Why The Utah Mammoth Are WAY BETTER Than You Think

Why The Utah Mammoth Are WAY BETTER Than You Think

What’s up, guys? Welcome back to the channel. This video is long overdue, but I’m so ecstatic to finally be able to put out a piece on the Utah Mammoth. Now, just to preface before we get into today’s video, I’m not an expert on Utah hockey. But don’t worry, I brought on a special guest who’s going to help us go through everything that’s been happening in Utah, from the city welcoming their new team to the players to all of the moves that have happened this off season. But before we get into today’s video, if you guys have been enjoying the content lately, be sure to give this one a thumbs up and subscribe. And we’re also going to be moving me reading off your comments to the end of the videos. I’ve been seeing a lot of requests for this. You guys want to get into the topic a little bit quicker. So, I hear you. Stay tuned for that at the end. But with all that being said, let’s get into my interview here talking about the Utah Mammoth. All right, guys. So, this is Michael Wolf. As you’ve requested, we finally have someone coming on to talk about the Utah Mammoth. Uh he runs his own very popular Instagram account, has his own podcast. It’s doing incredibly well. Michael, why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself to the audience? Tell them what’s up and uh what you got going on in uh Utah right now.
Yeah, absolutely. So, I um about a year and a couple months ago started an Instagram account cuz there was a hockey team moving into a stadium that’s 10 minutes from my house in Salt Lake. And uh I it it caught on pretty quickly cuz no one else is talking about Utah. I think still similar things are happening where there’s just not a lot of um independent media around around Utah. And at that point there was no actual media around the Utah hockey club, nor was there a team that existed. So, I uh I kind of just it was a cool opportunity to involve myself independently um in the Utah hockey community. And yeah, I that was a year and two months ago at this point. And since then, you know, a couple months after that, we started a podcast. And uh it’s just called the Utah Hockey Podcast. Pretty pretty not very creative, but pretty search authoritative.
Straight to the point, right?
I know. Yeah. not not trying to confuse anybody about what we’re talking about. So, um,
for sure that’s super exciting. We have a couple different co-hosts. One of our co-hosts is uh is a kind of a a well-known women’s hockey player in in Utah and she’s really involved with that community and the other co-hosts is an official um insider with the team. So, come at uh the topic of Utah hockey with a lot of from a lot of different angles. And then um just from my side, I just anything that happens with Utah hockey, I’m on top of. I’m actually currently in Los Angeles postdraft still. Um got here a couple days before the draft. My wife is from here, so we uh you know, visiting in-laws and happened like I told you off air. Uh maybe maybe an a trip that was orchestrated a little bit by myself and in terms of timing. Um, and so I was able to attend the draft and watch watch the first player get drafted in a mammoth sweater. So that was pretty sweet.
Yeah. And we’ll get into the draft obviously in a little bit too, but I want to just know a little bit more about you. So you mentioned um this was the first time you got into kind of covering hockey. So were you a hockey fan before? Did you support another franchise before this? Or was this kind of your introduction to hockey? Like yeah, I’m just going to get started watching.
Yeah. Um, I suppose that’s an important backstory. I I’m originally from Alaska. Um, but my dad is a a Michigan um native. So, I’m a I I grew up a diehard Detroit Red Wings fan. Um, I was born in ’96, so first two years um we won a cup and then O2, won it again. I I sort of remember O2. I really remember 08 and uh yeah, still still a a big Red Wings fan. Still follow that team pretty closely, but more from an more from a media side. I feel like I’m definitely more on top of the UK club now. Um, just because I’ I’ve become this like um almost go-to, at least for people on Instagram, almost like go-to hockey expert. It’s weird. Um, because I I I never consider myself a hockey expert, just a really really big fan of the sport. Always kind of wanted it to be to be something in Utah because I’ve only lived in Utah for eight years. I moved there kind of my adult life has been spent in Utah. Um, but my upbringing is in Alaska, so grew up around a pretty like tight-knit hockey culture up there. Um, but mostly just grew up playing pond hockey and loving the sport from a distance and um, this was just kind of an opportunity for me to I don’t know, like dive in a little bit more to the sport. I definitely feel like even I I’ve learned a lot over the last um year and a couple months, but I I definitely uh know more than the average Uton who’s just getting into it. And so, it’s been fun to kind of be a go-to source of of hockey knowledge and
uh knowledge of the sport. Obviously, like growing up a Red Wings fan, I I come like built in with a lot of historical knowledge of of a lot of important things that have happened in hockey history. being a fanative of an06 franchise probably you probably know that yourself being a Boston Bruins fan.
