Training camp is upon the Utah Mammoth.

The three-week event will open in mid-September and lead the Mammoth to their first game of the 2025-26 season on Oct. 9 against the Colorado Avalanche.

Around 60 players will arrive for the first day of training camp, and by the end of it, Utah will have its official 23-man roster. Here are five storylines to watch as the Mammoth narrow down their lineup.

Options on the blue line

It seems general manager Bill Armstrong decided to stack his blueline with bodies this offseason after the defensive adversity the Mammoth had last year. ​

Injuries hit the Utah defensemen hard in 2024-25 — the team was skating with five healthy NHLers on the backend and AHL fill-ins for some stretches. The Mammoth are now prepared if they find themselves in that situation again, but it means the competition at training camp will be heightened.

Aside from Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino and Sean Durzi, who will most likely be top-four figures, Utah will have some hard decisions to make.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev handles the puck versus the Seattle Kraken at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, April 8, 2025.

Olli Määttä signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract extension in March; Ian Cole signed a one-year, $3 million extension at the same time. Utah brought back Nick DeSimone on a one-year, $800,000 deal in May, and signed Nate Schmidt (three years, $10.5 million) and Scott Perunovich (one year, $775,000) in July.

Not to mention, perhaps the most anticipated name of all, Dmitri Simashev. The 2023 sixth-overall pick agreed to his three-year, entry-level contract in May. And then there are defensemen like Maveric Lamoureux, Artem Duda and Maksymilian Szuber who have been developing in the AHL and will push in NHL training camp.

Oh, and one more! Juuso Välimäki disappeared from radars after getting sent down to the AHL in late February and subsequently undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in his knee in March. Välimäki was given an eight-to-nine-month recovery timeline, but once healthy, he still has a year on his Mammoth contract to try to make an impact, too.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Dmitri Simashiv (26) during Utah Mammoth development camp in Park City, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

Many of these defensemen will end up in Tucson, but they are all talented enough to make training camp interesting. Plus, if Utah learned anything last year, overloaded backend options are welcomed — and will likely be needed — when the inevitable injuries come.

The real contest will be for those bottom three spots. Määttä, Cole and Schmidt will be in the mix, but you shouldn’t count out DeSimone. And, while Simashev is coming over from the KHL, he may be the most NHL-ready of the defensive prospects; he won’t make it easy on the returners.​

Bottom-six battle

Much has been said about the Mammoth’s top six forwards ahead of this season. The acquisition of J.J. Peterka offers another scoring threat on the first two lines, and expectations for Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther to take another step forward will benefit the whole team. Clayton Keller is also coming off a career year.

But what will the latter half of Utah’s forward group look like?

​That will be a big question answered in training camp. You can probably lock Lawson Crouse, Jack McBain, Alex Kerfoot and Kevin Stenlund into spots in the bottom six. Crouse is primed to have a stronger showing, McBain just signed a five-year, $21.25 million extension, and Kerfoot and Stenlund were two of the most consistent, grinding players for the Mammoth last season.

Then there is the group of Brandon Tanev, Liam O’Brien, Michael Carcone and Kailer Yamamoto who will be vying for the last two roles. Yes, there will likely be an extra forward and injuries to fill in for throughout the season — but this is looking at the opening-night lineup.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club center Liam O’Brien (38) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Minnesota Wild, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.

Tanev chose Utah as an unrestricted free agent in July and got a three-year, $7.5 million contract. The veteran forward had 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 79 regular-season games between the Seattle Kraken and Winnipeg Jets last year. Tanev — who is 6 feet, 189 pounds — is known for his high-energy, hard-hitting, two-way game. He is, perhaps, like a more talented O’Brien.

O’Brien is entering the second season of his three-year deal, which carries a $1 million AAV. He was often the 13th forward but brought a spark when in the lineup; he had two assists in 28 games. It is hard to justify paying a player that number and putting him on waivers to the AHL — he could also get claimed. The Mammoth put themselves in a tough position there, despite the fanbase’s love for “Spicy Tuna.”

But with Tanev now in the system, it seems like O’Brien could be the odd one out. Especially with Carcone and Yamamoto each returning on one-year deals. The undersized forwards are both scrappy, physical when they can be and have a scoring touch. Neither were given the runway in the NHL last season to make a consistent impact, but they have the potential to serve an important bottom-six purpose.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club left wing Michael Carcone (53) moves the puck down the ice during the third period of the NHL game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024.

Carcone was a healthy scratch a lot last year. The 29-year-old ended the season with 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 53 games. It was a drop off from the year prior, during which he posted 29 points (21 goals, eight assists) in 74 games. Yamamoto was primarily held in the AHL; he had 56 points (20 goals, 36 assists) in 54 games with the Tucson Roadrunners. When up with the Mammoth, Yamamoto had three points (two goals, one assist) in 12 games — and always brought some jam.

These forwards will come into training camp with a chip on their shoulders and a fire to make the official roster. It will be a numbers game in the end.

Youngsters making a push

Speaking of a numbers game, the budding prospects in the Mammoth’s pipeline could make the forward battle all the more challenging.

Tij Iginla (2024 sixth overall pick) and Cole Beaudoin (2024 24th overall pick) have both stated their goal is to make the opening-night roster this year. Daniil But, who signed his three-year, entry-level contract in May, is also ready to take a run at it after getting selected 12th overall in 2023.

