Lokomotiv retains its core; Ak Bars strengthen with Canadian players. Top transfers
Byron Froese renew ties with Lokomotiv, Ak Bars signs two Canadian players, and Lucas Lockhart moves to the Western Conference. KHL.ru presents the top international transfers of the last week.
Byron Froese
New contract with Lokomotiv
Despite losing head coach Igor Nikitin to CSKA, Lokomotiv is keeping most of its core intact, and a further move in this direction is renewing ties with Byron Froese. The Canadian forward, at his first season outside of his native North America, scored 33 points for the Railwaymen in the regular season, adding another eight in 19 postseason appearance as he helped Lokomotiv rising the Gagarin Cup for the first time in its history. Froese’s new contract, a one-year deal, appears like a logical move for the Yaroslavl team, who now will be in front of the hardest of the tasks: repeat its success.
Kyle Olson
From HKM Zvolen (Slovakia) to Admiral
After acquiring goalie Adam Huska, Admiral completed another interesting signing on the international market inking Calgary native forward Kyle Olson. The forward, who turned 26 in March, had an excellent season with HKM Zvolen in the top-flight Slovakian league, leading the team with 32 goals, trailing only former Kunlun Red Star’s Adam Cracknell, who scored three more. After three years in the AHL, Olson moved to Switzerland, where he helped HC La Chaux-de-Fonds winning the second league’s title in 2024. Then, he signed with Zvolen. And now, a new challenge awaits him in Vladivostok. He’s currently the fourth import for the Far Eastern franchise, with Huska, Mario Grman, and Libor Sulak – the Sailors still have an open slot.
Wyatt Kalynuk
From Pelicans (Finnish Liiga) to Ak Bars
After a relatively disappointing 2024-2025 campaign, with a 2-4 loss to Dynamo Moscow in the Gagarin Cup playoffs second round, the Kazan side has been strangely quiet on the market, and its first international signing is defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk, who lined up for Pelicans in the Finnish Liiga last season. The puck-moving blueliner had 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in Finland in 2024-2025, but his team had to play in the relegation round. The Manitoba native is expected to have a prominent role within his new team, who also have Mitchell Miller on the blue line as another competitive international option.
Brandon Biro
From Coachella Valley Firebirds to Ak Bars
Right after Kalymuk, Ak Bars announced the signing of another Canadian player, forward Brendan Biro. The Alberta native, who turned 27 in March, will be at his first experience overseas after five seasons in North American pro leagues, mostly for the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Last year Biro, who had six games in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, produced 34 points (6 goals, 28 assists) for the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Biro is a quick skater with good hands and should be an interesting offensive option for Ak Bars’ top two lines.
Lucas Lockhart
From Kunlun Red Star to Spartak
With Slovak forward Adam Ruzicka so far not inking a new deal with the Red-and-Whites, Spartak decided to compensate the potential loss by signing Lucas Lockhart. The British Columbia forward is a veteran of eight seasons in the KHL, all with Kunlun Red Star. Lockhart, 32, just posted a career-high 33 points with the Dragons, and joined Spartak on a two-year contract. The forward has 446 KHL appearances under his belt, as well as a participation at the 2022 Olympics with Team China. He is expected to bring leadership, experience, and some secondary scoring to Spartak.
Dean Stewart
From Vityaz to Salavat Yulaev
With Vityaz not participating in the 2025-2026 season, many good players found themselves a new home. One of these was Canadian defenseman Dean Stewart. The Manitoba native had his first season in the league last term, producing 15 (5+10) points for Vityaz on the blue line and showcasing a good overall game. Now, he’s going to try and help Salavat Yulaev improve its chances next year. Stewart is Ufa’s fourth import for the season, joining Alexander Chmelevsky, Joshua Leivo, and Jack Rodewald.
