Thu 9 Jul 2026 - 3:00PM
LOWDOWN ON NETMINDER KAI EDMONDS
By Jono Bullard
Nottingham Panthers' latest signing is 25-year-old Canadian netminder Kai Edmonds who joins fellow countryman Mat Robson in the goaltending department for the club.
Born in Ottawa, Edmonds started his career at the Ottawa Jr 67s where he played for their under-14 and under-15 AAA teams, before moving to Cumberland Grads AAA Under-18s in 2015/16 where he had been drafted in the CCHL Bantam Protected Draft in 2015.
In 2016/17, Edmonds played in Simsbury, Connecticut for Westminster Prep of the US High School Preparatory League before moving back to Canada to Barrie Colts of the OHL, who had drafted him in the 2016 OHL Priority Selection Draft.
Edmonds spent two seasons in Barrie and then a further season in the OHL for Mississauga Steelheads in 2019/20. His final OHL stats were 105 games played with a GAA of 3.37 and a 89.4% save percentage.
The covid pandemic of 2020/21 limited Edmonds ice-time but he did make his professional debut in the AHL for Toronto Marlies as a relief netminder, saving three shots and not conceding in a 20-minute stint.
The following season saw him play four games for Evansville Thunderbolts of the US Southern Professional Hockey League in November 2021, followed by four games in the ECHL for Tulsa Oilers and Orlando Solar Bears.
He started his USports career in 2022/23 for Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold, playing out of the iconic, albeit refurbished, Maple Leaf Gardens in downtown Toronto.
His four seasons with TMU saw him break many Bold netminding records, including most career wins with 58, most single-season wins with 19 in 2025/26 and best single season goals-against average of 2.00, as well as single-season save percentage with 93.4% in 2022/23, which helped earn him the TMU Male Rookie of the Year award.
He was also voted team MVP for the 2024/25 season.
Edmonds represented Canada at the World University Winter Games in Lake Placid USA in 2023 and Turin, Italy in 2025.
In Lake Placid, he played six out of seven games, achieving stats of 0.88 GAA, 93.7% save percentage and secured two shutouts in a 9-0 win over Latvia and a 4-0 win over Czechia.
Canada played USA in the final and Edmonds helped them to a 7-2 win to secure the gold medal.
In Turin, Edmonds was on the same team as Panthers team-mate for 2026/27 Ben Corbeil. He played six games out of seven in the tournament once again, finishing with stats of 1.44 GAA, 92.0% save percentage and achieved one shutout in an 11-0 win over South Korea.
He backstopped Canada to the gold medal once again in a 3-1 win over Slovakia in the final.
Edmonds now moves to Nottingham to start his professional hockey career. He’ll be certain to get a huge welcome when he hits the Motorpoint Arena ice in August.