Training camp brought a welcome sight for the Flyers on Thursday: Owen Tippett and Noah Cates both said they’re fully healthy after ending last season on the shelf.
Tippett’s return matters right away. He was a driving force in Philadelphia’s first-round win over the Penguins, using his speed and edge to tilt the series. Then came a hard stop in Round 2, when the 27-year-old missed all four games of the Flyers’ sweep at the hands of the eventual Cup champion Hurricanes because of internal bleeding and a sports hernia that required offseason surgery.
Cates also played a key role in that opening series, matching the team lead among forwards with four points in six games. His postseason ended a little later, though not by much. He sat out the final two games against Carolina with a lower-body injury, avoided surgery, and said Thursday he’s back to 100 percent.
The Islanders had a notable health update of their own. Pierre Engvall was on the ice with the first group on Day 1, according to Andrew Gross, after missing all of last season following hip and ankle surgeries.
The 6-foot-6 winger hasn’t played since April 2025, and his Long Island tenure has been rocky. He was waived before the 2024-25 season and hasn’t come close to consistently living up to the seven-year, $21MM deal he signed in 2023.
With four years still left on that contract, his health gives new coach Peter DeBoer a wing project to figure out. Engvall has 52 points in 154 games with the Islanders.
San Jose opened camp with two players already headed for the sideline. Per Sheng Peng, Quentin Musty and Kyle Keyser are expected to miss a couple of months with upper-body injuries.
Musty, the 26th pick in the 2023 draft, is the bigger name. The 21-year-old left winger has been working toward an NHL job and had been trying to build on his status as one of the organization’s more promising forward prospects.
Keyser’s absence matters too, even if he’s a depth piece, because it leaves the Sharks even thinner in goal behind Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic.
Winnipeg also had a mixed injury report, with Danielle Bain relaying updates on two players. Defenseman Elias Salomonsson, a 2022 second-round pick who played 32 games last season as a shutdown presence and looks close to a roster spot, is aiming to return around the end of October after spring shoulder surgery.
Forward Walker Duehr is back on the ice after a lower-body injury, but there’s no timetable yet for the 28-year-old winger. Duehr is coming off a strong AHL season with Manitoba, where he posted 34 points in 62 games, scored 17 goals and 17 assists, and tied for the league lead with five shorthanded goals.
In Other News...
Islanders Camp Just Got More Urgent With DeBoer Taking An Unusual Approach
A shortened training camp already gives the Islanders less room for error, and Peter DeBoer is leaning into that reality with an approach meant to sharpen physical play and defensive-zone detail before the schedule gets even longer. With the NHL moving into an expanded 84-game season, there is little time for gradual buildup, so every on-ice session carries a little more weight than usual.
Mathew Barzals absence for most of camp only adds to the urgency, especially for a team trying to get its structure set early. His availability for the opener is still unresolved, which leaves the Islanders working through camp with one of their most important pieces on the sidelines while the rest of the roster tries to absorb a different kind of preparation than the usual preseason routine. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Camp Already Has One Young Forward Forcing Attention
Training camp opened with the Islanders getting a first real look at where their forward depth stands, and the initial scrimmage offered just enough to keep attention fixed on the younger names. The Blue and White groups skated to a 1-1 tie, with Bo Horvat finding the net and a few of the clubs goalies, including Semyon Varlamov, Vitek Vanecek, Ilya Sorokin and Joshua Kotai, sharing the workload as Pete DeBoer used the session to push players into game-like situations.
Victor Eklund was part of the early buzz after scoring in the scrimmage, another reminder that camp can quickly turn into an audition for anyone trying to climb the ladder. DeBoer said the short camp makes these reps especially valuable for evaluation, and for a young forward trying to force his way into the conversation, every chance to show up in those scrimmages matters. [Read more 🡒]
Former Islanders Pick Just Took A Telling Turn In His Career
Oliver Wahlstroms next stop has taken him well away from the NHL grind. The former Islanders first-round pick, who has spent parts of six seasons in the league, signed with SHL club Djurgarden after spending last season exclusively in the AHL with San Jose. For a player who has spent recent years on the fringe of NHL rosters, the move points to a different kind of opportunity, one built around regular ice time and a little more certainty.
For the Islanders, Wahlstroms path is another reminder of how quickly the league can shift for even a highly regarded young forward. Once seen as one of the organizations more notable betting chips, he now heads overseas in search of a steadier role and more secure contract situation. The one unanswered question is whether this becomes a reset that gets him back on an NHL track, or the start of a longer stay away from North America. [Read more 🡒]