Former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Jeremy Bracco has signed a one-year contract extension to remain with Germany’s Eisbären Regensburg, a club that competes in the DEL2, the second tier of pro hockey in the country. The 29-year-old is a 2015 second-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs who was once a star scorer in the OHL, primarily with the Kitchener Rangers.
By the time his junior hockey career concluded, he was considered a top-100 prospect. In 2017, Corey Pronman, then writing for ESPN, ranked Bracco the 79th-best prospect in hockey. Although the 5’10” forward’s OHL scoring translated directly to the AHL (he won the Calder Cup as a rookie in 2018 and scored 22 goals and 79 points in 2018-19), he never earned an NHL call-up.
He was not extended a qualifying offer after 2019-20, and left North America to sign in Finland.
Since signing with Liiga’s KalPa Kuopio for the 2020-21 season, Bracco has bounced around Europe’s professional leagues. He’s found some success, including as a quality top-six scorer in the DEL and KHL. Bracco finished the 2024-25 season with HK Poprad in the Slovak Extraliga, and began 2025-26 there as well.
But after scoring just five points in nine games, Bracco departed Poprad to sign in the DEL2 with Regensburg, where he will now remain for an additional season. In 37 games for the second-division club, Bracco scored 14 goals and 38 points. His nine points in 10 playoff games helped Regensburg make a push for promotion to the DEL, before falling just short in the semifinals.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
J.C. Beaudin, a former Ottawa Senators forward who played 22 games for the team in 2019-20, signed a one-year contract with the DEL’s Straubing Tigers. The move will put the 6’2″ center back in Germany’s top league after a two-year absence.
After leaving the North American pro game in the summer of 2022, Beaudin spent two seasons in the DEL with Wolfsburg, meaning he has some experience in the league. In 2024, Beaudin signed with TPS Turku in Finland’s Liiga, where he would have his strongest season as a European pro, scoring 42 points in 57 games. The QMJHL and ECHL champion has proven he can be a solid top-six pivot in Europe, and Beaudin will look to bounce back in Germany after enduring a disappointing 2025-26 season.
A former star NCAA goaltender has signed an extension to remain in the ECHL. The Cincinnati Cyclones signed a one-year deal to bring back netminder Kaidan Mbereko. Formerly one of the top American goaltenders in his age group, Mbereko represented the U.S.
at two IIHF World Junior Championships. He had a stellar collegiate career with Colorado College, one that ended in the spring. He was the No. 1 goalie for the program dating back to his freshman year when he posted a .925 save percentage and 2.30 goals-against-average in 30 games, despite a 9-16-2 record.
In total, Mbereko went 57-57-10 in college with a cumulative save percentage of .915. This past season, Mbereko was named the NCHC’s top goalie and was nominated for the Hobey Baker. While he has not garnered significant NHL interest to this point, Mbereko has at least attended NHL development camp and received a call-up to play in the AHL.