Mammoth News & Rumors: Edvinsson, Prospect Check-In, and More

Welcome to the first Utah Mammoth news and rumors piece of the season. We are now four games into the 2026-27 campaign, and the team is off to a hot start. They currently are rocking a 3-1-0 record heading into the second-to-last game in their East Coast road trip.

With that, there are quite a few bits of news and rumors surrounding the Mammoth, including another big name that has been linked to the Mammoth. Shocker. Let’s get into it.

Simon Edvinsson Rumors

After Connor Hellebuyck publicly requested a trade out of Winnipeg, the Mammoth’s name immediately came up. It’s not the first time the team has been linked to a big name. Throughout last season, as the Mammoth competed for a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history, because of their cap space, their young team, and general manager Bill Armstrong’s competitiveness in the market, players like Robert Thomas and Vincent Trocheck were thought to be targeted by the team.

Some of those rumors came true. Trocheck obviously got traded to the Mammoth during the summer, and Sebastian Cossa, who had been linked to Utah forever, was also acquired by the team.

Now, there is a new name on the horizon. Simon Edvinsson wants out of the Detroit Red Wings. The 23-year-old defenseman is currently an unsigned restricted free agent (RFA). Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Edvinsson would rather be traded than stay and sign an extension.

NHL insiders have begun to link Edvinsson to the Mammoth. There’s sense behind it. The defenseman is a massive and young left-shot defenseman who fits the timeline of a lot of the players on the team. He’s a player who will grow with the team and be a menace on the ice. Edvinsson blocks shots well and, because of his height, is able to steal pucks that others can’t.

Edvinsson has also produced 25 or more points in the past two seasons. That’s not too shabby at all, especially for a player who hasn’t even reached his prime yet. Most of those points have been assists, and it’s because he can pass up the ice well. That is something the Mammoth love to see out of their defensemen.

Should the Mammoth try to acquire the defenseman? My two cents? No. The team’s top left-shot defenseman is Mikhail Sergachev, someone who Edvinsson isn’t going to push out anytime soon. Nate Schmidt is the second left-shot defenseman. Sure, alone, Edvinsson is better than Schmidt. However, the pairing of him and John Marino has been one of the best pairings in the NHL. With Marino recently signed to an extension, the Mammoth probably don’t want to break that pairing up any time soon.

Then there’s Dmitri Simashev. A very similar player to Edvinsson, except two years younger. They’re both tall, both capable of putting up 25 or more points a season. While Simashev hasn’t developed to the point where Edvinsson is, the Mammoth have time. They have a very competitive team right now. However, their best team isn’t even here yet.

Caleb Desnoyers, Tij Iginla, Gabe Smith, Tomas Lavoie, and Michael Hrabal are all expected to be big parts of the Mammoth one day, and they just began their pro careers. While the Mammoth are competitive now, why mortgage future assets for something they already have?

If the Mammoth are to trade for Edvinsson, they’d surely have to give up a big part of their future. Whether that be Iginla, Desnoyers, Simashev, or Daniil But, one of those guys would be traded in this deal, plus probably more. Ultimately, it makes sense why the Mammoth are linked to Edvinsson. When you think about it more, though, the Mammoth don’t have to do this trade, and they really shouldn’t.

Injuries and Transactions

Tuesday’s win over the Devils was a great win for the Mammoth. The power play was fantastic, the team’s play in the third period was a standout, and it was a big win after a hard loss to the New York Rangers over the weekend.

However, there was one concerning thing that happened during the game. In the third period, Sergachev took a puck in the back of his head from a failed MacKenzie Weegar clear. The defenseman skated off the ice on his own, but it was clear he was not ok. The Mammoth later announced Sergachev would not return to the game with an upper body injury.

Out of any defenseman, losing Sergachev would be the worst option. He is the team’s number one blueliner and has had a really good start to the season with six points in four games. With Brock Faber’s recent skull fracture, it’s hard not to worry.

