We are right in the middle of summer, with preseason and training camp rapidly approaching. While there haven’t been many signings or trades surrounding the Utah Mammoth, there have been other news items surrounding prospects, project updates in Salt Lake City, and even some rumors about the Mammoth hosting youth hockey clinics in Arizona. Let’s dive into some of the latest news and rumors.
Caleb Desnoyers Getting Wrist Surgery
When Caleb Desnoyers was drafted fourth overall, one of the first questions asked by the media was about his wrist injuries that he had suffered in the prior season and if they would affect him going forward. He was quick to reply with a short answer: no.
A couple of months later and general manager Bill Armstrong announced that Desnoyers would be getting wrist surgery, which is going to keep him out for the next 12 weeks. That makes his return date around Nov. 6.
Being out until November means that Desnoyers will be missing a lot of key events for the Mammoth. That includes the rookie showcase, training camp, and rookie camp. Desnoyers was confident about potentially having a strong showing during these events and perhaps even cracking the Mammoth’s roster. Now, he’ll most likely return to the Moncton Wildcats for the 2025-26 season, although he did mention that the NCAA could be an option for him.
Related: Mammoth’s Keller & Cooley Named to U.S. Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp
Luckily for the Mammoth and Desnoyers, he’ll only be getting one wrist surgery, meaning recovery shouldn’t be as hard as it would’ve been if he got surgery on both wrists. It is a positive, but it is disappointing for the player, team, and the fans for Desnoyers to miss out and try to challenge for a roster spot during training camp.
Mammoth to Arizona?
Throughout the past year, the Mammoth have been a huge presence in the Utah community. They’ve participated in and hosted multiple events in the area, including the Smith Entertainment Group’s Pay It Forward event, Archie’s birthday, which included mobile adoption units, and Mammoth week. They’ve also hosted numerous youth hockey clinics, including, most recently, Alex Kerfoot’s Girls’ Hockey Day.
With hockey firmly planted in Utah and with Mammoth owner Ryan Smith planning to build up to 20 new ice rinks in the state, it sounds like the team will set their attention on other states as well soon. This includes where the team was previously located: Arizona.
Ryan Smith laughs as he speaks during a news conference at the Delta Center (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
Arizona-based hockey reporter and former Arizona Coyotes reporter Craig Morgan hinted at the Mammoth potentially bringing some youth hockey clinics to Arizona in the near future on a recent episode of The Puck Drop Podcast.
“I think we might see Utah do a lot more in this market (Arizona) next season,” Morgan said. “There might be more on that coming soon.”
It’s been well covered how, in the 25-plus-year history of the Coyotes that the team had only built two rinks in Arizona. Even with the construction of Mullett Arena and its adjacent rink, the Mountain America Community Iceplex, in the past five years, the number of ice rinks in the Valley is still below double digits.
It gets even worse when you move both north and south of Phoenix. Tucson, despite having multiple club collegiate teams, a well-received youth program, and an American Hockey League (AHL) team, has only one sheet of ice, which is inside the Tucson Convention Center. There is an iceplex being built in the city that should help out. Flagstaff also only has one sheet of ice inside a 54-year-old ice rink.
While the Mammoth certainly aren’t going to build any rinks in Arizona, youth hockey clinics could increase the number of kids interested in hockey, especially if the team brings down players who once played in front of hockey fans in the desert. This could result in a larger outcry for more ice rinks in Arizona, which is something that needs to be done if the state wants to continue being a home for the sport and lobby to bring back an NHL team.
Over the past year, inklings of the Mammoth have shown up throughout Arizona. Early into the 2024-25 season, billboards advertising games showed up in the Valley. While there hasn’t been much advertising since then, Clayton Keller does still live in Arizona during the summer and was seen at the MAC Iceplex in a Utah jersey a couple of weeks ago.
Currently, three teams have the territorial rights of Arizona in the NHL. That includes the Mammoth, Colorado Avalanche, and the Vegas Golden Knights, who have done the most for hockey in Arizona by far. The Golden Knights have hosted multiple youth clinics across the Valley over the past year and have done a lot of advertising for their games.
However, Morgan reports that youth hockey leaders in Arizona are skeptical of the Golden Knights’ actions due to their lack of collaboration with local hockey programs in the state. Meanwhile, Lydnsey Fry, who has become a massive figure in the Arizona hockey scene, has not severed her ties with the Mammoth organization, occasionally hopping on the radio broadcast for Utah games this past year and even hosting a hockey clinic in the state back in March.
If the Mammoth plan to do some hockey events in Arizona, a joint effort with Fry and other community leaders, like former Coyotes Jason Demers and Michael Grabner, could be in the cards. While the primary focus for the Mammoth currently is growing hockey in Utah, expanding their presence to neighboring states like Arizona and even Idaho could be big for the organization.
Updates on Delta Center Rennovations and Practice Facility
Over the past month, SEG has posted update videos of the renovations to Delta Center and the Mammoth’s new practice facility in Sandy.
When it comes to the Delta Center, the floor has officially been raised two feet to reshape the sightlines for hockey. It will provide better viewpoints and also bring fans closer to the game. The new riser system has also been installed, making it possible for the seats to be moved for hockey and basketball, so that fans have the best vantage point possible.
