Why the Utah Mammoth Could Be the NHL’s Sleeping Giant!

After taking over for the Arizona Coyotes this past season, the Utah Hockey Club were an exciting young team in the National Hockey League, finishing the year with 38 wins and 89 points, just slightly missing out on the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Captain Clayton Keller had a standout season with a career-high 90 points. Logan Kulie took another huge step in his second full NHL campaign. Defensiveman Muel Sergeev had a bounceback season after missing much of the 2023 24 season due to injury. And goalender Carella had his best season, starting a career-high 55 games and posting careerh highs in wins, state percentage, and goals against average. In addition to some other key moves the franchise made this off season, they also announced that they would officially be naming the team the Utah Mammoth. A popular decision and one that the fans played a big part in selecting. So now with the big news about the team name acquiring young stud JJ Purka in a deal with Buffalo and some of the other top prospects in their system and that they drafted this year. I’m here to tell you why the Utah Mammoth could very well be the NHL’s sleeping giant. The biggest strength of this Mammoth team is in their speed and skill and it starts at the top with their 27-year-old winger Clayton Keller. Keller was named Utah’s captain at the start of the season and led the charge on offense, putting up career highs in assists and points with his 90 points good enough for 11th leaguewide. Keller’s one of the more underrated players in the league and could very well be a 100 plus point guy at some point in his career, especially playing with his new running mate, Logan Koulie. Koulie and Keller are quickly becoming one of the NHL’s most dangerous dynamic duos. Glue was able to build on his strong rookie season, following it up with a 25 goal 65point campaign. And similarly to Keller, this kid’s offensive instincts are off the charts. Don’t be surprised if the 21-year-old puts up a point per game this season. He’s got all the potential to put up a 100 down the line as well. Another key piece of this Mammoth squad is the 22-year-old winger who spent a good amount of time on that top line with Koulen Keller. the ninth overall pick from 2021, Dylan Gunther. Gunther scored 27 goals and 60 points in 70 games for Utah and is a legit sniper with an unreal wrist shot and quick release. With his rocket of a shot and playing with the elite talent in that Utah top six, he could easily score 40 plus goals in this league, maybe even this year. The Mammoth made a huge splash this offseason, making a blockbuster deal with the Buffalo Sabres for 23-year-old star winger JJ Purka. They did have to give up Josh and defenseman Michael Kessler, but they got a legitimate stud in Purka who’s coming off a 27 goal 68 point year in just his third NHL season. Purka is known for his speed in skating, but his finishing ability is also next level and he has a sneaky rocket of a shot. Utah will miss Kessle Ring and Don could develop into a solid NHL, but JJ is a star and has gotten better and better each season and that will likely continue. Nick Schmaltz is also a key contributor up front for Utah. The 29-year-old has consistently put up 20 goals and 60 points over the past four seasons and is a solid two-way player and veteran that is much needed in that lineup. Another guy who was a big piece of Utah’s top six this past season is the former fifth overall pick from 2018, Barrett Hayden. The 6-1 center just turned 25 over the summer and also happened to put up career highs in goals and points with 20 and 46 respectively. He was also very strong in the faceoff dot, winning just over 54% of his draws this year. Is he a good enough second line center on a contending team? I don’t know, but he certainly still has room to grow. And with the wingers he’s playing with, he doesn’t need to be a top point producer. Moving on to the defense, Utah’s top dog is the 27-year-old Male Sergeev, who they picked up via trade last offseason from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sergeev had a fantastic season as the team’s number one Dman. Posted a career-high 15 goals in his 53 points were the second most he’s had in a single season. The Mammoth also have solid right Dman Shawn Dery and John Marino, who can both be solid two-way guys when healthy. In net, Utah’s number one guy at the moment is the Czech native Carell Vanla. He’s a solid NHL net miner, but it remains to be seen if he can be an elite number one that can steal games. This will be a big year for him. The Mammoth also picked up VTEC Vanichek in the offseason. Another Czech native who’s had flashes of brilliance in the NHL, but has been pretty mediocre the last two seasons. Now that we’ve been over the current makeup of the Mammoth roster, it’s time to take a look at some of the prospects they’ve been stockpiling over the past few drafts. Their top offensive prospects include the kid they drafted fourth overall just this June, Caleb Denoier, who’s been lighting it up the last two seasons with the Monton Wildcats. He’s a young player with tons of offensive upside and will likely be a big part of the team’s future. The Mammoth also made two picks in the first round of 2024, selecting TJ Ginla sixth overall, the son of former Hall of Famer Jerome Ginla. T scored 47 goals in 64 games during his draft year with the Colona Rockets and has that elite scoring ability just like his dad. They also selected 6’2 forward Cole Bod, 24th overall. Bod is a tough power forward that any team would love to have. And the other key piece on offense in the system is Denil boot who they drafted 12th overall in 2023. The 6’6 winger has been playing in the KHL with the RS Lavl the last few seasons and will likely make his debut this year in the AHL, NHL or both. Moving on to the defense in the same draft, the Coyotes at the time also selected Dmitri Simichev at six overall. Simv also happens to be 6’5 and played for the same KHL team Yaros Llava locomotive with Denil boot. And finally, back in 2022, the Utah organization picked up 6’6 defenseman Maverick Lamaru at 29th overall. Lamaru spent parts of this season with Utah and 42 games in the American Hockey League. Utah’s top goalending prospect is the second round pick from 2023, Michael Robble. Robble is a huge net minder standing in at 6’6 and just finished his second college hockey season with UMass Ammerst. As you can see, the Utah Mammoth have a great mix of talent on their current roster as well as young prospects who will continue to fill in over the next several years. Do they have enough to be a playoff team as early as this season? I believe they do. And if they can continue to make smart moves year after year and their young studs continue to get better, this team could emerge as a top contender in the Western Conference for years to come. Let me know what you think of this mammoth squad.

The Utah Hockey Club officially rebranded to the Utah Mammoth this offseason and it is an exciting time to be a Mammoth fan. Utah has a great mix of young talent on offense and defense and they are also relatively strong at the goaltending position. Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, and now JJ Peterka are the stars up front. On defense they have Mikhail Sergachev, Sean Durzi, and John Marino. And in the system they have several really good prospects including Caleb Desnoyers, Tij Iginla, Daniil But, and Dmitri Simashev.

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