Sergachev did play on Thursday against the Boston Bruins. If it was going to be a short-term injury, the Mammoth could’ve used Nick DeSimone in place. If any defenseman faces a long-term injury this season, the team has options in the American Hockey League (AHL) between Zac Jones, who has had NHL stints, and someone who general manager Bill Armstrong said he expected to be in the NHL at points, and Artem Duda, who had a great training camp and start to the season.

The Mammoth organization had another player suffer an injury in the past couple of weeks that did result in some time away from the ice. After taking an awkward hit in the preseason, Owen Allard suffered a lower-body injury. He is expected to be out for the next six weeks.

On the subject of transactions, the Tucson Roadrunners made their first round of demotions to the ECHL’s Allen Americans on Thursday. Sam Lipkin, Miko Matikka, Noel Nordh, Terrell Goldsmith, and Jesper Vickman were all assigned to the team.

The first four names in that group are all signed to NHL entry-level deals. Lipkin and Matikka both struggled last season to stay in the lineup. While Matikka had a better second pro season than his first AHL season, it wasn’t enough to be an everyday AHLer. He spent some time with the Americans during the 2024-25 season, where his game improved.

Nordh is interesting in the fact that he didn’t have a bad rookie season. However, with the Roadrunners being as deep as they are, there was no room for him in the lineup. Rather than having him sit in the press box as a healthy scratch, which they have other people for, giving Nordh the chance to play top minutes in the ECHL should help him improve what he needs to improve.

Goldsmith is coming off another major injury that limited him to three games last season. The blueline is very deep for the Roadrunners as well. The ECHL, similar to Nordh, should allow him to adjust back to the pro level before he gets time back with the Roadrunners.

Vickman was expected to be the third-string goalie for the Roadrunners, replacing Dylan Wells. He’ll likely spend most of the season with the Americans and be called up if either Michael Hrabal or Jaxson Stauber run into injuries.

Prospect Check-In

The start of the season means the prospects are back in action. A couple of them have had hot starts to the season.

Perhaps the most notable one has been Florent Houle, who has started the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) season with five points in two games, including two goals. Drafted in the most recent NHL draft in the fifth round, Houle has looked like a diamond in the rough early on. He had a great rookie camp and has had a really solid start to the QMJHL season.

Stepan Hoch, drafted in the third round in 2025, has also started the season strong. After scoring three points in one game in Czechia’s U20 league, he has been promoted to the senior league, where he has six points in eight games. Houle and Hoch, who were both drafted further into the draft, could be the two biggest names to watch out for outside of the pro level this season. Two early strong starts show once again the Mammoth could have hit on two overlooked prospects again.

In the NCAA, both Ethan Belchetz and Adam Valentini are waiting for their first points to come. However, Carl Axelsson, drafted in the fourth round in this most recent draft, has had a strong start to his first season in the NCAA. He posted a 13-save shutout over Long Island University for his first-ever NCAA win.

He’s not the only goalie who has performed well early on. Melker Thelin has won all three of his games in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and is rocking a .988 save percentage with 84 saves in his pocket this season.

Pit Stop in Scottsdale

Speaking of prospects, let’s talk about the Roadrunners. After splitting their preseason tournament, the team has sputtered out to a 0-2-0 start, dropping both games this past weekend to the Colorado Eagles. After being shut out 2-0 on Saturday, the team came back and narrowly lost 5-3 on Sunday.

Top prospects Desnoyers and Iginla have gone pointless in the first two games. However, the duo who have been playing on the same line and on the top power play unit with each other looked better on Sunday with Yegor Borikov on their line.

“I thought they played a more direct style of game where they’re driving defenders back and then being able to pull up and hit the fourth man or make the next play,” head coach Steve Potvin said. “That’s encouraging to see. There’s still some room to grow there, but that’s what this league is about.”

Even though the two top prospects haven’t produced points yet, that doesn’t mean no rookies haven’t produced. Gregor Biber and Borikov each produced their first American Hockey League (AHL) assist on Sunday, and Vadim Moroz scored his first AHL goal. While Lavoie hasn’t gotten a point yet, he has looked better and better each period as he adjusts to the AHL level. Smith almost had his first AHL point, but his game has translated well over to the pro side of things.

