SALT LAKE CITY \u2013 The 82\u2011game NHL season is a marathon, not a sprint\u2014and for the Utah Mammoth, enduring the lows has been essential to positioning themselves to peak when it matters most.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a difficult needle for even the best front offices to thread, balancing short\u2011term success with the long\u2011term goal of building a contender in an ever\u2011changing league.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you have to go through some pain during the course of the season, it kind of builds up the character in the guys,\u201d Utah Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong said in an exclusive interview with KSL Sports Zone.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
From the grind of a relentless schedule to managing prideful players in an ego-driven sport, the adversity that splinters some locker rooms has been a catalyst for a Utah team with established leadership.<\/p>\n
Captain and leading scorer Clayton Keller, goals leader Dylan Guenther, and Wasatch Wall goaltender Karel Vejmelka helped the club stay afloat during a 6-8 December and into a January turnaround.<\/p>\n
Utah won 10 of its first 13 games in 2026, leaping multiple teams to claim the top spot in the Western Conference Wild Card chase.<\/p>\n
The Mammoth entered the three-week Olympic break with back-to-back statement wins over Vancouver and Detroit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get stung by a hard loss, you have to go through it, learn from it, and let that pain fuel you,\u201d Armstrong stated.<\/p>\n
Follow the Utah Mammoth with KSL Sports<\/p>\n
The NHL schedule heads into a three-week break with the Milan Cortina Winter Games kicking off this week. Utah returns to the ice when the Colorado Avalanche come to town on Wednesday, February 25.<\/p>\n
Follow the entire 2025-26 Utah Mammoth schedule\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Smith Entertainment Group\u2019s (SEG) streaming platform will also continue to carry all Mammoth games on SEG+ in 2025-26.<\/p>\n Cole Bagley is the Utah Mammoth insider for KSL Sports.\u00a0Follow him on X<\/a>.\u00a0You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.<\/p>\n All Mammoth games will be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM\/1280 AM). Occasionally, KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM \/ 1160 AM) also airs Jazz games.<\/p>\n Take us with you, wherever you go.<\/p>\n Download the new & improved KSL Sports app from Utah\u2019s sports leader. You can stream live radio and video, and stay up to date on all of your favorite teams.<\/a><\/p>\n Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian\u2019s Bees and Beehive baseball\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0Find Brian on\u00a0X,<\/a>\u00a0Instagram,<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0BlueSky<\/a>\u00a0at @bpreece24.<\/p>\n