NHL Combine Notes: Stenberg, Cup Final, NCAA
Ivar Stenberg, the No. 1 internationally ranked prospect on the NHL Central Scouting rankings of non-North American skaters, did not participate in fitness testing at the NHL Scouting Combine. First reported by Mark Masters of TSN, the 18-year-old Swede said if he was not feeling sick, he would’ve participated in the testing. He came down with this after the IIHF World Championships, where he scored at a point-per-game, registering four goals for eight points in eight games in his final stint of hockey ahead of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Stenberg interviewed with 14 different teams at the Combine, notably coming off a campaign with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League, where he scored 33 points in 43 games. He had the fifth-best season by a player age 18 or younger in Swedish Hockey League history, behind Daniel Sedin (42 pts in 1998-99), Markus Naslund (39 pts in 1991-92), Tomas Sandstrom (37 pts in 1982-83), and Henrik Sedin (34 pts in 1998-99).
Additional Combine Notes:
- Stenberg is one of six top prospects set to attend Game 4 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final, where the Vegas Golden Knights will host the Carolina Hurricanes, leading 2-1 in the series. The Swedish standout will be joined by defenseman Chase Reid (No. 2 on Central Scouting’s ranking of North Americans) of Sault Ste. Marie in the OHL, defenseman Carson Carels (No. 3) of Prince George in the WHL, defenseman Keaton Verhoeff (No. 4) from the University of North Dakota (NCAA), center Caleb Malhotra (No. 6) of Brantford in the OHL, and defenseman Alberts Smits of Munchen in Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The Latvian is No. 2 to Stenberg on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of International skaters.
- According to Mike G. Morreale on NHL.com, There were eight NCAA hockey players at this year’s NHL combine. The CHL to College Hockey pipeline into National Hockey League prospect pools is only set to grow from here. Since May 1, 73 players have committed to NCAA programs, and nearly 60% have come from the CHL. Going back to the turn of the calendar year, 272 total commitments have been made, nearly half, 132 to be exact, from Canadian major junior hockey (QMJHL, OHL, WHL).
Draft Notes: Ruck Twins, Belchetz, Cali
Liam Ruck and Markus Ruck, two top WHL scorers who expect to go in the first two rounds of the upcoming NHL draft, will return to the WHL for the 2026-27 season. (Via NHL.com’s Mike Morreale) In doing so, they will bypass opportunities to spend the season playing college hockey. Many of the Ruck twins’ peers among the elite draft prospects in the CHL have elected to make college commitments over the past week. The Rucks have decided that remaining with the Medicine Hat Tigers for an additional campaign is the best path for their development en route to the NHL.
The Ruck twins enjoyed a rapid rise up draft boards over the course of the 2025-26 season as they tore up the WHL as leading scorers for the Medicine Hat Tigers. Both Rucks stand 6’0″, while Liam is a winger and Markus a center. Liam scored 45 goals and 104 points in 68 games last season, while Markus scored 21 goals and 108 points. Neither brother came close to the point-per-game mark the previous year, making 2025-26 quite the breakout season for each player. Of the two, Liam is considered by most public-facing scouts to be the superior prospect. In the poll of 10 NHL scouts conducted by Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, Liam slotted in as the No. 24-ranked prospect, while Markus ranked No. 33.
Other notes from the NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo, NY:
- Ethan Belchetz, one of the draft’s top prospects from the OHL, appears to have recovered well from his season-ending injury, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. Belchetz’s season ended in March after he suffered a broken clavicle. Belchetz told Wheeler that he could play and feel “close to 100 percent” if there was a game tomorrow, and is participating in all of the fitness testing at the combine outside of the pullups and bench press. A Michigan State commit, Belchetz has a chance to be a top-10 pick. The 6’5″, 228-pound winger scored 34 goals and 59 points in 57 games for the Windsor Spitfires last season, and was ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the class by Elite Prospects.
