This past summer was one of the busiest offseasons for the Tri-City Americans in recent years.

The Americans made a number of signings, including five forwards who are eligible to join the team for the 2026-27 campaign, while also completing a pair of blockbuster trades just before training camp. The moves appear to signal a change in direction for a team that has traditionally built its identity around physicality, defense and goaltending.

For the past handful of seasons, Tri-City has been known as a big, strong and physical team that plays well defensively and leans heavily on its goaltending. This offseason, however, the Americans appear to be shifting toward a more offensive-minded approach.

Four of the five new signings are entering their first full season of junior hockey, while the fifth, Czech import David Huk, already has a full season of junior experience overseas. Several of the newcomers also come from Minnesota, adding another layer of youth and potential to a forward group that has more depth than it has had in recent years.

Here is a look at the five new signings eligible to join the Americans next season, along with the two major trades Tri-City completed just before training camp.

Signings

David Huk

The first signing is the newest import, Czech native David Huk, who is the only one of the five newcomers with a full season of junior hockey already under his belt.

Tri-City clearly had a specific player in mind when it moved up in the CHL Import Draft in early June. The Americans moved up exactly nine spots, sending their first-round import selections in 2026 and 2027 to the Wenatchee Wild in exchange for the 12th overall selection.

Interestingly, Wenatchee did not use the 2026 import pick it received from Tri-City. All three of the Wild’s imports are expected to return, and just four days later, Wenatchee traded that selection to Swift Current. The Wild received a 2027 second-round pick and a 2030 sixth-round pick in the WHL Bantam Draft in return.

Swift Current ultimately used the original Tri-City selection on Austrian defenseman Yuri Vlasenko.

Huk, meanwhile, has arrived in Tri-City with considerable potential. He is already appearing on NHL Draft radar for next season, with early mock drafts projecting him as a potential first-round selection.

There is good reason for the attention.

Huk spent the majority of the 2025-26 season as a 17-year-old playing in Sweden’s top junior league, the U20 Nationell. Scouts have described him as a strong two-way player. In 27 games with Linköping HC U20, Huk recorded 15 points. He also spent a short amount of time with the U18 team, where he recorded four points in four games.

Huk also has international experience. He represented Czechia at the IIHF World U18 Championship as an alternate captain, helping his country capture a bronze medal. He recorded five points in seven games during the tournament.

Huk is one of two Tri-City signings who will enter the 2026-27 season at 18 years old, and this will be his first season playing hockey in North America.

The expectation should be for Huk to make an immediate impact as a top-six forward. The biggest adjustment will likely be adapting to the North American style of play and the smaller ice surface. That adjustment was something fellow Czech import David Krcal struggled with for much of last season.

If Huk can adapt quickly to North America, he could become one of the most important additions to Tri-City’s lineup from this summer movement.

Justin Moon

Justin Moon had an impressive training camp with Tri-City last fall, making it somewhat surprising that he left without a contract.

This summer, he finally got one.

Moon has yet to play a junior hockey game and will enter his first season of eligibility in 2026-27. Despite that, he has already committed to play college hockey at Yale, with the commitment announced at the beginning of August.

The former sixth-round pick of Tri-City is already looking like a potential steal. Moon’s biggest strength is his offensive ability, particularly with the puck.

At the WHL Cup, a tournament featuring some of the top U16 talent in Western Canada, Moon scored five goals in five games for Team British Columbia.

Moon spent the entirety of last season with Burnaby Winter Club U18 Prep, where he recorded 36 points in 27 games.

He should enter camp competing for a spot in the lineup and could provide Tri-City with an offensive spark as a depth forward. If his offensive game translates to the WHL level, Moon could quickly become more than just a bottom-six option.

Owen Kraft

Tri-City made another move with Wenatchee this summer when it acquired the rights to Owen Kraft, the Wild’s 2025 second-round selection in the U.S. Prospects Draft, in mid-July.

Kraft presumably did not want to sign with Wenatchee, leading the Wild to send his rights to Tri-City in exchange for a second and third-round pick.

Just six days after the trade, Kraft decided to sign with the Americans.

Kraft was also selected fourth overall in the 2026 USHL Futures Draft. He is the younger brother of Mason Kraft, who won the 2025 Mr. Hockey Award in Minnesota and is also a member of the Wenatchee Wild, although Mason could be headed to the NCAA this upcoming season.

Much like his older brother, Owen has a knack for scoring goals.

There is limited statistical information available from his 2025-26 season, but Kraft had an impressive 2024-25 campaign, recording 45 goals and 43 assists for 88 points in just 55 games with Moorhead Bantam AA.

Kraft appears to be a high-motor forward who can provide energy and offense from the bottom six during his first season of junior hockey. With his scoring background and pedigree, he also has plenty of room to grow into a bigger role in the future.

Brock Cheslock

Cheslock comes from, you guessed it, Minnesota, specifically Rogers, a small hockey town with roughly 15,000 residents.

Cheslock served as an alternate captain for Rogers during the 2025-26 season and had an outstanding year. In 27 games, he recorded 55 points, including 34 goals, which led the team.

He finished the season with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers, appearing in nine games and recording three points, including two goals.

Cheslock is an intriguing addition for Tri-City and could have an opportunity to make an immediate impact. His goal-scoring ability should give the Americans another weapon as they look to increase their offensive production.

Cheslock is also committed to play college hockey at Augustana University beginning in the 2027-28 season.

Evan Wanner

Evan Wanner is the final signing of Tri-City’s busy summer and gives the Americans yet another young Minnesota hockey product.

