for frontenacs' mondoux, first go-round in an nhl camp pays off in summer skates with rangers prospects
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kingston frontenacs defenceman andre mondoux marks ottawa 67's centre jasper kuhta in game 2 of their first-round ontario hockey league playoff series at td place on march 29, 2026 in ottawa. the new york rangers selected mondoux in the sixth round of of 2026 nhl entry draft last weekend. (photo courtesy of by tim austen/ottawa 67's)
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it wasn’t madison square garden but rather the madison square garden training centre in the town of greenburgh, but it still felt like the bright lights and big city to frontenacs defenceman andre mondoux on his stint at the new york rangers’ prospects camp last week.
that’s easy to understand if a teenager who was making the trip from his hometown of sturgeon falls on lake nipissing had stars in his eyes. and mondoux admitted it was a lot to take in over just a few days.
“honestly, if you asked me, i couldn’t tell you where their training centre was, but it was about an hour from the city,” said mondoux, who was selected by the rangers in the sixth round of the nhl entry draft last month.
likewise, mondoux was stumped when asked who was leading the rangers’ blueline prospects through power-skating workouts, training sessions and drills. “there was so many people that i was meeting for the first time, it was hard keeping all the names straight,” he said.
not that the 19-year-old felt overwhelmed by the moment—though he’d only been to new york once before on a family trip, he was working with a degree of familiarity.
others selected by the rangers in the nhl draft this year were seeing a nhl camp for the first time, but mondoux knew what he was getting into.
given that he played only eight games with the frontenacs in the 2024-25 season, skating mostly with the pickering panthers in junior a, it was little surprise that mondoux was passed over last year in his first eligibility for the nhl draft.
that he received an invitation as a free agent to philadelphia’s camp last september raised eyebrows. it was even more the case when the flyers kept mondoux around their camp longer than then frontenacs’ captain jacob battaglia lasted in the calgary flames’ camp as a second-round draft pick under contract.
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mondoux didn’t wind up signing a contract with the flyers, but he came away richer for the experience. the fall camp is an even more intense and challenging environment than the post-draft sessions, something along the lines of orientation.
“that time in the flyers’ camp really helped when i went to new york,” mondoux said. “it gave me more confidence. there’s pressure with anything like this, but i felt good about it.”
among a group of 18-year-olds, the 19-year-old passed for an old hand.
mondoux didn’t make the trip from sturgeon falls to buffalo for the nhl entry draft last month, hosting a party at his house in anticipation of his name being called. he had finished the season ranked no. 142 among north american skaters and, by his estimate, he talked to 20 teams during the season. that seemed like sufficient grounds for inviting friends and family over. he found out the rangers had selected him no. 162 when his name came up on the ticker during the broadcast saturday afternoon.
“to get drafted by any nhl team is an honour, but i think it’s different with an original six club” mondoux said. “i’m going to a team with a lot of history.”
the draft isn’t the stuff of the bygone past, but rather the future and to that end, the rangers’ depth chart augurs well for mondoux landing a contract with the club and making progress through the ranks.
going into the 2026 draft, the athletic’s scott wheeler slotted the blueshirts’ pool of prospects no. 18 in the league. moreover, only one defenceman made the list of the rangers’ top prospects, e.j. emery of the university of north dakota. that emery shoots right means the overlap with the left-shooting mondoux is incidental.
the only other left-side defenceman mentioned in the rangers’ rankings was drew fortescue of boston college, a 2023 third-round draftee who played on a couple of u.s. world junior teams, no. 12 in new york’s prospects pool.
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thus, it wasn’t a surprise that the rangers dedicated their first two selections in the 2026 draft to defenceman who shoot left: with the no.5 pick, they tapped alberts smits, who played for the latvian team at the 2026 olympics; and at no. 64 ben macbeath of the calgary hitmen.
at 6-feet-4, mondoux has an inch on smits, the second tallest of the rangers depth chart at the position. given that mondoux wlll be going into only his second year of major-junior hockey, he falls into the category of a late-blooming prospect. with a commitment to notre dame university for the 2027-28 season, it might be a slow build, a development curve not like others on the rangers’ list, but time isn’t mondoux’s enemy at this point.
“the rangers told me that i’d hear from the development [staff] during the season and that i’d get in skates with them,” mondoux said. “i’m looking to build on last season, take more of a leadership role with the fronts, maybe see more time on special teams.”
give kingston’s own depth chart on the blueline, the departures of will bishop, maleek mcgowan and van williamson, mondoux can count on even heavier load than last season and a look at contributing from the point on the powerplay.
in the end, it’s less important that mondoux remembers the rangers’ names—it’s all about making them remember his.
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