Speltz: “We have things to look forward to”

The first day of training camp each season ushers in a lot of ‘new’. It’s a new season, with many new faces, and a new locker room group regardless of how many returning players and coaches there are.

And yet for the 2025-26 Henderson Silver Knights, there is hope that this training camp will serve as a continuation from last season’s strong second half.

“I don’t want to say hope because I don’t want to put hope in there. That’s our expectation,” said General Manager Tim Speltz, set to begin his fifth season at the helm of the Silver Knights.

“I think we’ve matured as a group. Not only our players but our coaching staff took a huge step last year, which is important. We still had a hell of a fight right to the end, but it was a lot to overcome. And we need to establish ourselves early and make sure we have a little wiggle room at the end and not being pressed the way we were.”

The Silver Knights struggled out of the gates last season, going 9-25-2 over the season’s first 36 games. But over the final 36, the HSK went 20-13-3, the fourth-best record in the Pacific Division and the 12^th-best across the league. Despite missing the playoffs, over that final half of the season, the Silver Knights were a playoff team.

“We have things to look forward to. We were really excited about our second half. We dug ourselves too much of a hole in the first half and couldn’t get out,” said Speltz. “We just didn’t leave ourselves any room for error. Frankly, we have to start like we finished last year.”

There will be changes this coming season, with many veterans from past years having moved on. Players like Jake Bischoff, Gage Quinney, Dysin Mayo, and Mason Morelli are with new teams. But with their departures comes opportunity for the young HSK core that has been slowly developing the past two years.

“I think the first thing is that we evaluated our prospects and met with our amateur staff, and we were projecting some of our young guys to be ready. And they are,” said Speltz. “Whether it’s Braeden Bowman, Kai Uchacz, Matyas Sapovaliv who have taken good steps, those guys are ready for a little more prime ice. They know what it looks like and we’re going to put a lot on their shoulders. We need to.”

Last year’s rookies are ready to take another step forward, while the ‘veteran youth’ – players like Jakub Brabenec, Jakub Demek, and Lukas Cormier – are ready to take another step of their own. Those players are established in the league, now hoping to be options for Bruce Cassidy at some point.

“[Those players] are going to be expected to be contributors not only for HSK but hopefully they are viable call-ups for VGK. We’re looking forward to the steps those guys are going to make and we’re going to give them plenty of opportunity.”

There will be seasoned AHL veterans to bolster the lineup as well, like defenseman Jeremy Davies, and more will arrive in Henderson as the Golden Knights make their final roster decisions. But there is no question the HSK will have a youthful group at Lee’s Family Forum when the puck drops on October 10.

Rookies like Mathieu Cataford, Jackson Hallum, Tuomas Uronen, and Trevor Connelly are all expected to play substantial roles in Henderson this season, just to name a few.

“It’s our job to figure out where they fit and how they fit in the American Hockey League. It’s a tough league for young guys, but our job is to make sure those guys take steps and develop,” said Speltz.

It will be a long 72-game journey to determine the success of the Silver Knights, and what future role their players will have with the Golden Knights. With a lot of responsibility being placed in the Henderson youth movement, the HSK will hope this ‘new’ group can pick up where the last group left off.