Three Tri-City Americans Who Could Break Out in 2026/27

Here are a few players I believe could catch the WHL by surprise this season and make a significant impact for the Tri-City Americans by taking the next step in their development.

With the 2026/27 season just around the corner, there are several Americans who could be poised for breakout campaigns. Of course, this is all speculation, but there are plenty of reasons to believe these players could have significantly better seasons than they did a year ago.

Eli McKamey

McKamey is my personal favorite to break out this season.

In his draft year, McKamey was considered one of the top players available in the 2024 WHL Bantam Draft, but ultimately fell because of his NCAA aspirations.

Coming off a lower-body injury, McKamey got off to a difficult start during his rookie 16-year-old season in the WHL. In fact, he didn’t make his season debut until late October, putting him behind players who had already gone through preseason and more than a month of regular-season hockey.

At 16 years old, that was a difficult situation to overcome.

Once he returned, McKamey also found himself in a limited role with Victoria, often playing on the third or fourth line and receiving minimal minutes. Given his talent, the lack of opportunity was surprising.

Now with Tri-City, McKamey should have every opportunity to showcase what he can do.

He is likely to receive top-line minutes, power-play time and a much larger overall role — exactly the kind of opportunity he didn’t receive in Victoria.

With those new opportunities, I expect McKamey’s production to rise significantly.

McKamey finished last season with just 17 points, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him easily surpass that number. A 50-point season or better is certainly within the realm of possibility with the ice time he’s expected to receive.

There are several reasons to believe McKamey could break out.

For starters, he had a full summer to prepare and enters training camp healthy and on schedule. He also has nearly a full WHL season under his belt, giving him valuable experience in arguably the best junior hockey league in the world.

Most importantly, though, he’ll have the opportunity to play a much larger role.

McKamey is one of the more intriguing players on the Americans’ roster because of his raw talent and potential. If everything comes together, he could become one of Tri-City’s biggest offensive weapons this season.

Of course, he still has to prove it on the ice.

Aden Bouchard

Bouchard is next up on my list of players who could break out, and that’s because I feel like he left a lot on the table during his 16-year-old season.

Bouchard had a tough time adjusting to the speed of the WHL as a rookie. But as the season wound down, he started to get the hang of it. Watching Bouchard in camp and the preseason this year, he seems much more confident in himself.

Although he finished last season with just five points, I expect that number to climb substantially this year. He could easily triple that production.

Bouchard isn’t afraid to shoot the puck and create plays on his own, at least from what I’ve seen in camp and the preseason. He really seems to be looking to take a step forward both offensively and mentally.

Bouchard should also see more power-play time, which would certainly help his chances of putting up more points.

I believe this could be the season Bouchard starts to show why Tri-City believed he was worthy of being selected third overall.

His skating ability is excellent, and I feel like Aden is going to get the opportunities and minutes necessary to have a breakout season.

It might not be the biggest breakout statistically, but the way he plays should be enough to label it as one. The goals and assists will come with confident, consistent play, especially if he can overcome the mental blocks that hindered him during his rookie season.

Crew Martinson

Crew Martinson enters his second season in Tri-City looking to get a full one under his belt after a promising rookie campaign was cut short.

Martinson’s season lasted just 43 games after an injury, but it was promising. He produced 23 points in those games as just a 16-year-old.

Now, as a 17-year-old, the 2024 second-round pick of Tri-City should make even more strides.

Martinson has a strong frame, and for the system of hockey that Jody Hull has the Americans playing, that physicality fits him well. Martinson isn’t the best skater, but he wins battles and plays a hard-working style of hockey.

Crew should be able to impact the team night in and night out, and statistically, his production could potentially double by the end of the 2026/27 season, especially if he can stay healthy throughout the year.

That’s obviously just a projection, but putting up 23 points as a 16-year-old in the WHL is a promising sign, especially considering he didn’t get the opportunity to play all 68 games.

Final Thoughts

These three players are my personal favorites based on their situations, how I’ve perceived them growing over the offseason and what I’ve seen from them in camp and limited preseason action.

I could totally whiff on all three of them.

There are certainly cases to be made for a player like Alexander Laing to have a breakout season as well, but unfortunately, not everyone is going to break out.

With the team moving in a younger direction up front, it’s encouraging to see that these players will have an opportunity to grow together and, hopefully, stick around for the next few seasons to have a go at a Championship.

There is some serious talent on this Tri-City team. I’ve just highlighted a few of the players I believe could take the biggest steps forward.

We’ll see what the 2026/27 season has in store for these players, but if it’s anything like I project, it will be fun to watch these three play.