Utah Mammoth insider Cole Bagley: NHL free agency | Mammoth offseason moves | expectations for ro…
Joining us now, he is your NHL and Utah Mammoth insider on kslsports.com. And good dude, Cole Bagley, kind enough to hang out with us. Cole, how are you? What’s up, Cole?
Good. How are you guys doing? Good. Good. Fired up to be out there today at the developmental champ. Like, what’s what what do you got? What what’s the scene out there?
Yeah, I don’t know if you guys can hear it behind me, but uh you know, we’ve got the forwards out here. We’ve got Caleb Denoier, Kobo, Dwan, DJ Ginland, Denil Boot, all just ripping shots right now. And it’s a lot of fun. So, you know, if you hear some oo and a’s, you can expect that one of those guys just did something pretty. So, I think the guy I’m most intrigued with right now because of the double hip surgery and some of the hype from last year’s draft is going to be Tia Ginla. And I I heard Bill talking about he’ll be available through parts of summer. So, kind of give us an update where Tee is the first round pick for the Utah Mammoth from last year and what you expect from his availability and some of his usage for the Utah Mammoth. Yeah. So, I mean, we all knew that he had hip surgery. Uh, but then, you know, he kind of dropped the bomb on us on Sunday before development camp started. He said, “I had double hip surgery.” So, you know, he he went under the knife twice. And uh you know that’s not necessarily a good sign for an 18-year-old, but I’m watching him right now and he doesn’t look like he missed a beat. You know, his skating has arguably been the most impressive uh over the last couple of days here at development camp. He’s he’s moving really well. He’s, you know, his strides are seamless. He looks comfortable. Doesn’t appear to be in any sort of, you know, discomfort or that his hips are bothering him. He’s strong. He’s turning uh very smoothly. So, um you know, he he looks good and that’s that’s a great sign. you know, this is a uh this is a sixth overall selection from last year. Um, you know, there’s a lot of belief that this kid can be really special for this organization. Um, you know, he’s, you know, one of the most, I think, elite uh shooters in terms of, you know, Utah’s young prospects. The the way that he’s able to, you know, finangle the puck and and and just put it, you know, in the back of the net from any angle is really impressive. in terms of his contributions, you know, we’ll see what kind of progress he makes um over the summer. It’s a good, you know, it’s a good sign that he’s here and that he’s skating and and that he looks uh strong. Um, as for, you know, making a roster spot, I just don’t know that he’s quite there yet. You know, the fact that he didn’t get to compete in his uh, you know, with his junior squad for a full year, um, you know, definitely doesn’t help him. But, you know, let’s see what he can do in a full season now. as long as he’s able to stay healthy. Um, you know, if he can put up somewhere between 80, 90, 100 points for his junior squad, um, you know, maybe this is a guy that’s, you know, banging on the door, making a roster spot a year from now. How does the newest member of the Utah Mammoth, the number four overall pick look out there on the ice?
Yeah, Denoya looks really good. you know, he’s a guy that has been nursing um a pair of injured wrists and uh you know, if you looked at photos from the QMJHL playoffs, I mean, he had about three or four braces on. He’s all taped up, but out here, he looks good. Again, he he doesn’t look to be in any sort of discomfort either. Um and, you know, his his offensive talents and abil abilities are on full full display this afternoon. He’s had, you know, some brilliance. He’s just a guy that that can do things that I think a lot of other guys uh cannot. You know, there was one instance where they’re coming up at a twoon against the goalender. The puck ricochets off the goalie’s pad and instead of, you know, and he wasn’t really in a position to grab it with a stick, but what does he do? He lifts his left leg and kicks it behind him to the net spot with his right. And so just the the highle IQ that this kid has is special. And in terms of his de development, the biggest thing for him is going to be adding weight. Um, you know, not that he’s he’s 6’2, uh, but he’s pretty lean, so he he needs to add some more muscle and strength to his game.
When you talk to some of the front office or off the wire, I’m just interested, what was their level of excitement being able to take him at the position they took him and kind of projecting his development? Obviously, extremely young, but how excited are they about Caleb Doy? And I’m talking about off the record.
