FIVE MINUTE MAJOR - SEP 12, 2024 It’s that time of year as major junior hockey players are heading to NHL camps and a couple of teams in the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) US Division have quite a few players listed.

It’s that time of year as major junior hockey players are heading to NHL camps and a couple of teams in the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) US Division have quite a few players listed.

The Spokane Chiefs will see five players attend NHL camps. Those five include Berkly Catton (Seattle Kraken), Dawson Cowan (San Jose Sharks), Nathan Mayes (Toronto Maple Leafs), Will McIsaac (St. Louis Blues) and Saige Weinstein (Colorado Avalanche).

Catton signed an entry level contract with the Kraken in July after being selected eighth overall in this past summer’s entry draft in Las Vegas, Nevada. Catton accomplished a lot during his two seasons with the Chiefs.

He finished his second full season with the team as the fourth-highest scorer in the Western Hockey League with 54 goals and 62 assists for 116 total points in 68 games. He became the second highest-scoring 17-year-old in Chiefs history, behind only Pat Falloon. He received the honor being named the U.S. Division’s Player of the Year at the end of the season. With 140 WHL games under his belt, the forward has collected 175 total points with 78 goals and 97 assists. After leading all draft-eligible skaters in the CHL during the 2023-24 season, Catton joins the elite company of Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard as the only Canadian Hockey League (CHL) skaters to put up 50 or more goals and 115 or more points in their draft season this century.

The newest WHL member entering their second season, the Wenatchee Wild saw a handful of current and former players invited to NHL camps as well. Those players included graduates Graham Sward (Winnipeg Jets) and Briley Wood (Colorado Avalanche) and current players Kenta Isogai (Florida Panthers), Josh Fluker (Colorado Avalanche) and Miles Cooper (Colorado Avalanche).

While these two teams stood out with the players and former players that were invited to NHL camps, there are obviously more talented players across the CHL heading to camps.

However, with the current major junior players heading to NHL camps, there’s the impact on their current that teams must deal with every year as preseason gets underway. This usually lasts into the beginning of the regular season as NHL camps wind down. Some players stay longer than others.

NHL camps aren’t the only time major junior hockey teams lose their top players for an extended period. Toward the middle part of the season around the Christmas holiday, the World Junior Championship tournament takes place. But with this challenge, it allows for the younger more inexperienced players to step up into those bigger roles. This in turn allows the team to glance into their future and what it could possibly hold.

Between the preseason and the annual World Junior Championship tournament break, these are crucial times for developing the younger talent.

The other way the preseason helps development, especially this season is with new head coaches. They’re able to get a feel for the talent they have to work with and how things are run within their respective franchise.