The Manitoba Moose open the 2026-27 regular season on Saturday against the Chicago Wolves, and the lineup already tells the story: this is a younger group, with plenty of new faces mixed in with a core of familiar ones.
Seven rookies made Manitoba’s opening-day roster, including four players turning pro for the first time. Kevin He and Kieron Walton arrive from the Ontario Hockey League, while Lukas Gustafsson, Davis Burnside, and Lucas Wahlin are coming out of the NCAA.
He is on track to become the first China-born player in AHL history. In the OHL, he split his time between the Niagara IceDogs and the Flint Firebirds and put up 239 points, including 127 goals and 112 assists, in 252 games.
Walton, meanwhile, has already had a short taste of Moose hockey, picking up one assist in four games in 2024-25. Gustafsson, Burnside, and Wahlin all appeared with Manitoba at the end of the 2025-26 season.
Even with the turnover, there’s still plenty of continuity. Nineteen of the 27 players on the opening-night roster saw game action for the Moose in 2025-26, including three goaltenders, five defencemen, and 11 forwards.
Domenic DiVincentiis and Thomas Milic are back in goal. On the back end, Isaak Phillips, Ashton Sautner, and Dawson Barteaux return.
Up front, the list includes Colby Barlow, Brayden Yager, Parker Ford, Nikita Chibrikov, and Danny Zhilkin, among others.
Manitoba also added several veterans over the summer. The defence got a boost with Henry Thrun, who joined from Toronto after winning the Calder Cup and posted 23 points, including five goals and 18 assists, with the Marlies.
Dysin Mayo came over from Cleveland after a 29-point season with the Monsters, including three goals and 26 assists. On offense, Noah Gregor arrives after scoring 17 points, with 11 goals and six assists, in 26 games for Charlotte in 2025-26, and Mikey Milne joins the organization after spending multiple seasons with Iowa and playing his junior hockey with the Winnipeg ICE.
Saturday also brings a milestone for Gregor. The Beaumont, Alta. native is set for his first game in antlers, and it will be his 400th career professional game.
Of those, 330 came in the NHL. Gregor signed with the Winnipeg Jets after a stint in the Florida Panthers organization, and he had not played in the AHL since 2021-22, when he was with the San Jose Barracuda.
In his NHL career, he has recorded 79 points, with 40 goals and 39 assists.
Coverage of the matchup begins at 1:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV on FloHockey, with puck drop set for 2 p.m. CT at Canada Life Centre.
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