Yeah. I mean, there’s a reason that they kept the pick, right? Um, you know, there was a lot of offers on the table. There was a lot of phone calls being uh, you know, answered from Bill, but ultimately they decided to keep it. It’s because, you know, they’ve now added another player, you know, to their deep pool of prospects that they have a belief can be really special. Um, you know, you look at their young guys that are on the roster now, guys like Logan Kulie and Dylan Gunther and JJ Purka. Well, now you’ve got TJ Gin and Pobo Dwan and and Caleb Denoya in your prospect pool and you know timeline is is the biggest thing for this team right now. uh you know they’ve they’ve they’ve made some free agent signings today, but those are all about adding you know depth and veteran experience because that what they’re trying to do is to mold this team and to build this young team towards competing for a Stanley Cup and Denoy you know amongst the Gimlin Bodan I think are going to be you know pivotal parts of of you know eventually entering a championship window here in the next couple years. So, uh, there is always, you know, additions made to a team and and everything else that, uh, is being put together, but let’s talk about, um, uh, rating a Stanley Cup champion to help bolster your roster. What do you see out of this latest pickup by the Mammoth? Yeah, I mean, uh, as I said, you know, today has been all about adding veteran depth and experience and continuing to help mold your team, your young team towards winning Stanley Cups down the road. Um, I know, you know, it seemed like every national headline over the last couple weeks had to do with, oh man, Utah’s in on this guy, they’re in on Marner, they’re in on Bennett, they’re in oners, they’re in on Marshian, but the end of the day, you know, what they’ve done is their big swing was adding a guy like JJ Purka. And so now today, they’re adding the Brandon Tannis, they’re adding the Nate Smith. And yeah, Schmidt was a really good player for um Florida, you know, the last couple of years. Um he’s he’s you know he’s he’s a got a really complete 200 foot game. I’d say his offense is uh you know definitely impressive and and he’s a good defenseman too. So um you know you just can you can kind of see the vision, right? You can see what Bill Armstrong is is trying to accomplish here. It’s not it’s not to, you know, take a miscalculated signing. It’s it’s to continue to develop and it’s continue to help these young players know what does it take to win a Stanley Cup? Well, the best thing you can do is add uh, you know, more championship experience, and that’s what you get out an H Smith. How much do you believe the Mammoth are going to miss Don and Castle Ring? Yeah, it’s uh that’s tough, right? I mean, when I when I found out who was headed, you know, to Buffalo and I saw Josh Don’s name on there, you know, that that one that one hurt a little bit. Uh, you know, that’s that’s one that that I know stank a lot of fan hearts because, you know, those two, but especially Don are just incredible human beings. Uh, you know, Don, I interacted with with Josh a lot this last year. He was one of my go-to interviews. Uh, you know, one of the first guys to to remember my name. And, you know, and that goes a long way, right? Like these professional athletes don’t have to pretend to know who you are. and and most the hockey players, you know, have done a great job, but but Josh is just an incredible guy, a good player. You know, I think what Utah will miss in both of them is uh not only their locker room presence, but uh you know, the these are two kind of more gritty players. You know, Josh was battling in the trenches. Um and it really kind of was the glue that helped that third line figure out their identity late in the season. Um, and then as for as for Castle Ring, you know, kind of an upand cominging defenseman, um, not the youngest guy on a roster, he is 25. And so, you know, if you want to add great players, you got to give up something. And, you know, while that was, you know, I think a difficult duo to have to part with, you know, the fact that, you know, Utah didn’t have to give up any draft picks or the fourth overall pick to get a guy like JJ Kirka who, you know, had 68 points last year and he’s only 23. You know, in my mind, as of right now, initial reaction, that’s a great deal. Cole, talk us through what the developmental camp is and and what’s what’s the purpose of what’s going on right now with the Utah Mammoth and these other teams around the NHL. Yeah, I mean, it’s it’s really to just kind of get a an initial look at some of your draft picks. Um, you know, this is the first time that we’ve seen uh, you know, Denoy and, you know, all the rest of their seven selections uh from this most recent draft. And I think it just helps the the front office get a feel for all how do these guys