A NEW CHAPTER
The Capitols are set to start the Trent Eigner era of the organization on Saturday against Sioux Falls. Hired in August, Eigner is the 14th head coach in the history of the Capitols franchise dating back to the team's founding in 1984. Eigner most recently served as an assistant at the University of St. Thomas after leading high school programs St. Thomas Academy and Lakeville North in Minnesota. During his time at the high school level, he helped develop five NHL Draft selections including Jake Oettinger, Ryan Poehling, and Jared Wright. The new head coach played with the Capitols from 1988-90 before going onto captain Miami at the division one level.

STARTING OFF WITH THE CHAMPS
After raising the Clark Cup in May, Sioux Falls is the opponent for the Capitols in game one. They return seven players who played in the championship clinching game in May against Muskegon, including 2025-26 USHL Rookie of the Year Cooper Soller. Former Capitols affiliated player, Joey Macrina scored the game winning goal in overtime to clinch the championship for Sioux Falls, and he returns to play his age out season with the Herd. Sioux Falls was active this offseason, adding three players that played full time in the USHL last season. The two forwards acquired, Pavel Martinu and Ryland Rooney bring in over 100 games of experience. The biggest move came on draft day in May when the team brought in Ryan Cameron in a trade with Cedar Rapids. The Edmonton draft pick won 24 games with the Rough Riders last season.

RETURNING PLAYERS
The Capitols bring back eleven players who helped take the organization to its second ever Eastern Conference Final in 2025-26. This includes seven forwards, three defensemen, and Cash Cruitt, who is the only goaltender returning from last season's roster. Gustavs Griva is the leading returner in points from last year after tying Sam Kappell for the team lead in the category with 36. Max Rider, Nolen Geerdes, and Caleb Pittsley are the three other returners who ranked in the team's top ten in points. Geerdes led all Capitols defensemen in points last season with 29 points. The defenseman from Rogers, Minnesota, also led the Capitols in playoff points with ten points in eleven games.

TENDERED PLAYERS LEAD YOUTH MOVEMENT
For the second straight season, the Capitols used both tenders. This season, Aiden Ali and Quinn Kaiser signed to become the first players on the team. Ali, a defenseman from Illinois, played last season with Little Caesars 15O. Kaiser, a forward from Waterford, Wis., played last season with Team Illinois 15O.

2026-27 LEADERSHIP GROUP
The Capitols named Max Rider as the 2026-27 captain on Thursday. Rider becomes the 16th captain in the Tier 1 history of the organization. Joining Rider in the leadership group are Dexter Brooks, Will Dosan, Harper Frey, Nolen Geerdes, and Cooper Snee as alternate captains. Brooks and Dosan will wear the "A" on their jersey for home games during the season. Frey and Geerdes will wear the "A" on their jersey for away games this season. Snee will wear the "A" on a rotational basis between home and away games.

IT'S LIKE DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
In total, the Capitols carry 18 players that have played at least one game in the USHL, but only two join the team that played in the league for other teams last season. Before the Phase II Draft in May, the Capitols acquired the rights to Rio Treharne in exchange for Chris Baird-Gajdos and a draft selection in the 2026 Phase II Draft that originally belonged to Waterloo. Treharne spent the 2025-26 season with Waterloo registering 26 points in 49 games played. In the Phase II Draft, Madison selected Logan Lutner with their first selection in the first round out of the U.S. National Team Development Program. Lutner finished the season with six points in 24 USHL games with the U18s and went onto play at the World U18 Championships in Slovakia.

NOT ROOKIES, JUST FUTURE VETERANS WHO HAVEN'T PLAYED YET
The Capitols carry four players that the USHL would classify as rookies into the 2026-27 season. Those players are forwards Quinn Kaiser and Braeden Waller and defensemen Aiden Ali and Quinn Kaiser. To qualify as a rookie in the league, a player must be first-year NHL Draft-eligible or younger and not have played more than 10 USHL games in a previous season.  Last season, the team only carried three players that were classified as rookies. Ali and Kaiser are tendered for the 2026-27 season. Colin Yandle played for Cushing Academy last season and signed a Standard Player Development Agreement this summer to secure his place on the roster. Braeden Waller is on the Capitols as an affiliated player to start the season.

