Multiple NHL-experienced players have signed on with Russian agency Winners in an effort to land deals in the KHL this summer, the agency announced. Among them is goaltender Kevin Mandolese, who hasn’t seen NHL ice since a three-game stint with the Senators in 2022-23 but has remained on NHL contracts since then.
The 24-year-old Mandolese has shown some promise as a depth netminder. A sixth-round pick by Ottawa in 2018, he did well in his only NHL action and recorded a .916 SV% and 3.29 GAA in that aforementioned trial. He remained in the Senators’ organization until last summer, when the Avalanche acquired his signing rights in a pick swap and subsequently signed him to a two-way deal for 2024-25.
He was recalled sparingly as injuries necessitated throughout the season, only getting into game action with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He fared decently well there but only got into 19 games, posting a 2.87 GAA and .903 SV% with an 11-6-0 record. Presumably looking for more stability than a two-way contract or an AHL deal for next season would provide him, Mandolese is now turning his attention toward overseas offers with some runway ahead of him to make an NHL return if he impresses.
Other names eyeing KHL moves:
- Also on Winners’ list is veteran winger Timothy Gettinger. The 27-year-old was a longtime farmhand for the Rangers and became a semi-frequent call-up option for them a few years ago, recording one assist in 16 NHL games between the 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons. The 6’6″, 216-lb forward hasn’t reached the top level since, though. Now an unrestricted free agent, his offensive numbers in the AHL have been on the decline. He’s spent the last two seasons on two-way deals for the Red Wings, recording 41 points in 109 games for AHL Grand Rapids – including just seven goals in 54 games last season.
- Winners also now represents some players without NHL experience but who were still under contract with a club last season. One of them is 25-year-old forward Mathias Laferriere. He was a sixth-round pick of the Blues back in 2018 and has spent the vast majority of his four pro seasons in the AHL. The Penguins acquired him midway through last season in a swap of depth forwards, but he didn’t work his way up their depth chart and became a Group VI UFA. He managed 18 points in 55 AHL games last year between Springfield and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
- After spending the last four seasons in the Coyotes/Utah organization, winger Travis Barron is now looking for a KHL contract. A 2016 seventh-round pick of the Avalanche, Barron played out his entry-level contract with them but did so primarily with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. He wasn’t qualified upon expiry in 2021 and instead signed an AHL deal with the Tucson Roadrunners, where he played for two years before signing an NHL contract with their Arizona parent. He signed another two-way contract with Utah last summer but is now a Group VI UFA, and the Mammoth don’t appear interested in retaining him. The nephew of longtime NHLer Andrew Cassels had 23 points in 67 games for the Roadrunners last year.
- Longtime AHLer Jimmy Oligny already made the jump overseas last summer but is now looking for tougher competition in Russia. The 5’11” defenseman was a frequent farmhand for the Jets, although not on an NHL contract. He was the captain of their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, from 2021-24 in a reduced role. His only NHL contract came in 2018-19 on a two-way deal with the Golden Knights. A veteran of 473 AHL games, the 32-year-old spent last year in Slovakia with HKM Zvolen and Austria with the ICEHL’s Graz 99ers.
- Winger Lucas Edmonds was non-tendered by the Rangers last month following the expiry of his entry-level contract and is now looking at opportunities in Russia. The 24-year-old was a third-round pick by the Lightning in 2022 as an overager out of OHL Kingston, where he exploded for 113 points in 68 games in his final junior-eligible season. He never gained a true foothold in the AHL after turning pro, though, and was traded to New York midway through last year. He finished 2024-25 with only 11 points in 40 AHL games between Syracuse and Hartford.