Area players battling in NHL training camps

There’s a chance three players from the Eastman region could see playing time in the NHL this season.

Oakbank’s Brett Howden, Dominion City’s Denton Mateychuk and St Adolphe’s Owen Pickering were all named to their respective teams’ training camp roster.

Howden is the most established player, logging over 350 games with the New York Rangers and Vegas Golden Knights, even winning the Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2023 and bringing it back to Oakbank.

It’s an important year for the 1998-born Howden, as he’s entering the final year of his contract. He signed a two-year $1.9 million average contract extension in 2023, meaning he’s up for a new contract next summer.

Howden played 72 games with the Golden Knights last season, scoring 19 points.

Pickering and Mateychuk were both picked in the first round of the 2022 NHL draft, and are looking to make an impression as they leave their major junior teams.

Mateychuk had an outstanding end to his time with the Moose Jaw Warriors, captaining the team to a Western Hockey League championship while being named the league’s defenseman of the year.

He was drafted by Columbus and is one of 16 defenders in the team’s camp.

Mateychuk and Pickering actually faced off in the WHL playoffs, Mateychuk coming out on top in the battle of the cousins.

Pickering is looking to establish his pro career with Pittsburgh as one of 25 defensemen in their camp.

He got a taste of professional hockey two seasons ago when he joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League for eight games after Swift Current was knocked out of the WHL playoffs.