Young NHL Players Needing A Strong Training Camp In The Pacific: Gauthier, Zary, Silovs And More

There's a palpable excitement for most NHL teams in the Pacific Division when it comes to their young players. 

With a few true rebuilders and a few Stanley Cup contenders this upcoming season, there is a good mix of teams with various high-end young talent.

Quite a few prospects were acquired by a trade, a couple of them because they requested the move. A few other players have flirted with an NHL roster spot over the last couple of years, and this seems like the time they break through. 

As we head into training camp, let’s dive into the most intriguing young NHL players in the Pacific Division.

After forcing his way out of Philadelphia, Cutter Gauthier landed in Anaheim and made his NHL debut at the end of last season. 

Gauthier has been a force in college for a couple of years, earning a Hobey Baker finalist nod last year when he led the nation in goals by a wide margin and finished second in overall scoring. He’s also helped Team USA to a gold medal at the World Junior Championship, being named the best forward among many others.

With NHL training camp ahead of him, Gauthier is poised to not only make the Ducks roster but also assert himself as an effective player. 

The Ducks are building an impressive group of forwards, and Gauthier will look to lock down a spot in the top six as a rookie this season.

The Flames embraced the rebuild, and the youth movement began last season. 

Connor Zary was the most impressive and consistent player among the youngsters who played in Calgary last season. He truly earned his way into the lineup and forced the coaching staff's hand by playing above expectations. Zary provided some energy for any line he was put on and helped them find success.

Zary is a tactical player who showed some nice finishing. His ability to chain small plays together was much needed on a team that was inconsistent in that regard. 

The Flames are in for another trying year, and Zary should play a big part in any success they have as he enters his second full season.

Although dressing room leader Zach Hyman game a passionate speech after losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final calling on the group to stay together, there will be plenty of new faces in Edmonton.

Matt Savoie, a prospect acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for veteran bottom-six player Ryan McLeod, is one of the players with the highest upside who could factor into the new players.

Savoie is the best prospect the Oilers have had in recent memory. His high-octane offensive skill is just what the Oilers need as they look to support and build some offensive depth behind their stars. 

Savoie certainly won’t be handed a spot, but if he can earn a job in training camp, his playmaking and offensive intuition could help make Edmonton even more dangerous, which is scary to think about.

It’s time for Clarke to assert himself in training camp and take a role with the Kings NHL club. With the departure of Matt Roy, the spot is there for the taking. Clarke has flirted with NHL time in the past, but this year feels like the right moment for the 21-year-old to make the NHL his permanent spot.

With impressive offensive vision, slick passing, and a desire to consistently up the pace of the game, Clarke is what you want to see in a modern-day defenseman. He often looks to jump up and join the play, create number advantages and make it difficult for the opposing team to defend. 

His own defensive game is still growing, but he made strides in each of the last couple of seasons. There’s an opportunity for Clarke to play a big role for the Kings, learn behind franchise icon Drew Doughty and help usher in the next era of Kings hockey.

Once considered the surefire No. 1-overall pick in the 2022 draft class, Shane Wright fell to fourth overall and the Seattle Kraken. Many factors played a role, from losing a season to COVID-19 to concerns about whether his game would ever have the dynamic elements of a top-of-the-draft talent.

That gave Seattle a chance to grab a highly regarded prospect early in their franchise history, potentially pairing him down the middle with 2023 Calder Trophy winner Matty Beniers as a one-two punch.

Wright bounced between the OHL, AHL, and NHL the following year, making development difficult again. Last year, he spent most of the season in the AHL and looked as good as he has since his rookie season in the OHL.

He was tactical and methodical, picking defenses apart. He put up great numbers at the AHL level and looked as good as he ever has at the NHL level toward the end of the season. Heading into training camp this year, he'll look to continue where he left off and stick with the NHL club for the season.

The Sharks may have more intriguing young players at training camp than any other team in the NHL. The most intriguing has to be the new netminder, Yaroslav Askarov. 

After asking for a trade out of Nashville, Askarov arrives in Nashville with little competition for starts in the NHL and an opportunity to be the No. 1 goalie as early as this season.

Askarov has long been touted as one of the best goalie prospects in the world. He’s won on the big stage internationally and put up good numbers in the AHL. Last season, he showed he could play well at the NHL level in a very limited sample. Now is his chance to prove that Nashville made a mistake by not giving him more of a shot. If he can showcase just how good he is this year, it would help accelerate the rebuild in San Jose as well.

The Canucks are coming off a very good season in which they overperformed pre-season expectations, thanks in large part due to great performances throughout the lineup and in goal from Thatcher Demko.

Heading into training camp, Demko’s health has been a question mark, with reports coming out with different timelines for a return to health seemingly once a week throughout the summer. 

That leaves Arturs Silovs as the team’s most important player to watch at training camp after the young Latvian showed just how good he can be in the playoffs after Demko went down.

The Canucks could have any goalie, including Demko, in net to start the season. It would be tough to replicate the fantastic season he put up last year, so asking Silovs to do that would be unfair. With that said, Vancouver must see that Silovs can be the guy to open the season and help keep the team afloat until Demko is fully healthy. 

Silovs should be up for the task, but goaltending can be fickle, and an off-season could change a lot for the Canucks.

Things didn’t go as planned for Alexander Holtz in New Jersey, where he was drafted seventh overall. Last year was his first full NHL season, and his 16 goals and 12 assists were just not what the Devils expected out of the Swedish sniper. 

In fairness, Holtz was never given much run with the Devils’ top players, and the team had a rough go last year. At the NHL draft, the Devils sent Holtz to the Golden Knights, where he will have a fresh start.

The Golden Knights haven’t really developed any of their own high-end prospects to this point in their franchise history, but Holtz is a reclamation project with something to prove. He will be highly motivated to prove he is still a legitimate sniper with 30-goal potential. 

The Knights would love to have some young blood in their lineup after losing players like Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith in recent years. Holtz will be among the Golden Knights’ most interesting storylines at camp.

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