Nothing has to be permanent about an AHL assignment coming out of training camp.
Much talk and debate will ensue when a top prospect for an NHL job is instead sent to the AHL when opening night rosters are submitted each October. But the age-old advice from NHL management and coaches – go to the AHL, take care of business and perform – holds true. Several top performers in the first month of the AHL regular season have overcome that disappointment, dug in and put themselves back in the NHL.
Let’s break down some of those players who created early NHL opportunities for themselves.
Matej Blümel, Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
After a 39-goal season with the Texas Stars last season, Blümel had a long list of potential suitors heading into free agency. Ultimately, he chose Boston and signed a one-year contract on the opening day of free agency.
Of Marco Sturm When he took over as head coach in Boston and many changes were happening around the team after nearly two decades as a Stanley Cup contender, Blümel’s decision made a lot of sense. Boston’s roster offered opportunities and the 25-year-old forward joined the organization after a career season. Boston has a long history of giving older players in Providence the opportunity to earn ice time with the NHL club.
However, things didn’t go as planned. Boston instead sent Blümel to Providence before the start of the regular season. But injuries struck, as they often do, and the NHL club needed reinforcements. Fortunately for Blümel, he had positioned himself as one of the organization’s top recall options. With Providence off to a 12-2-0-0 start, Blümel’s 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 13 games place him third in team scoring.
The call-up came on Monday morning for Blümel, who had picked up a point in four of his previous five games for that promotion. He made his Boston debut, playing 13:10 in a home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. With Boston heading to the West Coast this week, more playing time may be coming his way.
Braeden Bowman, Henderson Silver Knights (Vegas Golden Knights)
Bowman went undrafted as an over-ager from the Ontario Hockey League and accepted a one-year AHL contract offer from the Silver Knights in July 2024.
While Henderson missed the Calder Cup Playoffs last season, Bowman made the most of his opportunities last season, finishing second in team scoring with 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 68 games. That ensured that the 22-year-old attacker started this season well. With his seven goals in twelve games, he is even a rookie Tuomas Uronen for Henderson’s lead, and he had a pair of two-goal appearances for the Silver Knights.
The Golden Knights drafted Bowman last week, and he found work quickly enough. He collected his first NHL goal last Saturday night in St. Louis, and his 19:05 the next night in Minnesota ranked him fourth among the team’s forwards.
Jared Davidson, Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens)
A fifth-round pick won’t provide an easy ride to a full-time NHL job.
It wasn’t that way for Davidson, who was bypassed in his first two years of NHL eligibility before the Canadiens made him a fifth-round pick in 2022. Like Bowman, he had to play his overseasoned junior season, spending it with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League before earning a job with Laval in 2023-2024. After being limited to 38 AHL games as a rookie, he broke out with a 24-goal career for the Rocket last season. He has also barely slowed down and his nine goals in thirteen games have him tied for second in the AHL.
The forward’s call-up to the NHL came last Friday when the Canadiens acquired him from Laval. And his NHL debut came in one of the brightest places imaginable: Saturday night in Montreal in an Original Six game with the Bruins.
Dryden Hunt, Calgary Wranglers (Calgary Flames)
Being a top producer at the AHL level and also serving as an easy plug-and-play recall option for the NHL parent team could be a reliable niche to fill.
Hunt wasn’t drafted, but has built a solid career there. In the midst of a 58-goal campaign in the 2015-16 WHL season, the forward was given an opportunity with the Florida Panthers organization as an asset late that season. He turned pro the following season and had already received NHL recall time in 2017-18. He ended up playing 63 regular season games with the Panthers, while also producing a pair of 23-goal seasons in the AHL.
From there it was on to the Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs for shortstop. Ultimately, it was a March 2023 deal that sent him to the Flames and gave him a permanent landing spot.
He is a stable recall option for the Flames and has also been able to generate offensive production with the Wranglers. After scoring 16 goals in 49 games last season for the Wranglers, he scored 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in his first 16 AHL Games this season, ranking third in league scoring.
His call back to the NHL team came Monday morning ahead of Tuesday’s road game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Sergei Murashov, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Pittsburgh was written off in many preseason predictions and instead got off to a solid 10-5-4 start, leaving it just three points off the pace in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
After a strong 2024-2025 campaign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, Murashov entered training camp with Pittsburgh and impressed even more. Pittsburgh management opted to send the 21-year-old back to the AHL for further work. But Murashov, a 2022 fourth-round pick, might make his case against Pittsburgh even sooner than expected. He transferred to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and was eventually named AHL Goalkeeper of the Month in October after finishing 5-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage to go with a shutout.
When Tristan Jarry went on injured reserve, Pittsburgh called up Murashov on November 4. He made his NHL debut opposite the Los Angeles Kings on November 9 and handled himself well. With the NHL team in Stockholm for the NHL Global Series last weekend, he just returned on Sunday and posted a 22-save shutout in beating the Nashville Predators 4-0. Between off-season acquisition Arthur Shilovthe Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of last season’s Calder Cup Playoffs with the Abbotsford Canucks, and Murashov, Pittsburgh has an intriguing goaltending situation to keep an eye on.
Alex Steeves, Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
Like Blümel, Steeves had a dominant campaign with the Toronto Marlies in 2024-25, during which he was able to capitalize on a new opportunity. He also signed with Boston when free agency opened.
And like Blümel, he found himself back in the AHL. But he hit the ground running, generating eight points (three goals, five assists) in his first nine games for Providence. That NHL call-up came on November 8 for the 25-year-old forward. That same evening, he made his Boston debut at Scotiabank Arena against Toronto, his first NHL appearance. In a rematch with the Leafs in Boston on November 11, he scored his first goal in a win.
He’s starting to find his way into Sturm’s lineup, averaging 12:31 of ice time in five games and also seeing time on the penalty kill in Boston.
Riley Tufte, Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
Tufte completes the trio of P-Bruins attackers now in Boston.
Unlike Blümel and Steeves, this is Tufte’s second year in the Boston organization. The 27-year-old forward, a first-round pick by the Dallas Stars in 2016, has emerged as a proven AHL scorer over the past three seasons. Now Tufte, who stands 6-foot-4 and 233 pounds, may find another level. His eight goals in thirteen games rank third in the AHL, and his sixteen points also rank third in the league.
He joined Blümel in Monday’s recall and set up Boston’s lone goal in the loss to Carolina while skating 15:13.
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