Vadim Moroz TIES IT UP https://t.co/59eABy2th9

— Tucson Roadrunners (@RoadrunnersAHL) October 5, 2026

Julian Lutz has scored his first goal of the season. He’s had a strong start to the AHL season, producing points in the second preseason game and, of course, on Sunday after taking Sammy Walker’s spot in the lineup. As his entry-level deal nears its end, having a good season with the Roadrunners is important for the German forward. He should arguably be in the lineup going forward.

You can blame different things for the Roadrunners’ rough start, but the main thing that has caused the early struggles is the connectedness between everyone. A reminder that 11 of the 20 players who dressed on Sunday are new to the Roadrunners. This team is still working out how to play with each other. 

Yes, they had a lot of advantages going into this season with preseason action taking place in Tucson and the team opening up the season at home. However, a large number of those 11 players have never played AHL hockey before. Adjustment time has to be expected, especially when it’s three rookies playing on the same line as each other.

That’s why this week will be massive for the Roadrunners. They’ll be in Scottsdale for some of the week practicing and also doing some group bonding activities, a break that will create some great relationships and hopefully help the team going forward.

“It’s going to be a good reset,” Potvin said. “It’s being able to get into some meaningful conversations, and they get to know each other and poke fun at each other, and you build that chemistry through those card games. We’re gonna have a couple of team-building events, and we’ll have a strong bond in the room.”

Potvin is sure the team will get past their early struggles heading into their series against the San Jose Barracuda. Rookies like Biber believe that too and are excited for the Roadrunners’ time off and first away games.

“These team bonding activities are a lot of fun for everybody,” Biber said. “It glues the group together even more. That’s for sure a good thing next week, and then we’ll be ready to get the first win next week.”

Former Mammoth News

Finally, players who have made their way through the Mammoth organization over the past few years have been busy. That includes two NHL debuts early on.

Cole Beaudoin made his NHL debut against the New York Islanders after putting up five points in two AHL games. Beaudoin was originally drafted in the first round back in 2024 by Utah and was traded to the New York Rangers in the trade to acquire Vincent Trocheck. Jonathan Castagna is also set to make his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames after getting called up from the AHL. Castagna, who scored two goals in two AHL games, was included in the Weegar trade.

Welcome to The Show, Cole 👏 https://t.co/1f3UKdlh53

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 6, 2026

Sean Durzi has scored his first goal as a Ranger after being traded with Beaudoin in the Trocheck trade. He has two points in five games and has been a consistent presence in the team’s top four, an opportunity he would’ve never gotten if he stayed with the Mammoth.

JJ Peterka has also been busy after being shipped off to the Boston Bruins over the summer. He has two goals in four games, including an overtime winner against the Winnipeg Jets. He, like Durzi, has found a role on the Bruins he probably would’ve never gotten with the Mammoth after their offseason moves.

INTRODUCING J.J. PETERKA 🤯 https://t.co/m2Y3i6Ft2a

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 30, 2026

Former Mammoth and Roadrunner goalie Matt Villalta has had a good start with the Rochester Americans, being named the AHL’s second star of the night on Oct. 3 after a 35-save performance. He is currently rocking a .951 save percentage.

The final two players within the Mammoth’s organization last season have found a home. Anson Thornton is joining the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads after having a tough time with injuries and breaking through the goaltending depth the team has. Ryan McGregor is heading overseas, joining Rytíři Kladno after spending the past six seasons with the Roadrunners.

Finally, while it’s not officially Mammoth news, Jade Iginla has signed a one-year player agreement with PWHL Hamilton after being selected in the second round by them this past summer. Iginla, the sister of Mammoth prospect Tij, is joining what should be a pretty good Hamilton team as they begin their first season in franchise history. Their season starts Dec. 5 on the road against the Montreal Victoire.