This year’s training camp will be the first time Iginla is fully healthy since entering the Mammoth system. The 19-year-old underwent double hip surgery this winter and said he is now 100%. Iginla (who is 6 feet, 182 pounds) played 21 games for the Kelowna Rockets in the Western Hockey League before the surgery and posted 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) as an alternate captain. The season prior, when Iginla skated in 64 games, he had 84 points (47 goals, 37 assists).

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tij Iginla (12 ) during Utah Mammoth development camp in Park City, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

Beaudoin, the 6-foot-2, 209-pound center, showed his improvement during the Mammoth’s brief development camp in July. He’s put on weight, muscle and experience since last training camp with a work ethic that has turned heads. Beaudoin was an alternate captain for the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts last year and had 51 points (22 goals, 29 assists) in 52 games. His two-way play and strength in corners and away from the puck have stood out.

But could help solve one of Utah’s bigger problems up front. That is, size — the 20-year-old is 6-foot-5, 203 pounds. But has spent the last three seasons in the KHL with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and had 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 54 games last year en route to the league championship. There will be a transition period for But, as there is with any young prospect coming in, but the Mammoth see him as a piece of the future.

Caleb Desnoyers would’ve been more thoroughly mentioned, but the 2025 fourth overall pick underwent wrist surgery in August and is expected to miss 12 weeks. That means Desnoyers will not have the chance to compete for a spot during training camp.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Cole Beaudoin (24) listens to instructions during Utah Mammoth development camp in Park City, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

The difference with these forwards and the bottom-six players previously mentioned is in the intention of their trajectory. While the Mammoth may feel fine with carrying Carcone or O’Brien around as an extra forward, that is not the right move for the development of any of these young players.

If Iginla, Beaudoin or But do not fit into the Utah lineup in a meaningful way, management would rather have them play in all situations — and in top minutes — back on their respective CHL teams, or in the AHL, instead of getting less ice (and practice) time in the NHL. Armstrong has preached patience through this process.

André Tourigny messaging

This team is in a very different place than it was when André Tourigny was hired as head coach in July 2021. For one, they’re named the Mammoth and are now in Utah. Expectations have also skyrocketed since Tourigny was brought in to help mold, guide and push his players through a treacherous rebuild.

While more development is needed (and always wanted) — Cooley is 21, Guenther is 22 and Peterka is 23, after all — that is not the sole goal of the organization anymore. It is not to stockpile picks and give players test runs, even if it results in losses. It is, simply, to win.

Tourigny has a strong hold on his locker room and proved he can make positive adjustments down the stretch last season. His players respect him and, seemingly, respond to him. This will be a different test for Tourigny, though. He will need to balance the evolution of his younger leaders with the experience of (the now many) veterans, make hard roster decisions and instill the mindset that this is no longer a rebuild. Excuses are limited now.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) André Tourigny as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Minnesota Wild, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.

Tourigny spent 15 years coaching junior hockey before serving as an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche from 2013-15 and Ottawa Senators in 2015-16. The 51-year-old was the head coach and vice president of hockey operations for the Ottawa 67’s in the OHL before getting hired by the Arizona Coyotes. Tourigny has also been on Team Canada’s coaching staff for the World Junior Championships and World Championships — both silver and gold medals were collected.

He has won outside of the NHL and led this group out of the dark days. Can he be the one to help them actually turn the corner? This season will tell.

Goaltending depth chart

Karel Vejmelka came out of last season as the Mammoth’s starter — and with a new five-year, $23.75 million contract extension — after proving he could add consistency to his play. Vejmelka (who had a 2.58 goals against average and .904 SV% in 58 games) quieted the questions of whether he could handle a heavier workload, but that does not mean support isn’t needed.​

Assuming Vejmelka holds onto his No. 1 slotting, this is where Connor Ingram and Vítek Vaněček come in. The two will battle for the backup position, which will be responsible for around 30 games. If Ingram — who spent five months away from the team to focus on his mental health — can return to full form, he could even contest with Vejmelka for the starting role, too.

Vaněček is on somewhat of a “prove it” deal; he signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Mammoth as an unrestricted free agent in July. Ingram is in the final season of his three-year deal, which has a $1.95 million cap hit.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL hockey at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

It will all come down to how the goaltenders perform in training camp, preseason games and as the regular season gets started in October to decide whether it is Ingram or Vaněček to secure a spot in the Mammoth’s plans in net for this year — and, potentially, the future. Vejmelka, meanwhile, will be tasked with avoiding a drop-off following his career showing last season. ​

Other goaltending names to know ahead of camp are Jaxson Stauber and Max Villalta. The two mostly ran the show in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners, but were called upon by the Mammoth to fill some holes when Ingram was away.

Stauber played in six games for Utah and had a 3.26 GAA and .892%, and Villalta played in one NHL game and posted a 3.00 GAA and .903 SV%. The Mammoth signed Stauber to a two-year, two-way extension that carries a $775,000 AAV at the NHL level and $350,000 in the AHL. Villalta is in the last season of his two-year, two-way contract. Both will be options down the depth chart for Utah if injuries or other circumstances strike at the goalie position.