Wanner will enter the 2026-27 season at 17 years old, making this his first full season of junior hockey.

He is a sneaky forward who excels at finding soft spots in coverage and possesses an electric release. He has already gained some experience against older competition, playing four games at the USHL level with the Waterloo Black Hawks as a 16-year-old. He recorded one point in those four games.

At Moorhead, Wanner recorded 43 points in 31 games. Most notably, Wanner while playing for Moorhead High School last season, Wanner helped deliver one of the biggest moments of the Minnesota high school hockey season.

In the Minnesota Boys State Hockey AA Championship game, Wanner scored a double-overtime goal to complete a 4-1 comeback against top-seeded Minnetonka. The goal gave Moorhead its second consecutive state championship in front of a packed house at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

The back-to-back championships were particularly significant, as Moorhead became the first school in more than a decade to accomplish the feat.

Wanner’s teammate at Moorhead, Tyden Bergenson, will also make the jump to the WHL next season with the Penticton Vees. Bergenson led Moorhead in scoring.

Trades

Tri-City Americans General Manager Bob Tory, just before training camp, made two great deals that surely went in favor of Tri-City. Here is a look at them.

Cash Koch

Tri-City’s first major trade of late August sent fan favorite Cash Koch to the Vancouver Giants in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick.

Koch appeared in a Tri-City uniform over parts of four seasons, playing 145 games for the Americans.

He became a fan favorite because of his fierce intensity. Koch seemed to play every shift at 100 percent, bringing an edge and determination that made him noticeable every time he stepped onto the ice.

He will certainly be missed in that regard.

However, Koch’s 2025-26 season was a disappointment, although much of it was outside of his control.

Koch played just 41 games as an 18-year-old after his season was cut short in late January. During a fight, a referee tripped Koch, resulting in a season-ending concussion.

In those 41 games, Koch recorded just 16 points. Had Koch played a full season, he likely would have surpassed the 20-point mark. But entering his third season of junior hockey, Tri-City likely expected more offensive production. Koch’s career-high came as a 16-year-old, when he recorded 23 points.

For a player who is likely entering the final season of his junior career and may not reach 50 points — or even 40 — receiving a 2028 first-round pick is a significant return.

Tri-City now has options with that selection. The Americans could hold onto the pick and use it to select a player who could eventually surpass Koch’s production, or they could use it as a trade asset to bring in an impact player.

Bob Tory gets an A for this one.

Savin Virk

The second trade will hurt a little more for Tri-City fans.

Savin Virk was dealt away after spending the previous two seasons with the Americans and was expected to be the team’s leading goal scorer entering the 2026-27 campaign.

Virk played 116 games in a Tri-City uniform and scored 54 goals. He was easily on track for a 30-plus-goal campaign this season and was arguably the Americans’ best forward last season.

Virk led the team with 65 points and developed into one of Tri-City’s most dangerous offensive players, particularly with his catch-and-release style. Replacing that production will not be easy.

However, Tri-City received a player with significant potential in return: Eli McKamey.

McKamey was widely expected to be selected second overall behind Landon DuPont in the 2024 WHL Draft. At the time, however, players were not permitted to move from the CHL to the NCAA, and McKamey’s college plans caused him to fall all the way to Victoria in the second round.

During his WHL Draft year, McKamey played U18 hockey for Shawnigan Lake School U18 Prep. As a 14-year-old playing against older competition, he recorded 48 points in 28 games, the third-most on his team.

McKamey then spent his 15-year-old season playing in the BCHL with the Penticton Vees. He became the first player in BCHL history to be granted exceptional status.

As a 15-year-old, McKamey played 52 games with Penticton and recorded 31 points.

Unfortunately, his first WHL season with Victoria, which was last year, did not go according to plan.

McKamey struggled to replicate the production he had shown in the BCHL and at the CSSHL level. In 48 games with the Royals, he recorded just six goals and 17 points.

Now, McKamey gets a fresh start in Tri-City.

McKamey is committed to playing college hockey at the University of North Dakota, and the Americans are hoping a change of scenery can help him elevate to an elite player at this level.

Tri-City also received a 2027 first-round CHL Import Draft pick and a 2030 third-round pick in the deal. In return, the Americans sent Victoria a 2027 second-round import pick and a 2030 sixth-round pick.

Only time will tell which team ultimately wins the trade, but for now, the move gives Tri-City a young player with considerably more long-term potential than Virk.

A New Direction for Tri-City

In the end, it is difficult to blame either Koch or Virk for wanting a change of scenery. And along with that, props to Bob Tory for the return he got; it was two great deals he put together.

Both players are likely entering the final stages of their junior hockey careers with the NCAA likely for both after this season, and both have limited playoff experience. Given where and how Tri-City finished last season, it is understandable that they may have wanted an opportunity somewhere else.

For the Americans, however, these moves represent something bigger in the long term.

Tri-City is not in a position to contend for a championship this season, but the organization appears to be building toward something over the next year or two.

The Americans have added a significant amount of young offensive talent this summer. Huk, Moon, Kraft, Cheslock and Wanner all bring different skill sets, while McKamey provides perhaps the biggest upside of any player acquired this offseason.

For the past several seasons, Tri-City has been building around defense, physicality, and goaltending.

Now, it appears they are trying something different as Tri-City finished at essentially rock bottom in the league in scoring last season. That lost them several winnable games had they been able to just get that extra goal or two.

Whether these moves are enough to turn the Americans into an offensive powerhouse remains to be seen.

The American’s identity is most definitely changing. And after a busy summer, there is plenty to watch for when training camp opens this upcoming Thursday.