The Coachella Valley Firebirds began their first training camp under new head coach Derek Laxdal Monday at the Berger Foundation Iceplex in Palm Desert with a 27-player roster that includes nine who played for the American Hockey League team last season.
Laxdal, hired in July, succeeds Dan Bylsma, who became coach of the Firebirds’ NHL parent team, the Seattle Kraken, after guiding the Firebirds to the Calder Cup Finals each of their first two seasons.
The returning players are forwards Max Andreev, David Goyett, Luke Henman, Ian McKinnon, Jani Nyman, Tucker Robertson and Lleyton Roed, defenseman Ryan Jones and goaltender Jack LaFontaine.
The roster also includes one player who played in the NHL last season — defenseman Maxime Lajoie, who had one assist in seven games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, became an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Seattle on July 1.
The roster will grow with additional players the Kraken assign to the Firebirds as they reduce their roster to the 23-player NHL regular-season limit.
The Firebirds are scheduled to play preseason games against the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday and Saturday at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Missouri, the home of the Kansas City Mavericks, Seattle’s ECHL affiliate.
The Firebirds are set to open the regular season Oct. 11 by playing host to the Bakersfield Condors at Acrisure Arena.