The Toronto Marlies announced their training camp roster ahead of the 2026-27 season, headlined by several returning members of their Calder Cup-winning team.
On Friday, only a day before their preseason games were set to kick off, the Toronto Marlies announced their roster for training camp, inviting a total of 39 members which includes 22 forwards, 12 defenders, and five goalies:
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Marlies bring in a mix of NHL and AHL veterans as part of training camp
Several names return to the Marlies who were a big part of their Calder Cup win such as captain Logan Shaw, Vinni Lettieri, and Calder Cup MVP Artur Akhtyamov. Also to note, both Steven Lorentz and Philippe Myers were added to camp after they cleared waivers on Friday.
The Marlies no doubt are going to be trimming their roster down in the coming days, but we at least know who is going to be fighting for a chance to help the team as they look to repeat their championship winning ways.
it will be interesting to see how Lorentz is going to fare knowing that he has essentially been pushed out of the lineup for the time being. Hopefully the team doesn't end up running into another David Kampf situation where he becomes unhappy and wants to find a way out of Toronto.
But at least there is going to be an air of familiarity for head coach Steve Sullivan, as he will have several players he already coached coming back like Shaw, Lettieri, along with Noah Chadwick, and Ryan Tverberg among others.
Is this roster capable of repeating as Calder Cup champions?
Considering that a majority of the players are coming back, there is a strong chance they can at least compete. However, the team is missing a few pieces that would make things a bit tougher. They no longer have Dennis Hildeby as goaltender insurance for Akhtyamov, that's now Samuel Hlavaj's job.
There's also no Alex Nylander, who signed a PTO with the Calgary Flames this past summer, and his offensive help and clutch scoring ability was a key reason why the team was able to secure the title.
The team is also going to be without William Villeneuve, who is dealing with an ACL reconstruction, as well as Cade Webber. There's still a chance they are able to at least put in a strong effort but it's going to take a full team push to do so.
One story to keep an eye on is the progress of Ben Danford, who will have a full professional season to acclimate and get used to the rigours of pro hockey before he makes his eventual leap to the Maple Leafs.
The Marlies first preseason game will take place on Saturday, Sept. 26th at the LECOM Harborcenter against Rochester, then face Hamilton at TD Coliseum on Sunday, Sept. 27th.
Do you think the Toronto Marlies can repeat as Calder Cup champions?
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