fit in? You know, how do they how do they mesh with each other? How do they mold with each other? And it also gives you a good update on where they are in terms of their health, right? I mean, there was a lot of questions and and worrying about Dino’s risk. Well, you know, I’m watching him right now and he looks totally fine. He’s got the puck on a screen. So, um it’s it’s really just to get a good sense of who these guys are. You know, see some of your former picks. Obviously, TJ Gindler and Coer here. uh Dimmitri uh Zimashv and Dino Budar as well. So uh I think it’s just more than anything just a good opportunity to bring your prospects together. um you know more of that work and you know true development will come I think during rookie camp and the rookie showcase that’s where you can get a really good feel of all right you know how close are these guys how are they playing in this you know showcase and how are they performing you know do we need to bring them uh do we need to bring them up uh you know to training camp so um it’s it’s nothing crazy going on here uh but it’s it’s a good opportunity for everybody to get a feel for each other how are you feeling about the goalending on this team this roster right Uh, Utah needs another goalender. Um, you know, you know, every everything that happened last season was was interesting, right? I mean, you saw MLA play, you know, 23 games straight and obviously, you know, everything that Connor Ingram was going through, you know, you wish the best for him, but at the end of the day, you know, Utah still has a job to do. They still have games to win. And, you know, I I I think I think Vamela is a good goalender. Um, I don’t know that he’s necessarily a goalender that helps to win a Stanley Cup one day, but he’s a he’s a good guy for this team over the next few years. You know, I think that’s why they secured him while they did. You know, he can help continue to build uh towards something great. What I do know is they’re they’re looking for uh, you know, to add some depth in free agency. You know, it’s hard to really know if if you know, even if Connor comes out of this program, is he going to be ready to play NHL level hockey, you know, in October? probably not. So, you know, they’re looking to add some depth. What I do like though, uh, is their young prospect, Michael Michael Rattle, currently playing for, uh, UMass in the NCAA, and he’s also a a native. Sure, you guys could hear that one.
Yeah, that must have been that must have been a heck of a shot there.
Yeah, that was a good finish in front of the net from Denil Boot. Uh, Michael Rabble, he he’s a native of Cetchia. uh he was pivotal in their bronze medal at the World Juniors this last year and then he also just dragged UMass uh through the NCAA tournament and he looks phenomenal at dev camp. So, um yeah, I mean all in all, you know, Vamela is good as your starter. You need to add some depth, but you know, I don’t I don’t think Michael Rabble’s too far away. So when you talk about Veggie and and you talk about depth at that position, can Veggie be your number one guy and then you develop depth behind him or do you need to forget that number one guy that Veggie is the number two behind? No, I think uh I think Veggie is your 1A and I think they’re looking for a 1B. Okay.
Um you know I they signed you know Vamela to a pretty significant extension. I expect to uh to see him, you know, leading the charge here this next year. But, you know, you need depth to um continue to help you get through these next few years because you’re not going to compete for a Stanley Cup right now. But what you’re hoping is to find some depth that helps you. And then, you know, from what I’ve been told, Michael Rabble is is kind of expected to be the goalender of the future for the Mammoth. you know, maybe he’s the guy that, you know, four, five, six years from now when when everybody gets a little bit older, maybe he’s your number one guy that’s leading you to a Stanley Cup. Cole, we appreciate your time. Thanks for hanging out with us. And uh, by the way, were you surprised you kind Everybody kind of knew Martner was heading to Vegas, right? That’s not a big shocker.
Yeah, over the last week, that’s kind of what the developments uh were showing. you knew that he was headed out west and you know just given his his age and uh you know his talents and what Vegas needs it’s I think it’s kind of a perfect marriage. It’ll be interesting to see you know how he helped elevate that team.
All right. Well cool Cole. Thanks man. We appreciate it. We’ll talk to you again soon.
Thanks Cole.
Yeah. Thanks boys. Yeah. You’re welcome. Did you say thanks Lloyd?
No boys.
Oh boys. Okay. I thought you said thanks Lloyd. I would I wouldn’t put it past them. Thanks, Lloyd. Like, well, yeah, Lloyd did put him, you know, get him on the air and reach out to him and schedule it.