- OHL prospect center Ryder Cali has generated some buzz recently, and Morreale reported from the combine that he is set to interview with 29 of the league’s 32 clubs. The 6’2″, 219-pound center is one of the draft’s youngest players (born September 6, 2008) and scored 16 goals and 36 points in 47 games for the North Bay Battalion as an OHL rookie. Cali recently committed to play NCAA hockey at Providence College and has a somewhat wide range of rankings by public-facing scouts. He generally sits somewhere on the bubble of the first-round, such as No. 33 (McKeen’s Hockey) or No. 37 (Wheeler), but as low as No. 68 (The Hockey News’ Tony Ferrari).
Midday Notes: Dupont, McKenna, USHL Expansion
According to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, Landon Dupont, a top prospect for next year’s NHL Draft, is getting closer to a commitment to an NCAA school. The development of Denver winning the Daxon Rudolph sweepstakes leaves two schools in Michigan and Michigan State as the front-runners for Dupont, as he is expected to visit both campuses next week, per Robinson.
The 17-year-old defenseman ended his 2025-26 season winning a WHL championship with Everett, scoring 23 points in 18 playoff games. DuPont added six points in the Silvertips Memorial Cup run, which ended as the runner-up. His regular season saw 73 points scored in 63 WHL games, adding four assists and a +5 rating at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, winning Bronze with Canada. The Calgary native totaled 133 points across 127 WHL games over his last two seasons, winning the league’s Rookie of the Year award last season.
Additional notes:
- According to Sheng Peng of SJHockeyNow, Gavin McKenna, the top-ranked prospect in the 2026 NHL Draft, is having dinner with only the Vancouver Canucks (selecting No. 3) at the Scouting Combine. Peng added that McKenna isn’t scheduled to have dinner with the San Jose Sharks (selecting No. 2) or the Toronto Maple Leafs (selecting No. 1), but he probably met with these teams in other settings. Notably, the Leafs GM John Chayka visited the 18-year-old at his home in Whitehorse, Yukon, McKenna said on the NHL Draft Class podcast. Toronto, along with McKenna and Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg, is scheduled to interview with 51 different prospects at the Combine.
- According to a league announcement, the USHL is set to expand out west, first reported by John Buccigross of ESPN. The league, along with a group of stakeholders including the NHL and USA Hockey, plans on establishing three new clubs in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Further information regarding member club principals, markets, and timelines will be announced on Wednesday, June 24.In the press release, USHL President and Commissioner Glenn Hefferan said, “This expansion is about more than adding teams. It is about expanding opportunity.” Adding these teams will grow the USHL to 19 clubs, with the Madison Capitols being the last expansion team, joining the tier-one junior league in 2014.
Daxon Rudolph Commits To Denver for 2026-27 Season
According to his Instagram, top NHL Draft prospect Daxon Rudolph announced his commitment to the University of Denver for the 2026-27 season, first reported by Brad Elliott Schlossman of Grand Forks Herald.
Rudolph has a consolidated ranking of ninth among the major outlets that cover prospects eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft and is seventh on the Elite Prospects 2026 NHL Draft Guide. In his second season with Prince Albert, he scored 28 goals, tying Josh Morrissey for the club’s record in scoring by a defenseman, for 78 points in 68 WHL games. The 18-year-old added 27 points in 19 playoff games for the Raiders, losing in the Western league final to the Everett Silvertips. As an assistant captain for Canada’s U18 team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he scored four points in five games and notched two assists in three games for the CHL team at this past Prospects Challenge.
That capped off a career with 119 points and a +45 rating in his two seasons there. Formerly the first overall pick in the 2023 WHL Draft, the Lacombe, Alberta native has demonstrated an ability to score, even registering 15 multi-point games within a 20-game stretch.
Rudolph is described by draft outlets as an offensive defenseman. The 6-foot-2.5 right-shot profiles as a player whose tools can produce high-end goals and effective playmaking. Combine that with his poise, and he’s able to make plays calmly to help him in his transition game and complement the steady offensive reads he visualizes. Defensively, he utilizes his stick as the primary approach. He’s said to have precision in the on-puck game due to his hand speed and quick reaction. What Rudolph needs to work on is his physicality, as he transitions into the NCAA, a big question mark will be how he acclimates to a much more steady gamestyle with bigger competition.
According to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, Rudolph had narrowed down his choice of NCAA schools to three top-tier programs. Aside from Denver, which emerges triumphant in the race for Rudolph, Michigan State and Boston College were also in the running as his preferred destinations. A visit to Denver was in the young defenseman’s travel plans in late May, per Robinson.
