Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Opportunities came down to the final days, hours and minutes for some familiar AHL names, but all the same they have somewhere to be as training camps have opened across the NHL this week.
Several regulars from the 2024-25 AHL season have secured professional tryouts with NHL teams. Whether or not those PTO’s will lead to something more remains to be seen, but at stake could be a two-way NHL-AHL deal, an AHL contract, or an opportunity elsewhere.
FLORIDA PANTHERS (CHARLOTTE CHECKERS)
With the Panthers aiming for a third consecutive Stanley Cup championship and the Checkers having gone to the Calder Cup Finals this past June, depth continues to be paramount for Florida general manager Bill Zito and his organization.
To that end, Florida has brought in several players with AHL experience. Starting at forward, Corey Andonovski divided last season between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Springfield Thunderbirds, playing 49 games. Hunter Johannes played 51 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins as a rookie last season and will also get a chance in camp with Florida. There is also Phip Waugh, who played three games last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but most of his time came with their ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers.
On the blue line, the Panthers are giving veteran Andy Welinski a look. The former AHL All-Star had an eight-game spin with Charlotte in 2023-24 before splitting last season between the Utica Comets and German team Löwen Frankfurt. Cole Krygier has parts of three seasons with the Ontario Reign, but found himself limited to 14 games in 2024-25. He has Panthers ties as the organization chose him in the 2018 NHL Draft before sending him to the Los Angeles Kings in a March 2023 trade.
Florida had already invited long-time Syracuse Crunch forward Daniel Walcott to training camp along with forward Josh Lopina (San Diego Gulls) and blueliner Ben Harpur (Hartford Wolf Pack).
NASHVILLE PREDATORS (MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS)
A familiar face and a new one are going to training camp with Nashville.
Brooks Bratten of Nashville’s official team website reported that forward Isaac Ratcliffe and defenseman Scott Harrington will be in Predators camp. Ratcliffe played 13 games for their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, last season in his second turn with the team. Harrington has 255 games of NHL experience and dressed for 49 games last season with Springfield.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS)
Going back to his days overseeing the Toronto Marlies, Kyle Dubas has never been hesitant to go heavy on roster depth. Now that Dubas runs the show in Pittsburgh as the team’s president of hockey operations and general manager, that philosophy continues.
With the Penguins missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season and an all-new coaching staff taking over, change has swept through the Pittsburgh organization. One incoming name is power forward Brett Murray, who spent six seasons with the Rochester Americans and posted a career-best 27 goals last season as well as being selected for the AHL All-Star Classic. Murray has Pennsylvania ties having played two seasons at Penn State.
Joining Murray in Pittsburgh on PTO’s are forward Cal Burke, who played last season with the Henderson Silver Knights, and defenseman Jake Livingstone (Milwaukee).
ELSEWHERE
The Seattle Kraken announced that forward Max McCormick is out indefinitely with a hip injury. McCormick, who has served as captain of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, found himself held to just 19 AHL games last season. In his first two seasons with the Firebirds, he had a combined 60 goals and twice helped lead the team to the Calder Cup Finals…
A pair of 23-year-old forwards have PTO’s with the Minnesota Wild after spending last season in the AHL. Jean-Luc Foudy, who played 219 AHL regular-season games with Colorado across five seasons, had 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 48 games in 2024-25. Elliot Desnoyers is also going to camp with Minnesota after signing an AHL contract with the Iowa Wild this past July following three seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms…
Forward Kevin Wall is in training camp with the Vegas Golden Knights after logging 97 games across the past two seasons for Milwaukee.
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.