Omaha Lancers send 11 players to NHL development camps

The Omaha Lancers put 11 former or current players into NHL development camps, a wave that included two of their three 2026 NHL Draft picks and gave the USHL club a footprint from Boston to Utah. Current Lancer Nils Maurins joined former Omaha players David Deputy, Will Elger, Chris Romaine, Ayrton Martino, Bobby Cowan, Alex Bump, Daimon Gardner, Miroslav Satan, Zach Wooten and Michael Hrabal in the post-draft evaluation cycle.

That mix of names tells the story of Omaha’s development model as much as any scoreline or standings race. Martino and Bump represent players already moving deeper into the professional pipeline, while Hrabal adds a goaltending track that has kept him in NHL-facing conversations since he was drafted 38th overall in 2023. Omaha’s current roster also remains part of that same conversation, with Maurins carrying the Lancers’ present tense into camps that are designed to turn junior success into a longer look from NHL staffs.

The calendar made the timing even sharper. The 2026 NHL Draft ran June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, and the USHL said its league produced 43 selections, with 32 direct selections credited by the NHL. Within days, Utah announced its development camp roster and said on-ice sessions would run from June 29 to July 2, while also noting that five of its six 2026 draft picks would be in camp. The speed of that transition shows how quickly draft weekend turns into the first in-person test of how a player fits at the next level.

Several of the Omaha-linked players arrived in camp with clear pro markers already on their résumés. Dallas signed Ayrton Martino to a two-year entry-level contract on March 24, 2025, and Martino spent 2025-26 split between the Texas Stars and the Idaho Steelheads. Philadelphia signed Alex Bump to a three-year entry-level contract on April 15, 2025, and NHL.com noted in September 2025 that he had played nine regular-season and playoff games in the AHL while pushing for a Flyers roster spot. Hrabal also had a recent development-camp reference point, having been featured in a June 2025 NHL.com camp item after his 2023 first-round selection.

For Omaha, 11 camp invitees is more than a proud number. It is evidence that the Lancers continue to send players into rooms where NHL organizations decide who is worth more time, more coaching and, eventually, more contract investment.