2025-2026 Record: 8-10, ninth place, missed the playoffs
New Faces: Nick Damude, Mitchell Armstrong, Sam Leclair, Ryan Wagner, Liam Aston, Chris Corbeil, Austin Shanks, Michael White, Owen Tasse, Koleton Marquis
Key Losses: None
For a team that narrowly missed the playoffs in a tiebreaker involving San Diego, Halifax and Ottawa, consistency will be key for the Desert Dogs this season.
Last season, goaltending and defence were question marks. Las Vegas allowed the second-most goals against in the league during the 2025-2026 season, with 229. The Rochester Knighthawks led the way with 239.
Although you hate to see the league lose two teams, the dispersal draft boosted Las Vegas’ stock big time.
The Desert Dogs shored up one of their biggest weaknesses by taking goaltender Nick Damude with the second overall pick. They then strengthened their defence by selecting Mitchell Armstrong with the 12th overall pick.
They also added veteran leadership on both offence and defence by selecting Chris Corbeil late in the dispersal draft and picking up Austin Shanks in free agency.
Is this the year the Desert Dogs finally break through? They may not be championship contenders right off the bat, but they should definitely be in the playoff mix.
Desert Dogs Offence
This part of Las Vegas’ game wasn’t an issue last season. The Desert Dogs led the league in goals for with 219 and had the second-best shooting percentage at 23.2 per cent, behind only the Vancouver Warriors.
The left side of the offence will be a dogfight, with Mitch Jones, Chris Cloutier, Jackson Webster, Adam Poitra, Luke Pilcher and Jack Govett competing for opportunities.
Meanwhile, they have even more depth on the right side with Jonathon Donville, Kyle Killen, Austin Shanks, Sean Westley and Sam LeClair. And we haven’t even gotten to Koleton Marquis or Liam Aston yet.
There is plenty of firepower throughout the Desert Dogs’ roster. Again, it will just be a matter of consistency. With the way the league is shaping up, you can’t take a night off.
Desert Dogs Defence/Transition
There is no shortage of grit on the Desert Dogs’ defence. Drew Belgrave, Tyson Bell, Brandon Goodwin and John Lafontaine add some big bodies out the back gate.
What will be interesting to watch is Las Vegas’ transition game and faceoff performance.
Connor Kirst, Ethan Ticehurst and Tony Malcom will bring speed that can push the pace, but we’ll have to wait and see if the Desert Dogs have enough depth in transition.
At the faceoff dot, they have Tyrell Hamer-Jackson, but Las Vegas ranked ninth in the league in faceoff percentage at 43.7 per cent.
Desert Dogs Goaltending
This was the biggest question mark for Las Vegas last season. Landon Kells was very inconsistent, yet the two-goaltender system featuring Kells and Alexis Buque worked with some success.
Las Vegas had the second-worst goals-against average at 12.62 and the second-worst save percentage at 75.8 per cent. The only team worse than Las Vegas in both categories was the Rochester Knighthawks.
Going into the dispersal draft, it became obvious that the Desert Dogs would target a goaltender with their first pick.
Taking Nick Damude with the second overall pick addresses the team’s most glaring weakness.
Looking at the depth behind Damude, Kells signed a new contract in the off-season, so you would think he’d be a lock for the backup role.
This will likely leave Buque as the odd man out. Caleb Khan is also on the roster and has a very promising future. However, Khan is still young and has room to develop. He will likely end up on the practice roster.
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