No, I said thanks.
Such such hard work. Um, how hard work for Cole sitting there watching the best hockey players in the world.
His life sucks
on the ice. He’s up in Park City. Is that It’s all going on up at Park City right now. It’s a busy offseason and a lot of expectations because right now we just got done talking about the Utah Jazz expectations and it’s like they’re all plummeting. They’re just falling off the the cliff and that’s fine. That that’s fine because we’re I’m still more excited to see Ace Bailey than I’ve been excited to see any draft pick since Donovan Mitchell. So, so I there’s still more anticipation for the upcoming season than I’ve had in a lot of years for the Utah Jazz. With that being said, I just know that there’s going to be a lot of losses. On the other side, the Utah Mammoth are going to get a lot of Scotty and I’s attention.
Yeah,
because it’s time. It’s time postseason time.
And it’s postseason or bust for me.
Well, and and nobody’s shying away from that. Now, there was a uh you know, Bill Armstrong shied away from playoffs going into last year, but he’s not shying away from it this year. Like, like they’re full out saying, “Yes, we need to be in the playoffs this year.” Now, you don’t need to be a high seed. You don’t need to make a deep run in the playoffs, but this team is definitely poised to say and put the expectations on themselves like this is a playoff team this upcoming season. I like that I’ve got now a level understanding of what it takes and what the Mammoth need to look like in order to get the opportunity because remember this time last year we were coming out of the first draft with the Mammoth and it was like don’t know exactly what to expect with the season and how they’re going to compete and then what competing looks like.
Hell, I wasn’t even real familiar with the point system.
Yeah, correct. I’m just so used to wins and losses. And
you start to hear the the number 90 and you’re like, “Okay, 90 what?” Well, it’s 90 points. Well, 90 points is a good number in the East, but what we’ve learned is in the West, it’s going to be more like 96. And for those of you that don’t understand the point system, it’s two points for a win. It’s two points for an overtime win or a shootout win. It’s one point for an overtime loss and it’s no points for a loss. And the Utah Mammoth need to find a way to get to 96 points. I think that’s where St. Louis was, right?
I think that’s your magic number.
I can’t remember, but I think that that’s where St. Louis was. Let me just pull that up. And St. Louis was the last one in because St. Louis went on a crazy run. Yeah, St. Louis 96 points. So that’s that’s the number. Uh now, by the way, that’s the base. That’s baseline. Like that’s as low as you can go.
If you can get yourself into the high 90s and low 100s, then you’re going to be in the playoffs.
Yeah. Uh Utah, by the other hand, was 89. So they’re not that far off.
Nope.
And the amount of overtime games, I mean, they set like a franchise record for overtime Yeah. games.
Think about that. That’s four more wins. Crazy. That’s four more wins.
Yeah. There you go. I mean, they’re not that far off and they dealt with crazy injury issues last year.
Yeah.
So, if you’re reasonably healthy this season and with the additions that you’ve made,
well,
yeah, you need to be a playoff team. and they dealt with things at the key position with the goalie early in the season where
you’re putting in Stabber,
you’re losing Ingram, you kind of find Veggie, Veggie becomes a staple, but you’re still tinkering.
Yeah.
You don’t want to go into regular season tinkering between the pipes. Like you want to go to the regular season like, oh, we’re flexing out between the pipes. And I kind of feel more confident
now. But but again, I didn’t know Connor Ingram’s past with Arizona. I didn’t know what he was as a coyote, but we know what we heard, Scotty. And Connor Ingram’s name was in there with Keller and
was in there with a a few of the top names of that Coyotes team. Yeah. No, that was Look, one of the selling points on the quality of this team was about Connor Ingram.
Yeah. So, we now know Veggie is the guy moving forward, but that that’s why I asked Cole. Cole believes it. Jay believes it. You believe it. I believe it. We all believe that they need a little more stability in that net.
Yep. No doubt. All right. Hands of Scotty right here on 975 DKSL Sports Zone.
• Utah Mammoth insider Cole Bagley
