "Spicy Tuna" appeared in 28 games for Utah in 2024-25, picking up two assists and 50 PIMs alongside 34 SOG.

Liam O'Brien
Hayton (undisclosed) will miss Utah's season opener and is still considered day-to-day.

Hayton battled an undisclosed injury through the latter half of the preseason and will not play in Utah's season opener on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche. The 25-year-old Hayton has shown glimpses of strong productivity but has lacked consistency. He scored 46 points (20G / 26A) in 82 games last season.

Barrett Hayton
Sturm is expected to miss the next 6-8 weeks after undergoing back surgery.

The start to Sturm's tenure in Minnesota has been delayed due to injury, and now with surgery is expected to miss at least six weeks. After winning a cup with Florida in 2024-25, Sturm signed a two-year, $4 million contract with Minnesota in the offseason. He is coming off a seven-goal, 14-point campaign across 62 games with both San Jose and Florida in 2024-25.

Nico Sturm
Brodin (upper-body) will be out for Minnesota's season opener on Thursday and is considered day-to-day.

Brodin, who had offseason surgery on an upper-body injury, will not play in the Wild's season opener on Thursday. There was hope that he'd be ready, but he's "stagnated a little bit," according to head coach John Hynes. With Brodin unavailable, David Jiriceck is expected to be in the opening night lineup.

Jonas Brodin
Toews (undisclosed) will make his Jets' debut in Winnipeg's opener on Thursday vs. Dallas.

Toews "tweaked something" in a preseason contest against the Minnesota Wild last Tuesday, but will be ready to suit up for Thursday's contest against the Dallas Stars. After missing the entirety of the previous two seasons, recovering from injuries, Toews signed in the offseason with his hometown team. The veteran forward scored 31 points (15G / 16A) in 53 games in his most recent season in 2022-23.

Jonathan Toews
Rust (undisclosed) will remain out vs. New York on Thursday.

Rust was back at practice on Thursday but will remain out of the lineup against the New York Islanders. The 33-year-old Rust scored a career-high 65 points (31G / 34A) in 71 games last season and will likely return to a role on the team's top powerplay unit when he returns.

Bryan Rust
Kochetkov (undisclosed) will be out for Carolina's season opener as he continues to be evaluated.

Kochetkov was absent from practice the past few days and will not suit up for Thursday's season opener against the New Jersey Devils. The 26-year-old Kochetkov posted a 2.60 GAA and .897 SV% in 47 appearances last season (27-16-3). Hurricanes' head coach Rod Brind'Amour stated that Kochetkov aggravated something in practice and "hasn't been getting better." If Kochetkov is unable to play, expect Frederik Andersen to be between the pipes.

Pyotr Kochetkov
Dorofeyev (lower-body) will play on Wednesday vs. Los Angeles after originally being a game-time decision.

Dorofeyev missed the Golden Knights' preseason finale, recovering from a lower-body injury, but will suit up for their season opener on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. The 24-year-old Dorofeyev had a breakout 2024-25 season, scoring 52 points (35G / 17A) in 82 games, including 13 powerplay goals, and could be in for another career year in 2025-26.

Pavel Dorofeyev
Montour (ankle) will be a game-time decision for Thursday's season opener after being a full participant in practice.

Montour underwent ankle surgery in the offseason, missing most of training camp, but could be ready for the season opener on Thursday. In his first season with Seattle, Montour had a career-high 18 goals to go along with 23 assists (41 points) in 81 games.

Brandon Montour
Strome (upper-body) will not play on Anaheim's opening road trip.

Strome is battling an upper-body injury that will delay the start of his 2025-26 campaign. The 32-year-old Strome is entering his fourth season with the Ducks and has been remarkably consistent, finishing each of his previous three seasons with 41 points.

Ryan Strome
Vlasic (lower-body) is expected to make his season debut on Thursday in Boston.

Vlasic had his preseason cut short due to a lower-body injury and did not play in Chicago's season opener on Tuesday; however, he is expected to suit up on Thursday against the Boston Bruins. The 24-year-old Vlasic played all 82 games last season, averaging 23:16 time-on-ice and scoring 30 points (4G / 26A).

Alex Vlasic
Pesce (undisclosed) will play in New Jersey's opener in Carolina on Thursday.

Pesce has practiced sparingly over the last week, recovering from an undisclosed injury, but will suit up for New Jersey's season opener on Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes. The 30-year-old Pesce will look to improve after his first season with the Devils in 2024-25, averaging 21:19 time-on-ice and scoring 17 points (3G / 14A) in 72 games.

Brett Pesce
van Riemsdyk (personal) will be out for Detroit's season opener on Thursday vs. Montreal.

van Riemsdyk signed with the Red Wings during the offseason but will have to wait to make his team debut. The 36-year-old American forward scored 36 points (16G / 20A) in 71 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. He has 665 points (327G / 338A) in 1082 career games.

James van Riemsdyk