Manitoba Moose Defenseman Signs One-Year Contract in KHL

The chain of Manitoba Moose players signing overseas will continue as Dean Stewart is headed overseas to play in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Stewart follows former Moose teammate Kristian Reichel who signed a three-year deal with Adler Mannheim in the DEL.

Dean Stewart signed a one-year deal for the 2024-25 season with HC Vityaz in the KHL as first reported by Hockey News Hub.

Stewart, 25, is coming off of a rocky 2023-24 season in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose. He played 35 games and scored five points (1G, 4A) and recorded 25 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-2 right-shot defenseman recorded a plus-minus of minus-six this season.

This is a setback of a professional season for Stewart. He recorded 18 points (1G, 17A) and 26 PIMs in 61 games for the Moose in 2022-23 and he was a minus-four throughout this 61-game run.

Dean Stewart was the pride of Portage La Prarie, Manitoba. The hometown product played for the Portage Terriers in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) for two seasons before heading to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for four seasons. Throughout Stewart’s time with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he was drafted in the seventh round at 188th overall by the Arizona Coyotes (now NHL Utah) in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

After finishing college in the 2019-20 season, Stewart journeyed his way to his first steps of professional hockey where he played for the Witchita Thunder of the ECHL. Throughout 116 games for the Manitoba Moose across three seasons, he scored three goals and 29 assists.