Senators, Kevin Reidler Agree To Entry-Level Contract

The Senators have agreed to terms with goalie prospect Kevin Reidler on a two-year, entry-level contract starting next season, general manager Steve Staios said. He will report to AHL Belleville on an amateur tryout to finish the 2025-26 campaign. Per PuckPedia, the deal comes with a $946.3K cap hit, a $990K qualifying offer upon expiry, and the following breakdown:

Reidler, 21, was a fifth-round pick by the Sens in 2022. Since then, he has appeared for four different teams in three different leagues. He remained in his native Sweden for his post-draft season, suiting up for AIK’s under-20 squad in that country’s top junior division.

The 6’6″, 203-lb lefty has played in North America ever since. He spent an additional year in juniors with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints before committing to the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2024 and arriving as their freshman backup the following fall.

Reidler played well for the Mavericks, but his playing time was extremely limited behind junior starter Simon Latkoczy. He only recorded eight appearances and five decisions but had a .920 SV%, 2.74 GAA, and a 4-1-0 record.

Once it was clear Latkoczy was returning to Omaha for his senior season, Reidler entered the transfer portal in search of more playing time. He found it at Penn State, where he served in tandem with undrafted freshman Josh Fleming. Fleming ended up winning out the starting job heading into tournament play but Reidler still managed 18 appearances, putting up an 11-7-0 record with a .901 SV% and 3.31 GAA.

With Fleming likely set as Penn State’s clear-cut #1 next season, Reidler’s options were to either stick around as his backup, enter the transfer portal again in search of a starting role, or turn pro and continue his development while under an entry-level deal with Ottawa. He chooses the latter, becoming just the third Sens goalie signed through next season behind Linus Ullmark and ECHL starter Jackson Parsons. Leevi Merilainen and Mads Sogaard are both pending restricted free agents under team control, though, so he could fall down to No. 5 on the depth chart if those two return.

As such, Reidler might get a spot start with Belleville in the coming days but is likely destined for ECHL time, as is usually the case with first-year pro netminders, out of the gate in the fall. Reidler was the #8-ranked prospect in Ottawa’s pool last offseason by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff and held the same ranking in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s analysis earlier this month. He’s not viewed as his ceiling being much higher than a #2/3 option, but his turning pro earlier than expected could allow him to get a leg up on the depth chart.