{"id":453336,"date":"2026-02-10T15:52:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T15:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/453336\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T15:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T15:52:21","slug":"utah-mammoth-gm-bill-armstrong-speaks-on-teams-development-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/453336\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong speaks on team’s development \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Utah Mammoth have never been shy about sharing their objectives.<\/p>\n

In Season 1, they wanted to play meaningful games in the final weeks of the season, regardless of whether it resulted in an actual playoff berth. That\u2019s exactly what they did, ultimately falling four wins short of the postseason.<\/p>\n

This year, the goal is to get into the playoffs. With 25 games to go, nothing is guaranteed, but they went into the Olympic break with possession of the first wild card spot and a 4-point lead over the best non-playoff team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got off to a pretty good start, and then we hit the road and it just wore us down, and seemed like that road never ended,\u201d Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong told the Deseret News. \u201cAnd then the next part, we got home and got into a pretty good rhythm of playing, were able to get back on our feet and put some wings underneath us.<\/p>\n

\u201c… We\u2019ve found our groove a little bit and built confidence in who we are, and that\u2019s generated some wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Utah Mammoth player development<\/p>\n

Armstrong is encouraged with the progress of his young stars, whose progression is just as important as that of the team. After all, if the team is only succeeding because of the veterans, it\u2019ll be in a tough position when they\u2019re gone.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Dylan) Guenther\u2019s been exactly what the doctor ordered and he\u2019s done a good job and he\u2019s a pretty consistent player,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cI think there\u2019s some improvement for him \u2014 as we all know, as young players can do, and continue to find that consistency in his game. But he\u2019s been a great piece for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guenther has stated on a number of occasions that he wants to be able to score in a number of different ways. When he first entered the league, teams may not have respected his one-timer as much as they do now, so he can\u2019t solely rely on it.<\/p>\n

Last Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings<\/a>, for example, he scooped up a loose puck and made a power move to create enough space to make a move and tuck the puck five-hole. It\u2019s far from his signature goal, and that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cJJ (Peterka), I think, is interesting,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cIt takes you a little bit of time, I think, when you get traded, to settle into your new surroundings, new systems and everything. I think he\u2019s done a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Armstrong highlighted Peterka\u2019s defensive game, which has come miles since he left Buffalo.<\/p>\n

Last season, he was on the ice for 84 goals against in 77 games. Through 57 games this year, he\u2019s at 34 \u2014 on pace for 62 over the same number of games. That difference of 22 goals is likely the difference between making the playoffs and golfing early.<\/p>\n

Logan Cooley was having a breakout year until he went down with a lower-body injury in early December. Through 29 games, he already scored two hat tricks, including a four-goal game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been tough for Logan,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cYou feel for him a little bit because he\u2019s a heck of a player and he wants it so bad and he got injured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooley has been skating with the team for the last two weeks, using a noncontact jersey to protect himself from aggravation. He\u2019s projected to return to the lineup around the conclusion of the break.<\/p>\n

If he can pick up where he left off, the team should get a significant boost.<\/p>\n

Structural changes<\/p>\n

In its inaugural season, Utah suffered 20 come-from-behind losses. In a number of instances, they managed to maintain a lead for the bulk of the game, but gave it up in the final minutes.<\/p>\n

Winning just four more of those games would have secured them a playoff spot, so it was imperative that they solved that problem this season. And for the most part, they have.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s a six-on-five trying to score or trying to get better on the power play or PK, we\u2019re always geared towards improving and getting to that next step,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cI think our club has made a lot of improvements in the last part of games, and that comes down to coaching, it comes down to players buying into protecting the lead, and a little bit of maturity there, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the purpose of those \u201cmeaningful games\u201d of which the club has spoken so much. They learned what not to do last season, and it\u2019s helped them close out more close games this year. Their place in the standings reflects that.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for the Utah Mammoth?<\/p>\n

If the Mammoth do accomplish their goal of making the playoffs this year, they\u2019ll have to set the bar even higher next season, right?<\/p>\n

Not necessarily.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of patience that goes in, you know? Most clubs that become championship clubs have to go through some pain,\u201d Armstrong said.<\/p>\n

He pointed to the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning as an example. They had what was, at the time, the fourth-best regular season in NHL history. They played the second wild card-holding Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round and got swept in four games.<\/p>\n

The next season, they came back with a lesser regular season but better playoff preparation, and went on to win the Stanley Cup. They did the same thing the following year, and then lost in the Final the year after that.<\/p>\n

During Armstrong\u2019s 16-year tenure with the St. Louis Blues in positions ranging from amateur scout to assistant GM, he experienced a number of similar setbacks, though none were as drastic as the Lightning\u2019s. In 2019, their experience culminated in the organization\u2019s first-ever championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying we\u2019re going to be immune to that pain. I mean, you\u2019re asking me what comes next \u2014 probably pain. Growth and pain, growth and pain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how you get a little bit better, each time, but I like where our club\u2019s at. We\u2019ve been pushing here. We\u2019re right where we\u2019re supposed to be, where we want to be, and we\u2019re pushing down the stretch to get into the playoffs, and that\u2019s a huge thing. So I don\u2019t want to look too far ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Tusky celebrates the Utah Mammoth\u2019s 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Utah Mammoth have never been shy about sharing their objectives. In Season 1, they wanted to play…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[377],"tags":[5,3157],"class_list":{"0":"post-453336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-news-feed-local"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116047141904945636","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}