Um and uh there are franchises that I dislike a lot more than than Boston. So that’s good
um for this case. But yeah, it’s uh it’s it’s it’s been it’s been fun to be a part of it. I’m I’m a I I actually run a marketing agency um on that’s like my job. I I own a marketing agency and uh have two kids and a wife and so um it’s kind of fun being able to like usher in this um new hockey culture in Utah and be a part of it and let my kids be a part of it and you know getting my son on skates and getting him his own jersey and stuff like that. It’s kind of it’s been fun. It’s been really fun to be a part of it and the the culture here in Utah, the hockey culture especially. Well, I feel like there are a lot of similarities in in places like Minnesota and and it’s weird. It’s this like mixture of of of desert, like a lot of a lot of the same kind of people that you’d see in Arizona
and and mountains more of what you’d see in in maybe maybe the um I know that Minnesota is not super mountainous, but maybe a similar culture up there, but it it definitely is its own thing. Utah is is super family centric and um has a heav he heavy influence of of really religious people. So it’s it’s it’s interesting. They already know how to dedicate themselves to something. So yeah, that kind of kind of goes along with my next question. Do you feel like the city has kind of embraced the whole idea of the mammoth and uh the kind of the culture of hockey a little bit? And do you think that it has parallels to other expansion teams that we’ve seen kind of join? I know there’s like Vegas, Seattle, they had some big markets, but Utah isn’t exactly one that people thought of when it came to hockey. So, uh, you kind of mentioned that they embrace a lot of things. They’re really loyal to things and stuff like that. Do you feel like it’s been a good experience so far?
I feel like it’s been a great experience. Just, um, perspective from from players. Um, we’ve interviewed a a couple different players and people in the organization and um on on the Utah hockey podcast and it seems to be this consistent answer of um they were it maybe coming in with lesser expectations. Not that Arizona the Arizona hockey market is activated and awesome and they have incredible fans down there. It’s just that it was a mixture of the government and maybe an owner that wasn’t so great down there. um unfortunate situation, but I think it was
a shock to them to come to a place that’s not considered I I would consider Utah mid-level market. And I think that I mean in in the in the very near near future, I think we’ll see bigger name free agents and and and u flocking to Utah just because it is this like it’s the winter sports mecca of the United States.
It you you can’t get closer to ski resorts here. You can’t you can’t get closer to ski resorts in a major city in the entire United States. You can’t get closer to all of the Olympic level training for winter sports in the United States. It’s all here. It’s all in it’s all in Utah because of the O2 Olympics and then the Olympics coming back in the very near in in the next 10 years. Um, I just feel like fans were already in love with winter sports, already in already like cold weather, already like being in the cold. And so to be in the cold inside with a drink, watching people run into each other with with knives attached to their their feet was just this something clicked in in Utah in Utah fans. And I think it’s it’s just such an easy sport to love
because we have a mixture of fans who have been around forever. There’s also a lot of transplants here in Utah. So you have a you have a mixture of fans who have been around for a long time. fans who are coming who are already fans of other teams and coming from different states like myself, but more specifically New Yorkers coming in and they’re already Rangers fans and people from Chicago coming in and and they’re already Blackhawks fans and even people a lot of movement from the from California to Utah that Utons often complain about, but a lot of Kings fans here, a lot of Ducks fans here um that already love the sport and so it’s this like melting pot. They call it the crossroads of the west is the nickname for Salt Lake City. It very much is. You’re close to all the major cities in the western United States and close to all this incredible nature and people just want something to love that’s going to love them back here. And it’s been hard for major sports fans in Utah because they don’t have a a big four championship. The Jazz don’t have one.
Yeah. Yeah.
And um I think there’s a better chance that Utah brings one in the next I mean with the base that they’ve built, there’s a better chance they bring one in the next 5 to 10 years than there’s that the Jazz do. So I I just think hockey players already love Utah because they come here and they’re like, “Oh, I’m from Canada. I I I like the cold. I like the mountains. I’m from or they’re from Europe and they already like cold and mountains already.” And so it’s it’s just this um thing where if you love us, we’ll love you. And um they came here and loved it right off the bat with the way that the fans have embraced the team. And like I have they embraced hockey culture. I don’t know cuz that was the question. But they have embraced the team and the NHL and the sport really well.
That kind of goes to the next part which is like our the team in general. You mentioned they have a solid base. I think that they’re even ahead on that, especially with some of the moves that they’ve made so far this off season. So, let’s just start with the biggest move. Obviously, they acquired JJ Purka. How do you feel about that trade? Do you like the move? I mean, a lot of people are on the side of Utah with this one, so I’m sure we already know your answer, but what are your kind of general thoughts on Purka joining the team?
