THE “GREATEST SHOW ON ICE” IS BACK FOR 23RD ANNUAL NAHL SHOWCASE FROM THE NSC SUPER RINK IN BLAINE, MINNESOTA
One of the most prominent events on the NAHL schedule kicks off tomorrow from the Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota. All 36 NAHL teams will be in attendance, each playing three of their 59 scheduled regular season games over the four-day showcase at the neutral site (Sep 23-26). The event always attracts a massive scouting presence, which creates opportunity for hundreds of players to showcase their game, potentially earning college commitments. Roughly a dozen NAHL players earn Division I opportunities each year following the event. Over the span of the four days, roughly 9,000 people will be in attendance taking in all of the action as well as over 330 professional, collegiate and junior scouts (NAPHL). The NSC Super Rink is the largest ice arena of its kind in the world. The state-of-the-art facility, a $21 million project totaling over 300,000 square feet, features eight sheets of ice under one roof. All 2026 Showcase games for the week will be broadcast live on NATV.
After opening up the season on a bit of a disappointing note, dropping games against the Northeast Generals and the Maryland Black Bears respectively, the Tomahawks will now travel to Minnesota for a chance to turn the page and get the ship turned around for the remainder of the regular season. Tomahawks action will begin tomorrow morning against last season’s runner up in the Minnesota Wilderness with puck drop set for 12:00PM EST.
INTO THE WILD | at Minnesota Wilderness (2-0-0) – WED, SEP 23 – 12:00PM EST PUCK DROP – LIVE ON NATV
Things will not get easier for the Tomahawks to start the week as they’ll go from taking on the defending Robertson Cup champion Black Bears, to now the reigning Robertson Cup runner-up and defending Midwest Division champion Minnesota Wilderness. Like the Black Bears, the Wilderness were dominant last season, finishing third overall in the league with a 42-12-5 record with only Maryland (49-6-4, 102PTS) and the Austin Bruins (43-12-4, 90PTS) finishing ahead of them. A long playoff run followed for the Wilderness, advancing all the way to the final game of the season where they ultimately fell to the Maryland Black Bears in overtime. Minnesota scored the most goals in the NAHL last season with 249 in their 59 games for an outstanding 4.2 goals/game. That scoring pace has picked right back up ten-fold to begin the 26-27 season, scoring a whopping 17 goals in their opening series (8.5 goals/game pace) versus the Wisconsin Windigo where they grabbed two victories (10-5 & 7-2) to begin the season 2-0. The Wilderness did lose some firepower up front though, losing their leading scorer Noah Dziver who finished 7th in the league with 75PTS in just 48GP. Minnesota also comes into the season with a new bench boss in Sam Graham who served as an Assistant Coach for the Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) last season. Prior to that, Graham was a part of the Anchorage Wolverines staff for two seasons during 2023-2025, where he led the defense and penalty kill. The 2023-24 team made the Robertson Cup Semi-Finals and then the following year they advanced to the Midwest Division final. Graham replaces Zach Stepan who stepped down from the team to accept a role with Augsburg University after two seasons with Minnesota.
The Wilderness will also look considerably different from the group that reached the Robertson Cup Championship Game last season, losing a number of key contributors from the league’s highest-scoring team. Minnesota saw its top three scorers from a year ago — Noah Dziver (75 points), Zach Homer (66) and Talan Blanck (66) — all move on to NCAA Division I hockey, while captain Avery Anderson (40 points), Logan Nagle (24), Anthony Cappello (17) and starting goaltender Valdemar Andersen are also among the notable departures. Still, the Wilderness will return with a strong group of eight players from last year’s championship squad, including forwards River Freeman, Robinson Djian, Kevin Lysohir and Max Edwards, as well as defensemen Deegan Hoffbauer, Jack Martens, Cayden Neice and Owen Smith. Minnesota has also added some veteran talent, including Frantisek Netusil, who spent part of last season with the Omaha Lancers (USHL) after posting 52 points in 53 games for the Wilderness during the 2024-25 season.