FIRST FULL SEASON OF JUNIOR HOCKEY
Eight players on the Capitols' opening roster are set to play their first full season of junior hockey this season. This includes forwards Quinn Kaiser, Daniel Halonen, and Bode McConnell, defensemen Aiden Ali, Cam Garrity, Grady Schmidt, and Colin Yandle, and goaltender Elliot Lennon. Halonen, McConnell, and Schmidt all played high school hockey in Minnesota last season while getting a handful of games of junior experience. Lennon and Yandle both played prep hockey in the Northeast and got some action with the Capitols as affiliated players last season. Ali, Kaiser, and Garrity are set to make their junior hockey debuts when they play their first games.

WIITALA LEADS USHL IN PRESEASON GOALS
After playing in two regular season games and another pair of playoff games, Bryce Wiitala showed out in the 2026 exhibition season. With at least one goal in every game, Wiitala finished tied for the USHL lead in goals with five. He added an assist to that number to finish with six points, which was good enough for second in the league in points during the preseason. Last season, Wiitala played in 47 games with the Minnesota Mallards in the NAHL leading the team with 21 goals and 44 points. Prior to his time with the Mallards, the forward from Excelsior, Minn., played high school hockey with Holy Family Catholic. Wiitala is committed to play collegiate hockey at Lindenwood.

$$$ AND LENNY BETWEEN THE PIPES
Madison carries Cash Cruitt and Elliot Lennon to be the goaltending duo to start the 2026-27 season. Cruitt played in twelve games during the 2025-26 campaign going 4-8-0-0 with a 3.51 goals against average and a .867 save percentage. Cruitt was a perfect 2-0 during the preseason with a 2.00 goals against average and a .930 save percentage across two games. The goaltender from Andover, Minn., is committed to play collegiate hockey at Quinnipiac. His netminding cohort is Elliot Lennon who played with Deerfield Academy last season. Lennon had a .936 save percentage and a 1.84 goals against average during his prep season, which helped him get drafted by Ottawa in the fourth round of the 2026 NHL Draft. Lennon is committed to play collegiate hockey at Brown.

SPDA SIGNED FOR SLOVAKIAN CENTERMAN
The Capitols announced that Michal Jakubec has signed his Standard Player Development Agreement. Jakubec was the 18th overall selection in the 2026 USHL Phase II Draft in May. He played the 2025-26 season with HK Dukla Trencin U20 where he registered 23 points in 27 games. Jakubec earned his spot on the Slovakian Under 18 team that played a home World U18 Championship in his hometown of Trencin. In seven games, Jakubec ended the tournament with four points including two goals for the eventual runner up Slovakian squad.

LOCAL ROOTS, OPPOSING COLORS
Max Davis is the lone Wisconsin native on the Sioux Falls roster heading into the season. Davis played youth hockey with the Capitols AAA program before moving onto Culver Military Academy to play 16U and prep over the past three seasons.  The forward from Middleton, Wis., registered 66 points over 63 games with Culver's prep team during the 2025-26 season, which finished second on the team. Davis led the prep squad in points in 2024-25.

UP NEXT FOR THE CAPITOLS
After Saturday afternoon's contest with Sioux Falls, the Capitols will cap off the USHL Fall Classic on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. against Omaha. After a 19-38-3-2 season, Omaha looks to take another step in the right direction under head coach Ron Fogarty who is entering his third season, second full season, behind the bench for Omaha. Last season, the Capitols swept Omaha when they visited Madison in late January winning 5-2 on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday. The Lancers play their first game of the 2026-27 season on Saturday against Chicago at 7 p.m.