Utah Mammoth hockey is officially back. After two great days at the team’s new practice facility in Sandy, UT, the rookies are in Highlands Ranch, CO, for the rookie showcase hosted by the Colorado Avalanche, who were the opponent for the Mammoth in the first game of the tournament.
Despite the Mammoth playing some of the most talked about prospects in the Central Division, it was the Avalanche’s hardworking and physical group of rookies who ended up getting the win over the Mammoth, winning by a score of 5-3 on Friday. Here are some takeaways from the first of two rookie showcase games for the Mammoth.
An Early Look at a Bounceback Season for Sam Lipkin?
While rookie camp and showcase games won’t buy a player a spot in the lineup come October, it does provide us with a great opportunity to see how these players look against other NHL prospects. It’s perhaps the closest most of these prospects will come to an NHL regular-season game other than an NHL preseason game.
There were a couple of names that really stood out during Game 1 of the showcase. The first notable has to be Sam Lipkin.
Lipkin was drafted in the seventh round of the draft by the Arizona Coyotes back in 2021. After two great seasons with Quinnipiac University, which included an NCAA championship in his first season, the forward started his pro career in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Last season was Lipkin’s first full pro season. He played 56 games with the Roadrunners, producing only 15 points, 10 of which were goals. The AHL took some time to adjust to, and he wasn’t playing on a fantastic Roadrunners team. However, Lipkin needs to improve this season and get more offensively consistent. More ice time should be coming his way with the team losing some big pieces in the offseason, like Hunter Drew, Sammy Walker, and Egor Sokolov.
“I think next for me is to make that jump,” Lipkin said. “My first year in Tucson was good. I learned a lot. I just have to take those experiences and show what I got. I think I’m a 200-foot player and I want to compete for a roster spot on this team.”
The first game of the rookie showcase might be an indicator of what’s to come this season for Lipkin. After finding themselves down 2-0 early to the Avalanche, the Mammoth needed a response. Maveric Lamoureux was able to find Lipkin in front of the net, who was able to snipe it home despite an Avalanche defender being on top of him for Utah’s first goal of the tournament.
Things we love to see: pic.twitter.com/4R9b8Ws1nn
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) September 13, 2025
Lipkin’s ability to be a pest in front of the net, which was exhibited in the game against the Avalanche, could be a way to produce more in the AHL for him. Outside of the goal, Lipkin had some other good looks throughout the game, too, and was one of the best players on the ice for the Mammoth all game long.
Asan Sarkenov Steals the Show
The best player on either team on Friday had to be Avalanche forward Asan Sarkenov. The 6-foot-4, 19-year-old impressed early with two goals in the first period.
Sarkenov played mainly in his home country of Kazakhstan for his whole hockey career. However, last season, he came over to North America to play on the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL). With the Chiefs, Sarkenov produced 27 points in 55 games. Ten of those points were goals.
Related: Utah’s Duo to Watch: Inside Owen Allard and Noel Nordh’s Journey to the Pros
In the playoffs, Sarkenov was named WHL Rookie of the Week after recording four goals and an assist in three games during the Chiefs’ Western Conference Championship Series against the Portland Winterhawks. In 20 games during the Chiefs’ playoff run, Sarkenov had nine goals and 20 points.
Coming into the NHL Draft, Sarkenov was ranked 217th among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. By the end of the draft, he was left unpicked.
Similar to what happened to Nathan Lecompte, who left a lasting impression during the Mammoth’s development camp in July and now has produced well during the New Jersey Devils’ rookie tournament, Sarkenov was invited to the Avalanche’s development camp and, a couple of months later, their rookie camp.
Sarkenov’s first goal came off some great pressure by the Avalanche in the corner in Utah’s zone, which eventually got the puck to the Kazakhstan forward, who sniped it past Stepan Shurygin for the first goal of the game.
Lighting the lamp 🚨 pic.twitter.com/ZF5h8tEWv2
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) September 13, 2025
Just a couple of minutes later, Sarkenov was back at it again with another quick shot that made it past Shurygin for his second goal of the game.
While Sarkenov couldn’t complete the hat trick, his hard work during the game won’t be forgotten. The Avalanche clearly like him, inviting him to their development camp and rookie camp. It wouldn’t be surprising if they find a way to sign him or draft him next season. The Mammoth did something similar with Owen Allard in 2024.