Set to join the defending national champions in Denver, Rudolph will round out an elite right side that already has fellow top 2026 prospect Ryan Lin, who recently announced his commitment to the Pioneers, and Blake Fiddler (2025-SEA-2nd), both of whom also stem from the WHL. Add on Calgary natives Ben Macbeath and sophomore Eric Jamieson, and that totals five blueliners with WHL roots for the Pioneers. Rudolph certainly adds intrigue to this blueline, but he will have some competition for top-pair minutes among his teammates.
David Carle’s program has dominated during the young coach’s tenure. Since 2019, Carle has taken Denver to five Frozen Fours in nine seasons, winning three national championships in the last five years, all with 29+ wins. Peter Baugh of The Athletic spoke to Rudolph at the NHL Scouting Combine, where he said, “It’s so appealing the amount of success they’ve had in that program, especially with him. Looking forward to playing for a guy like that.”
Carle has seen a few defenders in recent memory carry on their talents to the NHL past the NCAA, like former Hobey Baker winner Will Butcher, Scott Mayfield of the Islanders, and most notably, Zeev Buium.
Minor Transactions: Kahun, Morozov, Iskhakov, Cali
Former NHL winger Dominik Kahun agreed on a mutual contract termination with his former club HC Lausanne of the Swiss National League, ending what was originally a three-year deal with the team. As a free agent, Kahun has elected to return to his native Germany and sign with EHC Red Bull Munich, according to an official announcement from the club on social media.
The move returns Kahun, 30, to the club that launched him to the NHL back in 2018. Kahun was a former star scorer for Munich, spending four seasons with the team from 2014-2018. In those four years, he went from scoring just six points in his debut season when he was fresh out of the German second division to becoming a point-per-game winger. He won three straight titles for Munich in 2016, 2017, and 2018. While he was an instant-impact NHL signing for the Chicago Blackhawks, scoring 13 goals and 37 points as a rookie, Kahun left the NHL for Switzerland after 2020-21. He has been largely stellar in the National League, serving as a point-per-game winger for SC Bern from 2021-2024. Over the last two years, Kahun has struggled more, and his stint with Lausanne was marked by inconsistency as he was great in the playoffs but not very productive in the regular season.
Other notes on player movement from around the hockey world:
- Vegas Golden Knights 2018 second-round pick Ivan Morozov has signed a one-year contract extension with the KHL’s Spartak Moscow. Morozov has spent the last three seasons with Spartak, where he has been one of the team’s most productive players and a two-time All-Star. Morozov scored a career-high 50 points in 2024-25 and managed 33 points in 49 combined regular-season and playoff contests in 2025-26. The 6’1″ center last appeared in North America during the 2022-23 season, when he registered 17 points in 58 games for Vegas’ AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.
- Another Russian forward who was selected in the second round of the 2018 NHL draft signed a KHL contract extension: Ruslan Iskhakov. Iskhakov was drafted No. 43 overall by the Islanders in 2018, and signed a two-year extension with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Iskhakov joined Metallurg last summer from CSKA Moscow, where he was an All-Star in 2024-25. This past season, the 5’7″ forward scored 17 goals and 38 points in 65 regular-season games, and eight points in 15 playoff contests. Iskhakov played two seasons in North America, scoring 101 points in 138 total games for the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, and one point in one NHL game for the New York Islanders. Stefen Rosner of The Elmonters wrote today that the “ship has definitely sailed” on Iskhakov’s NHL future with the club.
- 2026 NHL Draft prospect Ryder Cali has committed to play NCAA hockey at Providence College, according to Mark Divver of New England Hockey Journal. Cali, 17, was formerly committed to Harvard University. Cali spent this past season with the North Bay Battalion of the OHL, and it is unclear at this time whether his commitment implies enrollment for 2026-27 or 2027-28, which would impact whether he will play an additional campaign in Ontario. It seems most likely he will spend at least 2026-27 in the OHL before heading to college, but that is not confirmed. Cali is considered a second-round prospect by most major draft outlets, ranked as high as No. 34 (Elite Prospects) and as low as No. 62 (Craig Button, TSN).
