Four under-the-radar PTO candidates for NHL teams to consider
We’re almost into the month of September, and in the NHL, that usually means two things: training camps are around the corner, and PTO season is about to begin in earnest.
Each fall, the league’s 32 teams collectively invite dozens of players to their training camps on pro tryout agreements, and while most of these players fall short of making it onto an NHL roster, a small handful do manage to stick around and sign a contract. (The undisputed king of the PTO remains Alex Chiasson, who signed no fewer than five of them during his career, turning them into three NHL contracts — and one Stanley Cup ring).
According to PuckPedia, two players have already agreed to attend NHL camps on PTOs this year: goaltender Cal Petersen will join the Washington Capitals, while winger Alex Nylander will skate with the Calgary Flames. We’ll doubtless hear about many more in the days and weeks to come. And while much ink has already been spilled about where the likes of Patrik Laine and Vladimir Tarasenko could end up, including on possible PTOs, there’s still much more out there than just the big names.
Here are four more under-the-radar candidates to attend NHL training camps this fall, each of whom could potentially stick around into the regular season with the right team.
Nick Blankenburg, RHD, 28
A late bloomer who signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets as an undrafted free agent in 2022, Blankenburg has carved out a highly impressive professional career for himself despite being a relatively unconventional 5-foot-9 defenseman.
The former Okotoks Oilers star spent parts of three seasons with the Blue Jackets before signing with the Nashville Predators in 2024 and making more of a name for himself as an everyday presence. The Washington, Mich. product skated in 109 games with the Predators over the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, racking up 10 goals and 37 points while splitting time with Brady Skjei on the team’s No. 2 power-play unit.
This past season, Blankenburg posted the second-best 5-on-5 expected goal share of any Predators defenseman, behind only Roman Josi, and was coveted by the Colorado Avalanche at the trade deadline, ultimately appearing in the first five Stanley Cup Playoff games of his career (and scoring one goal) after being acquired by the Avs for a fifth-round pick.
As far as depth defenders go, Blankenburg checks a lot of boxes. He’s small, but he can skate and score while positively influencing possession. Troy Stecher has proven that defensemen don’t necessarily need to be big to have long and successful careers (while keeping in mind that it’s best not to get too attached to one team). Blankenburg has always been easy to root for and would represent an upgrade over more than a few incumbents on various playoff contenders, such as the Anaheim Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers.
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Carson Soucy, LHD, 32
With his broad shoulders, punishing physicality, and rural Alberta roots, Soucy much more closely resembles the archetype of a traditional NHL defender. The 32-year-old rearguard wasn’t a great fit with the New York Islanders last year after joining the club in a rare trade with their Manhattan-based rivals, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be of use elsewhere.
Consider, for instance, the Edmonton Oilers, who recently announced that depth defender Alec Regula will miss their upcoming training camp while recovering from an injury. The Oilers have thoroughly reworked their defense this offseason, trading Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks while adding Ryan Shea and Shakir Mukhamadullin. But there’s still a lot of uncertainty about the projection of their blue line, especially in the wake of less-than-inspiring seasons from Jake Walman, Ty Emberson, and Spencer Stastney. Might it make sense to take a closer look at a local boy in Soucy?
Since debuting with the Minnesota Wild in 2017-18, Soucy has cultivated a reputation as a rugged defender who plays a simple, direct game. He’s posted reasonably impressive numbers in difficult situations with the Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks, and while he never truly impressed with either New York team, Soucy could benefit from a return to Western Canada with an Oilers team that always seems to play its best when the games get intense.
Calle Järnkrok, RW, 34
An analytics favorite for nearly a decade with the Predators, Järnkrok is another original Kraken player (an ‘Ocean Misfit’?) who has followed a bit of a circuitous path since leaving the club. After a disappointing stint with the Flames in the 2021-22 season, Järnkrok rebounded to score 20 goals with the Toronto Maple Leafs the following year and looked as though he might be about to begin a strong second act of his NHL career.
Instead, Järnkrok’s subsequent seasons in Toronto were plagued by various injuries. He appeared in just 127 of a possible 246 games between 2023-24 and 2025-26, collecting just 17 goals and 36 points over that span. The 34-year-old Swede averaged a career-low 11:50 of ice time across 56 games with the Leafs this past season, managing only six goals and eight points and posting a downright abysmal 5-on-5 expected goals rate of 27.88 — a truly eye-popping figure that only starts to make sense when you consider that Järnkrok began just 17 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone.
Under former Leafs coach Craig Berube, Järnkrok had to make do with some of the harshest usage imaginable. Perhaps that was just a consequence of his declining offensive ability, or maybe it was merely a matter of preference. Either way, it remains to be seen whether an NHL club (perhaps the Oilers or Sharks?) will take a flier on Jarnkrok to see if he can give their bottom six a spark — or, as the rumor mill would appear to indicate, if he’ll depart North America for the SHL.
Jonathan Drouin, LW, 31
Being a depth player in the NHL naturally comes with its ups and downs, but as a highly-touted third-overall pick and Memorial Cup champion, Drouin was never supposed to get to this point. Coming off of his draft year, in which he outscored Halifax Mooseheads teammate Nathan MacKinnon (heard of him?) by a wide margin, Drouin was considered as much of a sure thing as there can possibly be.
Now, 13 years later, Drouin’s NHL career is on life support. After signing with the Islanders as a free agent in 2025, Drouin scored just three goals in 55 games before being shipped off to the St. Louis Blues to make the money work in the Brayden Schenn trade; then, instead of paying Drouin $4 million for the 2026-27 season, the Blues elected to exercise a buyout on the second and final year of his contract.
This isn’t the first time Drouin has found himself in this situation. As a free agent from the Montreal Canadiens in 2023, Drouin opted to re-team with MacKinnon by signing a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Avalanche. It was a risk that paid off beautifully, with Drouin setting a new career high with 56 points (19 goals, 37 assists) in 79 games. Now, at age 31, Drouin needs to find a way to pull off another career-saving maneuver.
Could the Avs rescue him once again? After all, Joe Sakic’s team has already traded Valeri Nichushkin, Jack Drury, and Ross Colton in cap-saving measures this offseason. While Jaden Schwartz is established in his own right, Colorado could still use another offensive weapon. Drouin might not make sense for most teams, but it’d be fun to see him get another crack at it in Denver.
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