Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
The latest wave of NHL first-round picks is beginning to show up at AHL training camps this week.
Several players from the 2023 NHL Draft already have gained some degree of experience at the AHL level last season. Now they have to build on that work. After going to an NHL training camp, some have been assigned to the AHL. Others remain in the mix for a roster spot when the NHL regular season begins next Tuesday.
Let’s look at some of those first-round picks.
CALGARY WRANGLERS
Forward Sam Honzek is back with the Wranglers after the Calgary Flames assigned him to their AHL affiliate on Tuesday. The Flames selected him 16th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Still a month shy of turning 20 when he began last season with the Wranglers, he stepped into the pro game and ended up playing 52 regular-season games with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists). The Flames saw fit to give him five NHL games as well. He then got a chance to represent Slovakia at the IIHF World Championship, getting into six games and picking up a goal and an assist.
CHICAGO WOLVES
The Wolves got a major boost this week when the Carolina Hurricanes sent forward Bradly Nadeau to their AHL affiliate.
As a 19-year-old in 2024-25 with the Wolves with just one season of NCAA experience, Nadeau had a standout rookie performance. His 58 points in 64 regular-season games placed him second among AHL rookies, and his 32 goals led all first-year players. That effort earned him spots on the AHL All-Rookie Team as well as the AHL Top Prospects Team. Carolina selected him 30th in the 2023 NHL Draft.
MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS
Forward David Edstrom is with Milwaukee after the Nashville Predators assigned him Monday.
Selected 32nd overall in 2023 by the Vegas Golden Knights, Edstrom has had an eventful path to Milwaukee. The Golden Knights sent him to the San Jose Sharks in an NHL trade deadline deal for Tomas Hertl in March 2024. Just five months later, he went to Nashville as a key part of the return for top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov.
The 20-year-old will play his first full season in North America coming out of the highly regarded Frölunda program in the Swedish Hockey League. Last season in 39 games with Frölunda, he collected 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 39 regular-season games. His season ended up taking him to Milwaukee for a four-game audition in the Calder Cup Playoffs as well.
STILL IN THE NHL MIX
Several 2023 first-round picks are still in NHL training camps and attempting to lock down roster spots.
Forward Dalibor Dvorsky had a standout season with the Springfield Thunderbirds. His 21 goals tied him for fifth among AHL rookies, and he finished with 45 points in 61 regular-season games as a 19-year-old. The St. Louis Blues prospect, who went 10th overall in 2023, had a busy campaign. He went to the IIHF World Junior Championship and had nine points (five goals, four assists) in five games for Slovakia, represented the Thunderbirds at the AHL All-Star Classic, and then went to the IIHF World Championship, where he played six games. To cap his season, he took a spot on the AHL Top Prospects Team and is having a strong training camp with the Blues so far. Another Blues forward prospect, Otto Stenberg, remains in NHL training camp as well after a season with Springfield in which he had 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 38 games. St. Louis took him in the 25th spot of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Detroit Red Wings blueline prospect Axel Sandin-Pellikka’s NHL bid also continues. Detroit took him 17th overall two years ago and stationed him in the SHL with Skellefteå last season; he finished with 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) in 46 regular-season games and then had a goal and seven assists in 11 playoff contests. However, he came to the Grand Rapids Griffins when his SHL season finished for further work. He played a pair of regular-season games and then picked up three games in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Defenseman David Reinbacher had been in the running for a roster spot with the Montreal Canadiens following a strong finish to the 2024-25 season with the Laval Rocket. Reinbacher, taken fifth overall in 2023, had missed most of the regular season after sustaining a knee injury in training camp last year. He returned to action late in the regular season with the Rocket, playing 10 games, before logging 13 games in the Calder Cup Playoffs as the Rocket advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. However, Reinbacher will be out for four weeks with a broken metacarpal bone sustained last week in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Also among this group is Utah Mammoth defenseman Dmitri Simashev, the sixth overall pick of that 2023 draft class. The 20-year-old already possesses high-level experience after playing 137 games in the Kontinental Hockey League the past three seasons. He had a goal and five assists in 56 regular-season games with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and then played 21 games as the team went to win the Gagarin Cup. Utah signed the 6-foot-5 Simashev to a three-year entry-level contract on May 28. If Utah management determines that AHL seasoning would be helpful for Simashev’s long-term outlook, he would be eligible to join the Tucson Roadrunners.
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.