Yeah, I guess my general thoughts are initially I I really like Josh and Mike Kessle Ring. Mhm.
So, um, from a like feeling standpoint, which a lot of Utah hockey fans I think are more still in like the um, it’s it’s hard to say it’s just a business when you’ve like embraced this team and fallen fall in love with these players so far, but it is true. A business standpoint and from a number standpoint, acquiring JJ Brerka was a fantastic move. From a hockey from pretty much every angle, it makes a lot of sense. But, um, I do think that Josh and Mike Kessle Ring are underrated. I think Josh Stone is kind of on the on the cusp of having a having a breakout season and I hope he does it in Buffalo. Mike Kessler is a really good offensive minded for defenseman who can score and likes to shoot and is big and um we just saw it like both of them won a gold medal um with Team USA and we saw how good Mike Kesserin can be in those situations when playing against tough competition and and and countries who who play for their countries and play hard. Um, so I will say that I do love Josh and my Kesler Ring right off the bat. We just interviewed Josh like two weeks ago and then he was trained the next week. It was so it was it was actually a bummer. But um, what wasn’t a bummer is acquiring a guy who can score you 30 goals
and who can pair in on a on, you know, top two lines, probably first line in on this team. Um, it’ll be interesting to see how the lines shake out, but um, I’m over the moon excited about that move. Last year it was pretty evident that our new ownership and our GM wants to win with the Sergeev move and then almost a year later they make a move for a guy like JJ Burka and only have to give up Josh and Mike when when we were getting rumblings about the move being made and we’re still waiting for details. I thought they were giving up the fourth overall pick or there was going to be some sort of pick swap. Yeah.
Um and and players involved in other pieces, but to just have to give up players and what a lot of Utah fans maybe don’t know and and what a lot of fans in general don’t notice because JJ Purka has developed the way he has and he’s already scoring like a like a a potential top tier player in the league. Top top tier scorer at least. He He’s the same age as Josh.
Yeah.
And Josh spent a lot of time in the AHL this last this last year. So, great move.
Yeah.
Yeah. And I think there’s a lot of upside with both players. I think that Buffalo’s getting kind of a bad rep on the trade cuz I think you’re right. They needed a right-handed defenseman. I think Kessle Ring is going to be great for them. And also Josh Stone does have some upside. I think the concern from Buffalo is probably more like every time we have a good player, we trade them. They go on and do great things. So for you guys, I’m hoping it’s the same story for Buffalo. Feel bad, but I’m hoping it’s good for you guys for that.
I hope this is another Jack Jack Eel, Sam Reinhardt, or any of the other
50 players that they’ve traded that have just that have gone off in other places. So
yeah, exactly.
Thank you, Buffalo.
Yeah, always thank you Buffalo. I think every team around the league can say that at some point. There were some other cool free agent signings for you guys as well. You got Tanv Schmidt, Yamamoto, I think, signed with you guys as well. And then you got Vanichek, I believe is how you say his name, the backup goalie for Yep. the Panthers last year.
I think these are really nice depth signings. I think like you said, it shows that ownership really does want to invest in this team and bring in players who know how to win, are physical. Um, do you like all of these signings as well? I mean, I don’t think any of them were super crazy. I think the biggest one was like uh Brandon Tanv, but are these all pretty solid for you as well?
Yeah, solid depth guys. There was rumors. There was rumblings around Utah with basically every big name. Um, and maybe I was creating those rumblings a little bit because I wanted it to happen. Obviously, there’s guys like Marshian that wanted to come here. He has business ties here. He likes Utah as a state and as a place, but um, turns out the super teams staying together in Florida. And I think when you think about uh, powerful, gritty forwards, Brandon Tennis really, really good pickup um, at least for for depth. And then Sam McNe just won a cup. Bringing some experience and some depth here.
He also gave Liam O’Brien his nickname in the juniors. So, so pretty cool. Gets to come and play with some friends. So, um, happy for him to get paid a little bit and come in and maybe be a mentor for some of the young defenseman that we have. Sure. And then, uh, now we’re speaking of young players, you guys obviously didn’t trade your pick in the draft thankfully because you got yourself a really cool player. I’m going to try to say his name. Is it Deon Deon? Is that how you say?
Deno Yay.
Yeah,
do Yay. All right, perfect. Uh, so he obviously is going to come in. I’m not expecting him to slot into their lineup year one, but tell me about the player. Are you excited about him fitting in at this core? And is there a potential of him slotting into their lineup within the next two years or say?