Daxon Rudolph Close To NCAA Commitment
According to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, a top prospect in the 2026 NHL Draft, Daxon Rudolph, might have narrowed down his choice of NCAA schools to three top-tier programs.
Rudolph reportedly is between Denver, Michigan State, and Boston College as his preferred destinations, with a visit to Denver expected to come later this week, per Robinson. A right-handed defenseman, he has a consolidated ranking of ninth among the major outlets that cover prospects eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft.
In his second season with Prince Albert, he scored 28 goals, tying Josh Morrissey for the club’s record in scoring by a defenseman, for 78 points in 68 WHL games. The 18-year-old added 27 points in 19 playoff games for the Raiders, losing in the Western league final to the Everett Silvertips. That capped off a career with 119 points and a +45 rating in his two seasons there.
The Lacombe, Alberta native notably competed in two separate tournaments before the WHL playoffs. As an assistant captain for Canada’s U18 team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he scored four points in five games and notched two assists in three games for the CHL team at this past Prospects Challenge.
The 6-foot-2 defenseman is known as a prospect who can string together offense. His passing and puckhandling are key attributes when he makes flashy plays, but also help him in his transition game and complement the steady offensive reads he visualizes. Defensively, his stick is active and precise in its ability to clog passing lanes and disrupt the flow of a puck carrier, which rounds him out with what many scouts project as a solid-floor for a blue-liner.
Any three of these schools would be a mutually beneficial partnership between program and player. Among his potential NHL draftees, Rudolph could join a few notable names, depending on the school he decides to attend.
Starting with the defending national champions in Denver, Rudolph could join an elite right side that already has fellow top prospect Ryan Lin, who recently announced his commitment to the Pioneers, and Blake Fiddler (2025-SEA-2nd). David Carle’s program has not only dominated in his tenure but has seen a few defenders in recent memory carry on their talents to the NHL past the NCAA, like former Hobey Baker winner Will Butcher, Scott Mayfield of the Islanders, and most notably, Zeev Buium.
Michigan State would also see Rudolph connect with a 2026 eligible right-shot defenseman. Chase Reid, a projected lottery selection, is likely to lead the charge in terms of blue line minutes after a great season with the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL, which has him slotted to be off the board early. Along with Reid, Tommy Bleyl is sure to add some competitiveness for ice time as another top prospect out of the QMJHL. So on the Spartans’ right side, Rudolph would join a hefty group with a potential commitment to East Lansing. Adam Nightingale already has a shiny resume, a great class of recruits, and is backed by a history of Spartans who’ve fared well in the NHL; Duncan Keith, Torey Krug, and Jeff Petry are a few to name, with former second overall pick Artyom Levshunov as a recent graduate.
Boston College would be the most intriguing option if Rudolph were to make a decision best for his ice time. Going off of College Hockey News, sophomore Luka Radivojevic, who scored 16 points in 34 games of his freshman season, is the Eagles’ best righty as of their roster projection. Nolan Joyce rounds out that side entering his senior season, but it would be a huge boost for Greg Brown‘s program if he were able to bring Daxon Rudolph to ‘The Heights’. Outside of forward Oscar Hemming, the Eagles don’t have a major first-round pick from the 2026 draft to boast on their team next season. Rudolph could certainly be that player.
Jack Nesbitt Commits To University Of Michigan
Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick Jack Nesbitt announced on social media today that he has committed to play NCAA hockey at the University of Michigan.
Nesbitt, 19, has played the last three seasons for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. Today’s announcement confirms his OHL career has now concluded. A 6’4″ center, Nesbitt has been a quality top-six center for the Spitfires in each of the last two seasons. In his draft campaign, he scored 25 goals and 64 points in 65 regular-season games, and 10 points in 12 playoff games.
This past year, Nesbitt kept up those levels of production – though he didn’t take a major step forward statistically. He finished 2025-26 with 25 goals and 58 points in 55 regular-season games, and 10 points in 13 playoff games. Nesbitt’s Spitfires made a run to the OHL’s conference finals, where they were dispatched in five games by the Kitchener Rangers, the eventual champions.
