Kage Flory Signs With the Charlottetown Islanders
Player Signing QMJHL August 25, 2026
Forty goals from the blue line gets noticed. Kage Flory scored 40 for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres 16U AAA team last season, and in late August the Charlottetown Islanders made him the newest American on their roster. For a right-shot defenceman out of Grand Island, New York, the QMJHL is a long way from home and a big step up. It is also where his game belongs.
Who is Kage Flory?
Kage is a 2009-born, right-shot defenceman listed at 5'10" and 181 pounds. He came up through the Buffalo Jr. Sabres program, spent his 15U season with Little Caesars in Michigan, then returned to Buffalo for a 16U year that put him on every scout's radar.
In 62 games he posted 40 goals and 34 assists for 74 points, production that would stand out from a forward, let alone a defenceman. He also dressed for one game with the USHL's Chicago Steel, an early taste of junior hockey against older, faster competition.
He is a dynamic, puck-moving blueliner with a scorer's instinct. Watch him for a period and you see why. He carries the puck with confidence, jumps into the rush when the lane opens, and shoots to score rather than to get it on net.
Why the Charlottetown Islanders signing matters
American players do not fall into QMJHL lineups by accident. The league's import and free agent rules make every roster spot a deliberate choice, so when the Islanders bring in a U.S. defenceman, the organization has decided he can help right now.
Charlottetown announced the signing on August 25, 2026, and local coverage called him a fantastic pickup. The Islanders added a defenceman who can run a power play, transition the puck out of his own zone, and chip in offense at a level few 17-year-olds reach.
For Kage, the move means a full major junior schedule, a professional development environment, and a league with a long track record of moving defencemen on to the next level.
How CEM Hockey helped Kage get here
Our job at CEM Hockey is to make sure the right people see the right player at the right time. Kage's season did the heavy lifting. Our work was building the relationships and the conversations that turned a strong statistical year into a signing with a club that fits his style of play.
That process includes the steps families rarely see: keeping a player's name in front of QMJHL staff all season, understanding what each club needs on its back end, and making sure that when a team is ready to commit, the player and his family have a clear picture of what they are saying yes to.
Kage joins a team that wants a mobile, offensive defenceman and has the ice time to develop one.
What comes next for Kage
The 2026-27 season is Kage's first in major junior. The adjustment from 16U to the QMJHL is real, especially for a defenceman, and the early months will be about pace, decision making without the puck, and earning trust from the coaching staff.
He has the skill set to make that leap. We will be following every shift.
Kage, congratulations from everyone at CEM Hockey. Charlottetown got a good one.
Let's chat.
We're ready when you are.
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