The Utica Comets have undergone a massive overhaul this offseason.
Since taking over as New Jersey Devils general manager, Sunny Mehta has made the organization’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate a clear priority. One of his first decisions was not to renew the contract of Comets general manager Dan MacKinnon, paving the way for Braden Birch to take over the role just days later.
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“When I got here and talked it through, even with ownership, David Blitzer and I talked about what are some of the things we really want to focus on,” Mehta said during his media availability on July 2nd. “He himself brought up Utica also. That needs to be something that we make more of a priority, that we think more about in terms of both not just the success of that organization in terms of wins and losses, but just also in terms of player development.
“As much as we used this sort of decision-making process that I talk about to focus intently on our decisions at the NHL, we really have done the same thing at the AHL,” Mehta continued. “On the screen, when we put up our NHL roster, we’ve got the AHL roster right next to it, and we’re thinking of it all as one big thing, where we are trying to use that same roster strategy in Utica.”
The 2025–26 Comets roster has been reshaped dramatically over the past several days. Below is a complete rundown of every move the organization has made.
New Additions
Jeremy Wilmer signed a one-year AHL contract.
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Amadeus Lombardi signed to a two-year, two-way contract.
Ben Steeves re-signed a one-year, two-way contract.
Riley Tufte signed a one-year, one-way contract.
Gabe Klassen signed an AHL contract.
Zach Gallant signed an AHL contract.
Returning
Ryan Schmelzer signed an AHL contract.
Xavier Parent re-signed a one-year, two-way contract.
Marc McLaughlin re-signed a one-year, two-way contract.
Jack Malone signed an AHL contract.
Departures
Angus Crookshank was traded to the Florida Panthers along with Jacob Markstrom.
Brian Halonen signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Boston Bruins.
Dylan Wendt (did not receive a qualifying offer)
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Mike Hardman
Jonathan Gruden
Nathan Legare
Kyle Criscuolo
© John Jones-Imagn Images
New Additions
Etienne Morin acquired from Calgary Flames in exchange for Simon Nemec.
Vladislav Kolyachonok signed a one-year, one-way contract.
Eamon Powell signed an AHL contract.
Returning
Topias Vilen (tendered qualifying offer)
Departures
Colton White signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Dennis Cholowski signed a two-year contract with the New York Rangers.
Austin Strand signed with Ilves in the Finnish Liiga.
Dmitry Osipov
Calen Addison (did not receive a qualifying offer)
© Thomas Salus-Imagn Images
New Additions
Seth Eisele signed an AHL contract.
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Returning
Nico Daws re-signed to a two-year, two-way contract.
Jakub Malek re-signed to a two-year, two-way contract.
Jeremy Brodeur signed an AHL contract.
Departures
Tyler Brennan (did not receive a qualifying offer)
© John Jones-Imagn Images
Josh Filmon, Lenni Hameenaho, Shane Lachance, Matyas Melovsky, Seamus Casey, Mikael Diotte, and Ethan Edwards.
The Comets home opener for the 2026-27 season is scheduled for for Oct. 10 at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium
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