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 (Deseret News, Tess Crowley).
(Deseret News, Tess Crowley)
SALT LAKE CITY – Roughly nine months after being selected fourth overall in the 2025 NHL draft by the Utah Mammoth, forward Caleb Desnoyers officially signed his entry level contract with the franchise on Monday morning.
Desnoyers has officially signed his ELC with the Mammoth.
This means he cannot play in the NCAA. https://t.co/qQOXpO60ZU
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) March 23, 2026
Caleb Desnoyers is an 18-year-old center from Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada.
Drafted first overall by the Moncton Wildcats in the 2023 QMJHL Draft, Desnoyers transformed into a top five NHL draft pick with his elite hockey IQ, lethal playmaking, consistent scoring and promising two-way game.
Over the last three seasons in Moncton, the young center has been an offensive juggernaut for the Wildcats as he’s registered 218 points (77 goals, 141 assists) with a +89 rating in 161 games.
Notably, Desnoyers also led his junior squad to a QMJHL Championship last season with 30 points as the 2025 Guy Lafleur playoff MVP.
Caleb Desnoyers is the #QPlayoffs MVP!
The @monctonwildcats forward racked up 30 points (9G-21A) in 19 postseason games! 👏 pic.twitter.com/a1ivYQTT36
— QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 19, 2025
More recently, both Desnoyers and fellow Mammoth prospect Gabe Smith led Moncton to back-to-back regular season championships.
🏆 BACK-TO-BACK REGULAR SEASON @QMJHL CHAMPIONS 🏆
The Jean-Rougeau Trophy stays in Moncton.
———-
🏆 DOUBLE CHAMPIONS DE LA SAISON RÉGULIÈRE DE LA @LHJMQ 🏆
Le trophée Jean-Rougeau reste à Moncton.📸 @DanielStLouis pic.twitter.com/BlpMCuHpUu
— Moncton Wildcats (@monctonwildcats) March 21, 2026
“We are thrilled to sign Caleb to an NHL contract,” said Bill Armstrong, general manager of the Utah Mammoth.
“Caleb is an incredibly skilled player who has seen much success throughout his Junior career with Moncton. He has an extremely bright future ahead and we look forward to watching him play for the Mammoth for years to come.”
After signing his entry level contract, Desnoyers becomes ineligible to play in the NCAA.
This means that he will most likely play for the Tucson Roadrunners next season as the NHL, AHL and CHL near an agreement that would allow NHL teams to send 19-year-old, first round draft selections to the AHL with no limits.
Anticipating he doesn’t make Utah’s opening day roster next season, Desnoyers would be eligible to join the rest of Utah’s elite prospects in Tucson.
Depending on who claims a roster spot out of training camp, the Roadrunners could feature the likes of Tij Iginla, Caleb Desnoyers, Cole Beaudoin, Daniil But, Dmitri Simashev and/or Maveric Lamoureux as the Mammoth continue to buy time for their former first round picks to become NHL ready.
Desnoyers entry level contract will begin next season and see him through the 2028-29 campaign until he becomes an RFA.
However, based on current CBA guidelines, the contract could slide (be delayed by one year) as long as he doesn’t play more than 10 NHL games next season.
The Utah Mammoth will continue their four game homestand against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. MT.
The game will be available on ESPN+ & Hulu.
All Mammoth games will also be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM).