As a prospect, Nesbitt is generally well-regarded, though some have questioned his eventual NHL upside. Entering the season, the team at Elite Prospects ranked Nesbitt the No. 8 prospect in the Flyers’ system, and he did not feature in their ranking of the top-100 prospects league-wide. In ranking him No. 8 in Philadelphia’s system, Cam Robinson wrote Nesbitt “projects as a reliable two-way forward who can play tough minutes and chip in offensively.”
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic rated Nesbitt the No. 4 prospect in Philadelphia’s system last month, and the No. 80 prospect leaguewide. Wheeler noted scouts have “questions about [Nesbitt’s] ultimate offense and whether he projects as more of a third-line player than a top-six one.”
Nesbitt will get the chance to try to answer those questions at Michigan. He’ll join a team filled to the brim with quality NHL prospects, including first-round pick forwards Michael Hage and Will Horcoff, as well as potential 2026 first-rounders in Adam Valentini and J.P. Hurlbert. Given how much talent Michigan expects to have next season, it will be interesting to see whether Nesbitt lands in the top-six as a freshman with the Wolverines, or if he is utilized in more of a supporting role.
Transaction Notes: Paquette, Gaudreau, Mayer
The Texas Stars, AHL affiliates of the Dallas Stars, announced the signing of forward Charlie Paquette to a one-year AHL contract. As is customary with AHL deals, the financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. Paquette, 20, was a seventh-round pick by the team at last year’s entry draft. The Stars hold the exclusive rights to sign Paquette to an entry-level contract until June 1, 2027, but they have decided to give Paquette a place in their organization – albeit without an ELC – before that point.
The contract will allow Paquette to turn pro with AHL Texas next season. Paquette is a 6’2″ winger who has played in the OHL since 2021-22. Paquette experienced steady, positive development over the course of his time in junior hockey. He scored just seven points in 54 games as a rookie, but two years later managed 21 goals and 35 points. He became a point-per-game scorer in his final two years of OHL action, potting 66 goals and 133 points in his final 133 games of junior hockey. While he is not considered to be among Dallas’ top prospects, he’ll get the chance to try to make the Stars’ AHL team next fall, and will either begin his career there or with the franchise’s ECHL affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads.
Other transactions from around the hockey world:
- Minor-league goaltender Benjamin Gaudreau, 23, announced on social media earlier this week that he has committed to play college hockey next season at Clarkson University. While Gaudreau would have been ineligible to play college hockey in previous years due to his experience in professional hockey, more recent developments in the area of collegiate eligibility have paved the way for players with ECHL and even AHL games played to head to, or back to, the college ranks. Gaudreau is a 2021 third-round pick of the San Jose Sharks but the team let his rights lapse without giving him an entry-level deal. Gaudreau is perhaps best known for the place he occupied on Team Canada for the World Junior Championships in 2022-23. He had a shutout over Austria in the tournament and helped Canada win gold. Gaudreau spent last season with the Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL, posting an .897 save percentage in 29 games. In total, he has played in 72 games in the ECHL and five games in the AHL.
- Defenseman Connor Mayer has decided to head overseas to continue his professional career after spending the last two seasons in the AHL and ECHL. The former Colorado College blueliner signed a deal with HC Innsbruck of the ICEHL. Mayer will head to Austria after a 2024-25 season that saw him lose his spot in the AHL. Mayer signed out of college late in the 2023-24 season and spent most of 2024-25 in the AHL, getting into 22 games for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles compared to just four games in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies. Mayer then signed with the Hershey Bears but he only ended up playing in one game for the club. He spent most of 2025-26, 55 total games, with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. Now the 5’11” rearguard will head to Austria to join an Innsbruck franchise that has struggled mightily over the last two years – winning just 20 of their last 96 league contests.
Morning Notes: Carle, Berube, Kuhlman
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had an “initial conversation” with University of Denver head coach David Carle to “gauge his interest” in potentially filling Toronto’s vacant head coaching position, reports Elliotte Friedman in Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman cautioned that the talks between Carle and the Maple Leafs are purely preliminary, and that neither Carle, nor anyone else, should be considered the favorite in the process at this time.
