(Henderson Silver Knights/ supplied)

By Ian Gustafson

Two-year contract

Former Rebels captain Kai Uchacz making most of opportunity after signing pro contract

Mar 18, 2025 | 1:10 PM

Since the first time he picked up a hockey stick, the goal for Kai Uchacz has always been to one day play professional hockey.

That dream became a reality this season for the former captain of the Red Deer Rebels, who signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League.

The deal is a two-way contract meaning he’ll spend the majority, if not all of his time playing for the Knights’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights, but if the big club comes calling, Uchacz could play in the NHL.

“It feels great,” Uchacz told rdnewsNOW. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of and worked towards my whole life. For it to come true, it’s a dream come true and it’s been pretty surreal the last few weeks. I was really excited to get that done.”

Once Uchacz’s chapter in Red Deer came to a close nearly a year ago, he began his offseason training before receiving an invite to the Golden Knights development camp in Las Vegas in July.

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After that, he signed a one-year AHL contract with the Silver Knights and has been with the team since the start of the 2024-25 campaign.

He’s had an impressive start to his professional career and is tied for the team lead in goals with 13 and is sixth in points with 24 in 55 games. His play earned him a full-time spot for the next two seasons with his new deal.

“It was a bit of an adjustment coming in. The pace was a little quicker and the physicality playing against older guys who are stronger and faster. I was able to get myself in the lineup and stay in the lineup most of the year so far. I’ve been working hard in practice each day to keep developing as a player and it’s been going great so far. I’m playing with a bunch of great teammates we’ve got here in Henderson so it’s been a great year so far.”

Uchacz was also able to reunite with former Rebels teammate and defenceman Christoffer Sedoff.

Together, they suited up in a Rebels uniform for three seasons and took part in multiple playoff runs. Sedoff has been one of the Knights’ top defencemen with four goals and 10 assists in 50 games.

“I texted him when I was coming down for development camp in the summer and we met up for the first time since he left Red Deer,” Uchacz explained. “It’s been awesome to be able to spend time with him and make some more memories with him. We’ve also been out on the golf course a little bit so it’s been great to reunite with Seds.”

Before turning pro, Uchacz spent three seasons with the Rebels, where he served as captain during the 2023-24 campaign.

His best statistical year came during the 2022-23 season where he scored 50 goals and 85 points. That next season, which was his final in Red Deer, Uchacz recorded 42 goals and 39 assists for 81 points in 68 games.

The 21-year-old from DeWinton, Alta. was acquired by the Rebels from the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2021. This came after he was released by the Thunderbirds in March of that year after it was reported he and another teammate directed racist remarks towards black teammate, Mekai Sanders.

Uchacz was required to go through diversity training in order to be reinstated by the league at the time of the reported incident.

Before his time with the Rebels came to an end, he continued work on rehabilitating himself. He also took part in courses, spoke at schools, and worked with a professional in diversity, equity, and inclusion training.

Since he’s joined the Knights, he’s taken part in team activities such as feeding the homeless and giving his time talking to kids in the community.

“So far, this year I’ve been focusing on just settling in with the team. It’s different moving away to a different country and living on my own,” he said.

“Everything I learned in Red Deer and how I’ve built my foundation from there, it’s been great just to be able to bring that over to Henderson. All the staff and everyone who’s helped me along the way in Red Deer I can’t thank them enough.

“When I was in Red Deer I worked really hard to keep developing as a person and as a player. Just getting to this point, playing my first year of pro hockey it’s been awesome to be out here and learning new things each day… It was awesome to be able to sign that contract and now I have the opportunity to hopefully get called up one day.”

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