SOONER OR LATER | vs Oklahoma Warriors (2-0-0) – THU, SEP 24 – 3:45PM EST PUCK DROP – LIVE ON NATV
The 2023 Robertson Cup Champions are beginning their fifth season in the state of Oklahoma and will look to get back to their winning ways as they did in their inaugural season. It was a down 2025-26 season for the Warriors, posting an exactly .500 record at 26-26-7 for 59 points in 59 games. Jakub Galnor led the way for Oklahoma scoring 51 points (19G, 32A). They did make the South Division Play-in series, ultimately losing to their division foes the El Paso Rhinos. A new coaching era has begun as well in Oklahoma with Eric Ballard taking over for his first season behind the bench. Oklahoma has also gotten off to a strong start in their new era, sweeping the New Mexico Ice Wolves last weekend by scores of 3-2 and 6-1 to begin the season 2-0. To begin the season, the Warriors have found offense at all levels of the game scoring at least one goal at every strength (EVEN, PPG, SHG) in just two games. Especially after the Tomahawks matchup with Maryland last weekend, the special teams part of the contest will likely play a huge role on Thursday afternoon. The contest will be the first between Johnstown and Oklahoma in the history of both teams.
The Warriors enter the Showcase with a different look from the Oklahoma squad that took the ice last season, having lost a significant portion of their offensive production over the summer. Leading scorer Jakub Galnor (51 points), Dominik Kiss (46), Kyle Sorensen (37), Benjamin Likness (28) and Trace Day (26 in just 21 games) are among the notable departures from last year’s roster. Still, Oklahoma returns several familiar pieces, including forwards Jackson Hone and Mason Wright along with defensemen Benjamin Bertrand and Kyounghun Oh. Hone has already picked up where he left off with two goals through the Warriors’ opening two games, while newcomer Olivier Laverdière has added three points since arriving from Shreveport.
HAWKS’ v. HAWKS’ | at Grand Junction River Hawks (0-2-0) – FRI, SEP 25 – 10:00AM EST PUCK DROP – LIVE ON NATV
The Grand Junction River Hawks are playing in their first season in the NAHL and are apart of the newly formed five-team Mountain Division. Unlike the two aforementioned opponents the Tomahawks will face off with this week, the River Hawks haven’t gotten off to a great start, dropping both games versus the Billings Cattle Punchers last weekend to open their season (4-2, 6-2). Both games did remain close for the majority of play before Billings pulled away late, but some growing pains and adjustment are going to be expected for Grand Junction to begin their organization’s history. Completing the trifecta, the Tomahawks will face off against their third opponent at the Showcase who will have a brand new coach. Obviously slightly different in Grand Junction’s case, as Dustin Timm will take over as the first coach in team history. Timm stated in a preseason feature with the NAHL that his philosophy and emphasis will bet on creating and building a player-led culture.
Tibor Nemeth will be a name to keep an eye on for the River Hawks as he comes up from their NCDC squad where he recorded a strong 28 points (5G, 23A) in 54 games last year as a defenseman and recorded three assists in his NAHL debut weekend. Forward Isiah Yates comes to the River Hawks with some veteran NAHL presence after skating in 51 games with the Oklahoma Warriors back in 2024-25 and was also a member of the GJ NCDC team a season ago. Another forward, Will Cymbaluk will continue to bring offensive prowess to the River Hawks after scoring last weekend in his NAHL debut on the power play. Roman Batih comes over from the Janesville Jets (NAHL) to man the blue-paint for Grand Junction. In primarily a backup role last season, Batih went 6-8-1 and recorded an .890SV% along with a 2.87GAA in 19 starts.
GRAND JUNCTION RIVER HAWKS NCDC CHAMPIONS
The Tomahawks will look to replicate some of their success from last year at the Showcase where they went 2-0-1 after losing in overtime the first day to New Mexico, followed by two impressive wins over the St. Cloud Norsemen and the Wisconsin Windigo. Check out our social media pages (X, Facebook, Instagram) to follow along with all of the mid-week action from Blaine!
BY: DREW PFEIL