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Caleb Desnoyers, left, stands with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being drafted by the Utah Mammoth during the NHL hockey draft Friday, June 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) | Damian Dovarganes
After undergoing wrist surgery over the summer, Caleb Desnoyers missed nearly a third of the QMJHL season.
A prospect’s first post-draft year is arguably the most important for his development. The Utah Mammoth didn’t expect him to need surgery when they drafted Desnoyers fourth overall in June, so you can imagine their concern when they learned he’d miss so much time.
But the surgery only made Desnoyers more capable. He finished the regular season with 78 points in 45 games — the second-best points-per-game rate of any player in the league. And remember, his defensive play is supposedly the brightest aspect of his game.
“They’re feeling great,” Desnoyers told the Deseret News of his wrists in a December interview. “I’m lucky that we have some great facilities and some great staff to take care of that in Moncton.”
On Monday, the 18-year-old was rewarded in the form of an entry-level contract worth $1,075,000 for each of the next three years. It also carries up to $3.15 million annually in performance bonuses.
Desnoyers’ Moncton Wildcats won the regular season for the second time in a row. They also won the QMJHL championship last year, but came up short as they battled for junior hockey’s most prestigious prize, the Memorial Cup.
If they win the QMJHL championship again this season, Desnoyers, along with teammate and fellow Mammoth prospect Gabe Smith, could join Tij Iginla and potentially even Cole Beaudoin to compete for the Memorial Cup.
What does Caleb Desnoyers’ contract indicate?
Desnoyers’ contract sheds some light on where he will play next season.
Recent changes to the NCAA’s bylaws created the possibility for players like Desnoyers to make the jump from the CHL to college, where they could face the challenge of older opponents. The idea is that when they eventually turn pro, they’ll be more ready to face the fully grown men of the AHL and NHL.
Signing a pro contract ends a player’s NCAA eligibility, so Desnoyers will not take that route.
Until this week, that would have limited Desnoyers’ options to the CHL and the NHL. But reports have surfaced that 19-year-old CHL players who were drafted in the first round of the NHL draft will now be allowed to play in the AHL.
So, stated simply, the Mammoth will have the option to place Desnoyers in the CHL or AHL, or they may keep him in the NHL. Where he goes will depend on how he plays and what Mammoth management believes is best for his development.
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Caleb Desnoyers participates in an on-ice session at the Utah Mammoth prospect development camp at the Park City Ice Arena in Park City on Monday, June 30, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
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