Second generation Amerk excited for fresh start in Rochester
Jul 31, 2025
By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48
For the first time in 28 years, the name Kuntar will be stitched across the back of a Rochester Americans jersey. In July, the team announced the signing of free agent forward Trevor Kuntar to a one-year AHL contract entering the 2025-26 season.
Kuntar, 24, will now wear the same jersey his father, Les, wore during the 1996-97 season, becoming the seventh father-son duo in Amerks franchise history.
“I’m super honored to be a part of this organization,” said Kuntar. “Especially having my dad play there. He was my role model growing up, so it’s just super special. It’s definitely a full circle moment for him.”
Les was a goaltender for the Amerks following the team’s Calder Cup victory in 1996. Under then-head coach John Tortorella, Les appeared in 21 games for an Amerks squad that would go on to capture the Empire State Division title. He posted a 6-9-3 record alongside goaltending partners in Steve Shields and Frederic Deschenes.
Stopping pucks was Les’s job. Trevor’s younger brother, Cameron, is also a goaltender, currently at the collegiate level at Chatham University. But when Trevor saw the puck, he chose to shoot it, not stop it.
“I am not (a goalie) because I was put in the net when I was like five years old and I started trying to play out and skate the other way and that was that. I was playing out dressed in goalie equipment.”
So why did Cameron decide to be a goaltender like his dad?
“I think he’s a goalie because I threw him in the net,” laughed the senior Kuntar.
The two brothers grew up playing with KeyBank Center in the shadows of their home. Being from Buffalo, Trevor grew up a diehard Sabres fan.
“Those years when I was a kid watching guys like (Ryan) Miller, (Danny) Briere, (Jason) Pominville were some of the best years. It was cool being able to go to games and watch those guys and idolize them.”
Even though Kuntar idolized the Sabres from yesteryear, no player was ever held in as high regard as his father. Les played six seasons professionally, but all of them came before Trevor was born.
“I just think as I got a little bit older, especially like going into elementary school when I looked up to the Sabres and my dad would tell me that he played and he was at this level. It was like an ‘oh, wow’…
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