When it comes to what went wrong for the Mammoth, you can’t take anything really to heart since it’s a rookie showcase game. If you want to dissect it, there were a couple of things that went wrong. The Mammoth were very undisciplined during the first period and couldn’t capitalize on the power-play opportunities during the second and third periods.
Again, you have to take this game with a grain of salt since both of the Mammoth goaltenders who played are on Amateur Try-Out contracts, and most of the players who suited up probably won’t play NHL games this season. They’re just trying to make an impression with hopes of making it far into the preseason and maybe eventually getting an NHL roster spot.
“In these types of events, players are trying to do the best they can to make an impression,” Roadrunners head coach Steve Potvin said. “A lot of times, the best impression you can make is by playing simply and just doing things for the moment and for the team.”
What was surprising was that Dmitriy Simashev and Daniil But were very quiet during the entire game. They had a lot of ice time, but just didn’t do much. It is their first time playing anything close to competitive hockey in North America, but that is something to keep an eye out for going forward.
Michal Kunc, Miko Matikka Headline Other Standouts
Looking on the positive side of things, there were plenty of other standouts for the Mammoth. Funny enough, most of them had played for the Roadrunners last season, like Lipkin.
The big one most people will point out is Lamoureux, who played a pretty decent game after being named the captain for the game. He produced the assist on Lipkin’s goal and had some great chances outside of that. Potvin liked what he saw from the defenseman, but knows what he needs to work on.
“He’s boisterous, he has good energy about him, he’s one of the guys that needs to simplify his game,” Potvin said. “When he simplifies his game, and he plays as hard as we know that he can, he’s got a long stick, he’s difficult to play against. He does have good offensive capability, but he’s one of those guys who just needs to simplify his game.”
There will be plenty of time for Potvin to help Lamoureux improve, as he’ll most likely return to Tucson for the 2025-26 season.
Speaking of defensemen, Artem Duda was in the top four for the game and was probably the most underrated player of the game. He played consistently throughout the night. While ice time wasn’t tracked, Duda definitely played a good amount of the game and performed well, physically and defensively. He could be a player who sneaks into an NHL game sooner rather than later.
Tij Iginla looked good for his first real hockey game since his double hip surgery. He was tested early as an Avalanche player laid a big hit on him near the middle of the neutral zone. However, he fought on, getting some good chances, especially on the first couple of power-play opportunities for the Mammoth. It wouldn’t be surprising if he sneaks his way onto the score sheet on Saturday.
Miko Matikka and Michal Kunc were the other two goal-scorers for the Mammoth. After a very disappointing 2024-25 season, Matikka needs a big bounce-back this season as he tries to stay in the AHL with the Roadrunners. Scoring a goal like he did in the third period to tie the game up does him a little good, especially because it was in front of Potvin, who will decide if Matikka gets a roster spot down in the AHL or if he’ll be back in the ECHL.
Tied up in Colorado, 2-2. pic.twitter.com/PUVlHKhyDE
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) September 13, 2025
Kunc is an interesting player. He was signed early in the offseason by Utah and was quickly forgotten about due to the signings of Nate Schmidt, Brandon Tanev, Kailer Yamamoto, and others. There have been a bunch of players who have come from the Czech leagues to the Utah organization, and it just hasn’t worked out, most recently with Miloš Kelemen and Patrik Koch. Can Kunc change that pattern? The jury is still out, but he did look decent during Friday’s game.
Miko Matikka, Utah Hockey Club (Photo credit: LA Kings)
It wasn’t a bad showing by the Mammoth rookies on Friday night. While you might want to see more, especially from the Russians, these games ultimately don’t matter as much as training camp and the preseason games will in the coming weeks. These games are about preparing these young players for those games and improving them the best the Mammoth staff can before they go back to juniors or wherever they’ll spend the 2025-26 season.
“I’m looking for players to be the best versions of themselves,” Potvin said. “A lot of times, they can get outside of that because they try to extend a shift or do something separate from what’s required. It’s an unfortunate thing that players have to go through. They have to go through these types of scenarios and learn to master simplicity.”
However, this does provide a little boost to those who thrive. Duda and Lipkin were the biggest benefactors of that on Friday, and both players, not being the bigger names of the prospect pool, will have eyes on them now going forward. Overall, though, it was a decent showing from the Mammoth rookies as they look to earn a win in the second game of the showcase.
The Mammoth will take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. It’ll be the last showcase game for the Mammoth, while the Knights will play the Avalanche on Sunday.