According to previous reports, the Maple Leafs may be targeting a “fresh face” as their next head coach – a departure from their previous coaching search, which resulted in the hire of a Stanley Cup-winning veteran in Craig Berube. Carle, 36, is widely considered to be among the top coaching candidates who has never held a coaching role in the NHL, or even at the professional level. Carle has been the Denver Pioneers’ head coach since 2018-19, and is a three-time NCAA national champion in that role. He’s also won a gold medal as head coach at two World Junior championships – at both tournaments he got to coach. It’s been widely reported that Carle will be selective about where and when he eventually decides to turn pro (and if he even does) and has already withdrawn himself from consideration from one NHL search in the past.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- The Edmonton Oilers have received permission to speak with Berube, the former Maple Leafs coach, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Berube was fired by the Maple Leafs less than a week ago after his second season behind the bench there. The 60-year-old, as previously mentioned, led the St. Louis Blues to their franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 2019. Berube’s first season in Toronto was reasonably successful, as the club went 52-26-4, and won a playoff series for just the second time in the Auston Matthews-led “Core Four” era. But Toronto fell in the second round to the eventual champions, the Florida Panthers, and endured a disastrous 32-36-14 campaign in 2025-26. The Oilers are under significant pressure to win a Stanley Cup as soon as next season, and it appears the club may target the most experienced coaches available, and specifically those with a Stanley Cup win on their resume.
- 147-game NHL veteran Karson Kuhlman has signed a one-year contract extension with Rögle BK of the SHL, per a team release. The 30-year-old signed with Rögle last summer and had a solid debut season there, scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 52 games played, and seven points in 17 playoff games. Kuhlman has played in Europe since 2024-25, when he spent the year with Lukko in the Finnish Liiga. From 2018-19 through 2022-23, Kuhlman played in nearly 150 NHL games for the Boston Bruins, Seattle Kraken, and Winnipeg Jets. The NCAA national champion nearly won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2019, and also got the chance to represent the United States at the 2022 IIHF Men’s World Championships.
Morning Notes: Engvall, Burkholder, Kunc
New York Islanders forward Pierre Engvall has had a difficult run of things since signing his seven-year, $3MM AAV contract extension in the summer of 2023. The 29-year-old missed the entirety of the 2025-26 season with an ankle injury, and the year prior he saw his role in the NHL decline sharply. Without question, he’s hoping to rebound next season, and Stefen Rosner of The Elmonters reported that Engvall “is feeling better, and the hope is that he’ll be ready for training camp.”
Rosner also noted that “given the severity of the ankle injury, it’s fair to expect a gradual ramp-up before he’s back to full strength.” That Engvall still isn’t a guarantee to be at 100% health before training camp, despite missing the entire campaign due to his injury, is notable – underscoring just how severe Engvall’s injury was. The Islanders don’t have many viable routes to move off of the hefty financial commitment they made to Engvall, as he almost certainly wouldn’t be claimed off of waivers and his 16-team no-trade list makes finding a deal for him difficult. So their best hope for his future with the team is for him to be able to recover and rediscover the form that once made him a speedy 15-goal, 35-point forward.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- The Boston Bruins have invited Colorado College captain Max Burkholder to their development camp, reports Mark Divver of New England Hockey Journal. The 22-year-old is an undersized right-shot defenseman who had a breakout sophomore campaign in 2024-25. That year, he scored 26 points in 37 games and was named to the NCHC’s Second All-Star team. A lower-body injury cost him all but three games this year, but he’ll still get the chance to show off his talents at development camp with the hope of potentially earning a pro contract down the line.
- Utah Mammoth pending RFA Michal Kunc has signed a two-year contract to return to his native Czechia, according to a team announcement. Brno is Kunc’s youth team and the club with whom he made his professional debut, though it’s his performances with HC Olomouc that earned him his shot in North America. Kunc spent the entirety of 2025-26 in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners, scoring 16 points in 43 games. The Mammoth have an extensive track record of mining the European leagues, and specifically Czechia, for free agent talent. While players such as Kunc and Ronald Knot, for example, have come and gone, they have had some success, most notably finding a No. 1 goalie in Karel Vejmelka from Brno.