Man of the Week: Brennan Menell

KHL.ru’s weekly column returns with Brennan Menell. The American blueliner had a striking start to the 2026-2027 campaign, posting six points in the first three games of the season.

The Shanghai Dragons have started the 2026-2027 season with a renewed roster and sense of purpose, and blueliner Brennan Menell has quickly emerged as one of the leading figures in their impressive opening. The defenseman has collected six points in his first three games, including two goals and four assists, while posting a plus-2 differential. He saved his biggest contribution for the Dragons’ latest outing, scoring 1:53 into overtime to give Shanghai a dramatic 4:3 victory over Dinamo Minsk in front of a crowd of more than 15,000 – an audience he knows very well as he spent the 2020-2021 campaign in the Belarusian capital.

Menell’s hot start comes at an important time for the franchise. The Dragons have undergone significant changes both on and off the ice, with former KHL and NHL star Ilya Kovalchuk appointed as the club’s president in April and Evgeny Artyukhin taking over as general manager. The new management structure has brought fresh ambition to the franchise, and the team has responded with two OT victories in its first three games. Menell has been at the heart of that start, providing production from the blue line while playing an important role in all situations.

Early years

Born in Woodbury, Minnesota, on May 24, 1997, Menell began his junior career with the Vancouver Giants before moving to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. His final WHL season was particularly impressive, as he recorded 71 (12+59) points in 70 regular-season games and added 17 points in 20 playoff appearances. That production earned him a three-year entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild in 2017 despite ending up undrafted in the selections.

Menell spent three seasons in the Wild organization with Iowa and eventually made his NHL debut in December 2019. He appeared in five games for Minnesota before moving to the KHL the following season. His first campaign in Russia immediately demonstrated that he could be a major offensive contributor from the blue line, as he posted 38 (5+33) points in 47 regular-season games for Dinamo Minsk, finishing second among KHL defensemen in scoring trailing only Torpedo’s Chris Wideman. He added seven points in just five playoff games.

After returning briefly to North America, Menell came back to the KHL with Dynamo Moscow in 2022. He spent three seasons with the Moscow club and won the Continental Cup in 2024 as the KHL’s top team in the regular season before joining SKA in 2025. Last season, his first in St. Petersburg, he recorded 17 (8+9) points in 56 regular-season games.

A productive defenseman

Menell has long been known for his ability to contribute offensively without sacrificing his defensive responsibilities. His early-season numbers with the Dragons further underline that quality. He opened the campaign with a hat-trick of assists in a 5:4 OT victory over Neftekhimik, before being held off the scoresheet in a 1:3 loss to Lokomotiv. Against Dinamo Minsk, however, he produced his most decisive performance yet, scoring the OT winner following a perfect feed from Dmitrij Jaskin and adding a helper earlier in the game.

With six points through three games, Menell is currently Shanghai’s leading scorer and the most productive defenseman in the KHL at the beginning of the campaign.

His offensive instincts are nothing new. During his AHL career with the Iowa Wild, Menell developed into one of the league’s more productive blueliners, recording 47 points in 57 games in 2019-2020 and earning First Team AHL All-Star honors. He finished that campaign second among AHL defensemen in scoring and led all blueliners in assists.

A new challenge

Now, Menell has become one of the experienced pieces in Shanghai’s new-look organization. He has already spent several seasons in the KHL and received Russian citizenship in 2023, giving him an unusually deep understanding of the league for a player who arrived from North America at just 23 years old. In 2023, he described himself as a “KHL ambassador” and said he wanted to remain in the league for as long as possible.

That experience could prove particularly valuable for the Dragons as the franchise enters a new chapter. With Kovalchuk now part of the organization’s leadership and a new season underway, Shanghai will hope its early success is the beginning of something bigger. Menell’s performances suggest he intends to play a major role in that process.