Yeah, at at the draft there was a pretty um consistent sentiment among media members that this kid could be the best player in the league. He just recently had had some surgery on his wrist that um or some work done on his wrist that I I uh or wrist injuries. I don’t actually think that he had surgery. Um but the that was kind of a little bit of a concern with him after watching some of this tape from the development camp. Pretty confident that we could look back in a couple years and this could be the best player coming out of this draft. Nothing against Michael Misa, nothing against Matthew Schaefer. both fantastic players, both going to have great careers, but um I Denoier is is big, he’s fast, he’s skilled, he uh he just has this this mind for the puck. He’s super creative. He’s he’s able to get the puck in the right places. And I think the concern for Utah is that we didn’t have any depth down the middle in our prospects. And this like miraculous fourth overall pick that really we weren’t even supposed to have. It felt like solved that problem and um solved it in in a in a really big way because there was
some rumblings that they were going to move up. There were some rumblings that they were going to move down. Most of the rumblings were were that they were going to move back and try and take a guy like Brady Martin. Um but instead we got a big skilled forward that um solves a lot of problems and I yeah I would see him he’s I don’t think he’s going to slot into the lineup this year. He wants to. He said that, but um I think it’s a little more likely because just because he’s he doesn’t have that like man size yet. He’s 18. He’s 18. No, no one of us had that man size when we were 18.
Um so I I think he’s just going to put on some extra pounds and continue to develop. Um still up in the air where he’s going to play, but I I would see him sliding in hopefully as soon as next year, but um even more uh realistically maybe even in a couple years. But I’m not super concerned about him getting in immediately cuz Utah doesn’t need to do that. We’re not in a rush.
Sure. And then we’ll just finish this off with two quick questions for you. First one, uh, player to watch this year. Who is the player that you think is either going to have a breakout season or is going to be maybe the most exciting player to watch on Utah coming up?
Yeah. Um, this is gonna this probably sounds like a little bit of a copout answer, but with the development and all these players are gonna be are just so exciting to watch. Dylan Gunther’s shot, Logan Coulie’s entire game is awesome. Like he plays the whole ice and he’s he’s going to be one of the better players in the league very very soon. Um, Clayton Keller’s poised to have a have a 80 point have a 100 100 point season. Mhm. He he he hit 90 this last year with playing with kids.
Yeah.
And playing with a bunch of different line combinations just because of of injuries and them trying to figure out where does Gunther slot, where does slot. Um I think him with some consistent line mates with JJ Purka playing the first line every once in a while with Logan taking the next step in his career. I I just feel like Clayton Keller is underrated and underappreciated
in in the league in general. people. I I just feel like people need to put a little bit more respect on Clayton Keller’s name because he is a star in the league. He should be playing in the Olympics this year with the United States. And with the team that they have now assembled around him, I have no doubt that he’s going to be able to make that next step in his development cuz he’s 26. Like he’s still he’s he’s still not necessarily in his prime. Yeah.
Um I feel like people have felt like we’ve watched him forever with the Coyotes because that maybe that time felt like it was going slow down in Arizona with with all the development and all the trades of major players. So um him but gosh I just freaking love Logan watching watching that kid play.
He’s still a child and he’s still so underdeveloped and his game is still is just so good. So, um, I would say when it comes to players that I just really enjoy watching, those two young guys and Gunther and Kie uh are it’s it’s electric. Gunther’s Gunther’s shot in offensive game and his release is ridiculous. One of the best one of the best shot releases in the entire league and he’s 21 22 and uh Logan Kohley just his entire game he looks so he’s kind of got a baby face. He just looks so um I don’t know, you wouldn’t expect much out of him, but he’s just he’s an animal.
So, yep. And uh last question, where does Utah finish this year? Are we talking playoffs this year? Are we going to actually see it go this year or maybe around the same spot a little bit better?
If Utah doesn’t make the playoffs, I’ll be disappointed.
I I playoffs is an expectation this year,
I think, among the players, among the ownership, among the management. Um, and that’s that’s from our our GM. He’s he the expectation is to make a playoff push. Once you get get in the playoffs, who knows if you have Carl Vamela playing at his best, which he just had a broke breakout season this last year as a goalie and our defense with all the depth that we have now. Um, couple young guys make take the next step. I I think there’s no doubt that we can make it to the playoffs. And with the way we played, we played Vancouver really well this last year. We played um we played Winnipeg really really well this last year. Um actually didn’t really let Winnipeg do a whole lot. Blew them out a couple times. We played Vegas pretty well this last year. Like all those teams in the West that are that are great teams. Utah’s played them kind of toeto toe and Utah’s now improved. I like I I I I would expect us to make the playoffs and I would expect us to put up a fight in the first round and who knows what she makes to the playoffs. Who knows what happens?
