The Vegas Golden Knights have started trimming camp, and the first wave sent 15 players off the main roster path on Monday. Most of the group is headed where this kind of move usually points at this stage of preseason: Henderson Silver Knights training camp.
Twelve players are moving on to Silver Knights camp: Jordan Gustafson, Brandon Hickey, Lucas Johansen, Jett Jones, Samuel Mayer, Riley McKay, Pavel Moysevich, Bronson Ride, Shane Smith, Sloan Stanick, Trent Swick, and Alex Tracy.
Three others are going back to their junior clubs to open the season: Dylan Allie to the Gatineau Olympiques, Conor Walton to the Windsor Spitfires, and Vann Williamson to the Kingston Frontenacs.
The Golden Knights have cut 15 players from camp.
These 12 will head to Silver Knights camp:
Jordan Gustafson, Brandon Hickey, Lucas Johansen, Jett Jones, Samuel Mayer, Riley McKay, Pavel Moysevich, Bronson Ride, Shane Smith, Sloan Stanick, Trent Swick, and Alex Tracy.
These 3…
- Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) September 21, 2026
There’s not much drama in this round of cuts. Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, and newly extended Mark Stone were never in danger, and the first group out is exactly what you’d expect: younger players and prospects getting pushed down the line while the established names stay put.
That’s the shape of these early camp moves. The veterans, the press-box regulars, and the more NHL-ready bodies remain in the mix, while the younger players and anyone who clearly isn’t making a run at the opening-night roster get moved out first. In that sense, Monday’s cut day was business as usual for Vegas.
Still, a couple of names stand out more than the others. If you’re looking for the most surprising players sent out, Trent Swick and Bronson Ride are the two worth circling. Both bring major size, and both use it in different ways.
Swick, listed at 6'6", leans on that frame to keep defenders honest, and his offensive production last season with the Tahoe Knight Monsters - 25 goals and 25 assists - gives his game some real bite. Ride, at 6'7", brings a different kind of problem for opponents, turning into a difficult matchup for anyone trying to work around him. Both are still learning how to fully turn that size into an advantage, and both could have plausibly stayed around for Tuesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.
One name that did survive the first round of cuts was Trevor Connelly. He didn’t make much noise against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, finishing with three shots on goal, but staying in camp says plenty about where the Golden Knights see him right now. Monday’s line rushes offered another clue: Connelly skated with Tomas Hertl and Victor Olofsson.
That gives him another chance to make noise against the San Jose Sharks. If he can take a step there, his path only gets better. Vegas would clearly like a jolt of youth in the lineup, and Connelly remains one of the players positioned to provide it, with Braeden Bowman also part of that push.
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Mitch Marners arrival in Vegas has already altered the way the Golden Knights are being discussed heading into a new season. The NHLs Top 50 Players Right Now list underscored that, placing Marner 16th and making him the first Golden Knights player to crack the ranking. After a first season that produced 24 goals and 56 assists, he quickly became more than a marquee addition for the lineup, giving the club a player who can tilt shifts at even strength, run the power play and contribute while short-handed.
Marners impact has also reached beyond the stat sheet and into the bigger conversation around the teams next step. With changes on the coaching staff and parts of the roster reshaped for the coming season, Vegas enters camp with a different feel, and Marner sits at the center of it. His playoff production, which led the league with 29 points, only sharpened the sense that the Golden Knights now have a player who can help define how far this version of the team can go. [Read more 🡒]