⌛️ Months in the making.
The floor inside #DeltaCenter has been raised 2 feet to reshape sightlines and bring fans closer to the action.@OklandConst pic.twitter.com/5tS6RRnWdJ
— Delta Center (@deltacenter) August 11, 2025
SEG also announced on Tuesday that they plan to build a 6,000-seat concert venue in the new downtown entertainment district Smith is building between the Delta Center and the Salt Palace Convention Center. The concert venue will host 200 events annually, including 100 concerts. SEG will partner with Live Nation for this project.
“Our goal has always been to bring enormous opportunities to downtown,” Smith said. “Once the transformation of Delta Center was underway, partnering with Live Nation on what a world-class concert venue could look like in downtown became a top priority. Not only will it bring the best artists in the world to Utah, but it will also bring a million people downtown to experience Salt Lake City every year.”
Smith also said that the concert venue will be the first of many projects announced for the area. Construction on the new venue won’t begin until 2027. It will be placed somewhere between 200 W and 300 W.
Additionally, the Salt Lake City planning commission approved a seven-story, 448-stall parking garage for the arena. It will be SEG’s first-owned parking lot. Every other lot around the arena is owned by other companies and is part of lease agreements with SEG. The garage would be limited to season ticket holders and premium seat buyers. The city council will have to approve the finalized plans before construction begins, which will most likely happen next year.
The new practice facility in Sandy is getting closer and closer to being completed. The walls and roof are all put up and completed, and the groundwork for the rinks has been put in. The facility should still be ready by Sept. 1.
Closer than ever! 🚧🔨
Construction at our new South Town training and practice facility is coming along ⤵️#TusksUp | @LaytonConstruct pic.twitter.com/JdUhnJ5VdX
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) August 7, 2025
Preseason Schedule Updates
The Mammoth have made the final tweaks to their preseason schedule. When it was originally dropped in June, there was a big question mark surrounding the first preseason game of the year, where the Mammoth would face off against the Avalanche in two split-squad games on the same day.
Times and locations for those two games on Sunday, Sept. 21, have officially been released. The first game will be played at 2:30 PM MST at Magness Arena, which is home to the University of Denver’s NCAA team. The later game will be played at Ball Arena at 6:30 PM.
Additionally, the start time for the Mammoth’s Oct. 4 game against the San Jose Sharks has been changed to 6 PM. All other games remain the same, including the Sept. 30 game in Boise, Idaho.
Mammoth Players Make NHL Network’s Lists
NHL Network released a couple of rankings over the past couple of weeks. That includes their lists of the top 20 defensemen and the top 20 wings. Both lists had Mammoth players on them.
Keller was ranked at number 15 on the top 20 wings list. Last year, the network had Keller in the 17th spot. Now with his first 90-point season under his belt, he moves up two spots. He is the fifth-highest American on the list, only behind Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, Jake Guentzel, and Kyle Connor.
Clayton Keller, Utah Hockey Club (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
Mikhail Sergachev was ranked at number 18 on the top 20 defensemen list. He was unranked last year. In his first season with the Mammoth, Sergachev recorded 53 points and became the team’s number one defenseman. After years on the Tampa Bay Lightning behind elite talent like Victor Hedman, he’s finally gotten a chance to prove he is a top defenseman in the NHL, and it shows with his debut on the top 20 list. He was also the only Russian defenseman to make the list.
Nate Schmidt and Vitek Vaněček Day With the Cup Updates
Finally, rounding out this edition of Mammoth News & Rumors, the Stanley Cup has started making its rounds among all the players who won it with the Florida Panthers in June. Newly signed players Nate Schmidt and Vitek Vaněček are some of those players who will spend a day with the trophy in August.
Vaněček showed up for his day with the Cup in his home country, Czechia, on the back of a Tatra truck. It was a way to honor his dad for his support throughout his life and hockey career.
Looks like new Mammoth goaltender Vitek Vaněček had his day with the Cup yesterday.
Him and Tomáš Nosek also just got matching Stanley Cup tattoos on their ribs.#TusksUp https://t.co/XPuJCpt78J
— Chase Beardsley (@ChaseBeardsley_) August 14, 2025
Vaněček brought the Cup to Havlíčkův Brod, where around 1,000 fans showed up to meet the goalie and the trophy. He and his former Panthers teammate, Tomáš Nosek, also got matching Stanley Cup tattoos on their ribcages before Vaněček met the mayor of Havlíčkův Brod, giving him a signed Panthers jersey.
Schmidt announced on Tuesday that he will be having his day with the Cup on Monday, Aug 25. He will be taking it to St. Cloud, Minnesota, which is his hometown and where he played high school hockey with St. Cloud Cathedral.
“I’ve been thinking about this my whole life, where I would want to take the Cup if I ever won, and to be able to take it back to a place where it not only shaped me as a player, but a person as well,” Schmidt said on Instagram. “It’s why I am so excited to take it back to St. Cloud, where it all started. Winning the Stanley Cup has been the most surreal experience, surpassing anything l have ever dreamt about.”
Similar to Vaněček’s day with the Cup, Schmidt will have the trophy available for fans to take a picture with it and him at the Municipal Athletic Complex.