Yeah, I think it’s really possible. Um the only challenging part is who’s going to be out. That’s going to be the tough part. I think Exactly.
If St. Louis looks the same, it’s going to be tough. If Minnesota’s healthy, obviously they were looking great when they were. So we could potentially for the first time in it feels like a while see more Central teams getting into the playoffs, which I’m rooting for you guys. I I love this team. I love how you guys are coming up. So, um, thanks again, man, for hopping on. I appreciate you giving us some insight. Uh, do you want to shout out anything else before I let you go? I know you mentioned everything at the top, the podcast, Instagram, and stuff, but anything else you want to throw out there?
Yeah, that’s that’s pretty much about it. Just, uh, watch out for the mammoth. The future is not teal. The future is is mountain blue, salt white, and and rock black, which are all the colors. So, the future is mammoth, dude. All right. Well, again, great seeing you, man. I appreciate you coming on. Have a great rest of your day. All right.
Yeah. Thanks, dude. Appreciate it.
All right, guys. I hope you enjoyed that interview with Michael Wolf. He’s doing some great things out in Utah, and I truly do appreciate him coming on and giving you guys some analysis on the team and their future. But, as promised, let’s talk about your comments from my most recent upload. This was a video on the newest villain in the NHL has arrived, just talking about the Mitch Mner trade to the Vegas Golden Knights. And the first comment comes from Chrisfx6W. That’s a bit of a tongue twister, but he says two things. A, as a Leafs fan, I really hope that Cowan can develop and quickly fill that hole. B, Bruins fan calling Marner a villain just feels funny. I’m not calling him a villain in the NHL. I’m saying that fans in Toronto are going to villainize him. You watch the video. Come on, respect the chirp. But that’s not what I was saying in the video. Come on now. The next comment comes from Jake Almgrren 1038, who says, “As a Vegas fan, I’m very excited to see Marty in gold. We 100% need more players to hold offensive responsibilities to help Eichkeel. While I am sad to lose Petrangelo and Wah, both of which are important to Vegas, I’m very excited to see how Mner gels with Vegas and especially Eel. Completely agree. I think that these two are going to play so well together. And on the front of Alex Petrangelo, man, I hope that this guy can get healthy and back to hockey. He’s such a stud and I think he’s so important to Vegas and their culture. So, rest up Petrangelo. We all want you back on your skates soon because you’re just that incredible when you hit the ice. And the last comment I’m reading off today kind of summarizes the majority of opinions that were left on that video. This one’s from Hayes Bickl 9579 though, who says, “Marnner certainly caught a lot of heat while in Toronto.” This brings to mind a couple of other players who got some heat early in their careers. Mike Bossy, Steve Aman. The last time I checked, the two of them won a few Stanley Cups between them. In my opinion, Toronto with Maro now gone is even further away from winning cups after teen years. And I think that there’s some truth behind this uh comment. Obviously, I do think that some players, they can handle that pressure, but I think Toronto, it’s a different beast. I think you have the fan base constantly wanting you to bring them a cup, the media being relentless with their coverage, and then of course just kind of playing in a market that requires you to be excellent. And if you’re not at your best at every single moment, you will be criticized. And maybe Marner just got sick of that. And maybe he just felt like he wanted a change of scenery. He didn’t feel like he was going to win in Toronto anymore. He thought Vegas could give him a better opportunity, be a better place for his family, and he decided to go for it. Either way, Toronto is going to have to replace his scoring. It’s not going to be easy, and Mitch Mner is going to be moving on to the Vegas Golden Knights. So, thank you to everyone who commented on that video. I appreciate all of your support. And again, thank you for watching this one as well. I hope you enjoyed the content. If you did, be sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel. I also have a few other pieces right here for you to watch on the screen as we continue to go through the off season. So again, thank you guys so much for watching the channel. I will see you in the next episode.

Today let’s delve into one of the best up and coming franchises in the NHL The Utah Mammoth. Joined by NHLUtah Michael Wolfe, we breakdown how hockey has grown in Salt Lake City, the newest changes to the Mammoth roster, and what you should expect from the team this upcoming season. Join us as we breakdown all things Utah and explain why the Mammoth are way better than you think! Subscribe to Jimmy Hockey for more NHL News and Breakdowns.

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