Mooseheads select forwards Oleg Kulebyakin & Jasu Mensonen
2025-07-02
Your Halifax Mooseheads added a major piece to the forward group on Wednesday when the team selected Russian Oleg Kulebyakin with the ninth overall pick in the CHL Import Draft.
The 5-foot-10 winger weighs 170 pounds and scored 77 points in 33 games with the Carolina Junior Hurricanes U16 AAA last season. Kulebyakin had 33 goals and 39 assists to place second on his team in scoring and was coached by former NHL stars Justin Williams and Ryan Smyth.
Kulebyakin (January 11th, 2008) who hails from St. Petersburg, Russia, shoots left and plays right wing. He added another 15 points in nine games with the Junior Hurricanes in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League 16U last season.
General Manager Cam Russell then added left-shooting 18-year-old forward Jasu Mensonen of Finland with his second pick of the import draft, 70th overall. Mensonen, who scored 26 points in 40 games with Lukko U20 is 5-foot-11 and weighs 183 pounds. He also had 16 points in 29 games while representing Finland Internationally at the U18 level.
Russell confirmed that both players are committed to the Mooseheads and will report to training camp in August.
General Manager Cam Russell talks about adding forwards Oleg Kulebyakin 🇷🇺 & Jasu Mensonen 🇫🇮 at the CHL Import Draft. #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/ubbIqHy7qK
— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) July 2, 2025
Kulebyakin and Mensonen will join German defenceman Carlos Handel as the three import players on the Mooseheads roster in 2025-26. Handel was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round of the NHL Entry Draft over the weekend. The Canadian Hockey League adopted new rules for the upcoming season to increase the maximum amount of import players allowed on a roster from two to three.
In other Mooseheads news, former Herd goalie Jacob Steinman was invited to participate in development camp with the St. Louis Blues while forward Liam Kilfoil received an invitation to Detroit Red Wings rookie camp in September. 2025 second round draft pick Cameron Minella was named to the U.S. Under-17 Men’s Select Team at the Under-17 Four Nations Tournament at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, from August 5-9.
