Two players land professional tryout offers in the NHL, one heading to a Canadian team

Cal Petersen signed a professional tryout with the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, and he isn't auditioning alone this week.

The 31-year-old goaltender is trying to fight his way back to the NHL after two rough seasons buried in the minors.

Petersen went in the fifth round to the Buffalo Sabres back in 2013, then carved out a real NHL job with the Los Angeles Kings.

His last NHL action came in 2022-23 with the Kings, ten games, a 3.75 GAA and a .868 save percentage.

He spent last season with the Iowa Wild, going 13-16-3 with a 2.73 goals-against average across 33 AHL games.

Across 106 career NHL games, Petersen carries a 2.96 GAA and a .903 save percentage under head coach Spencer Carbery's watch now in Washington.

A PTO is hockey's version of a walk-on tryout. No guaranteed spot, just a stick, a locker, and a chance to prove it in camp.

Alex Nylander chases a roster spot with the Flames

Alex Nylander agreed to his own PTO the same day, this one with the Calgary Flames under head coach Ryan Huska.

The winger went eighth overall to Buffalo in 2016, the kind of pedigree that still opens tryout doors a decade later.

His NHL path has bounced through five organizations, and last season never got him back to the show at all.

Nylander spent all of 2025-26 with the Toronto Marlies, piling up 24 goals and 29 assists for 53 points in 65 games.

That's strong offensive output in the AHL, but it hasn't translated to NHL minutes since Columbus in 2023-24, when he had 11 goals and 15 points in 23 games.

Career-wise, Nylander sits at 25 goals and 24 assists in 126 NHL games, numbers that read more like a bottom-six audition than a former top-10 pick.

Watching a player picked eighth overall fight for a training camp invite at 28 isn't a great look. It's just where the business puts you sometimes.

Can either player claw back a full-time NHL job from here? Camp will answer that fast, one way or another.

Neither Petersen nor Nylander has a contract locked in. Every rep between now and the roster deadline decides whether this ends in a jersey or a plane ticket home.