The Vegas Golden Knights keep moving defenseman Ville Heinola between the NHL and AHL, and the latest stop is back on the big-league roster.
Vegas announced today that Heinola has been recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights once again. It’s the third time in just over a week that he’s been brought up, after first getting the call on Oct. 11, then being sent back to the AHL on Oct. 14, recalled the next day, and reassigned again on Oct. 17.
Even with all that traffic, Heinola still hasn’t made his Golden Knights debut. The former Winnipeg Jets top prospect signed a one-year, one-way league-minimum deal with Vegas over the summer after becoming a Group VI unrestricted free agent.
A left-shot puck-moving defenseman, he looks set to remain one of the club’s primary blue-line call-up options this season. He’s also off to a strong start in Henderson, posting five points in five games, and he’ll likely be hoping this latest stint finally leads to his first NHL appearance with Vegas.
Elsewhere in the West, Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund will miss tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild because of an upper-body injury, according to Pat Steinberg of TSN. It’s Backlund’s first absence of the 2026-27 season.
On a young, rebuilding Flames team, the 37-year-old has been one of head coach Ryan Huska’s most trusted pieces. He has only two points in eight games, but he’s logging 17:43 per night, which is second among Calgary forwards.
He also leads Flames forwards in short-handed ice time, so players like Joel Farabee, Yegor Sharangovich, and Martin Pospisil should see their penalty-killing roles grow tonight.
In Chicago, Blackhawks defenseman Bowen Byram is making progress in his recovery from an upper-body injury. Head coach Jeff Blashill told the media today, via Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio, that Byram is “trending in the right direction.”
Blashill added that the 25-year-old remains day-to-day. Byram, acquired by GM Kyle Davidson in a blockbuster summer trade, has been Chicago’s busiest blueliner early in 2026-27.
Through six games with the Blackhawks, he’s averaging 24:42 of ice time, including 3:15 on the power play and 0:41 on the penalty kill.
Nashville also got an encouraging update on an injured newcomer. Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said today, including to team reporter Brooks Bratten, that Mavrik Bourque is nearing a return from the upper-body injury that has kept him out for the last four games.
Bourque was one of the major pieces of Nashville’s hectic offseason, with the Predators sending two draft picks to land him and veteran defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin before later signing Bourque to a $5.5MM AAV extension. The 24-year-old has one point in his first four games in Tennessee, and he’ll have a chance to improve on that if he can work his way into a spot with one of Nashville’s veteran scorers.
In Other News...
Alexander Holtz Just Got Another Chance To Force Vegas Hand
The Golden Knights shuffled their roster again, opening the door for Alexander Holtz to get another look after his latest recall from Henderson. With Lukas Cormier placed on waivers and Parker Wotherspoon moved to injured reserve, Vegas created room to bring back a player whose path has already become one of the more intriguing subplots of the season.
Holtzs current stretch in the AHL has kept him in the conversation, even as his long-term fit in Vegas remains unresolved. As a restricted free agent, every shift he gets with the big club matters a little more, and this latest call-up gives him another chance to make the decision harder for the Golden Knights than it has been so far. [Read more 🡒]