Notebook: Development Camp, Day 2

It's Day 2 of Development Camp for the Utah Mammoth and the team held two on-ice sessions: the first was from 9:45-11:45 a.m. and the second was between 12:15-2:15 p.m. Both sessions were open to the public.

Get caught up on the day with today’s notebook!

Practice Details

For the first ice session, Utah had its forward group, and goaltenders Michael Hrabal, Carsen Musser, and Shane Soderwall hit the ice. Skaters in the morning group went through various drills while the goaltenders worked on one end of the ice. These ice sessions are an opportunity to work on skills, like skating, with the team's development staff and coaches. After an ice cut, drills continued with shooting drills and the goaltenders working with the forward group. In the second session, Utah’s defenseman and goaltenders Melker Thelin and Carsen Musser were on the ice. Like the morning, the time was separated with an ice cut in between with various drills.

Back at Camp

Michael Hrabal, one of Utah’s goaltending prospects, is excited to be back and get used to elevation again.

“It’s great to be back here. First practice wasn’t the easiest, the elevation, my lungs hurt a little bit,” Hrabal smiled. “But I’m happy to be here. Focused with the goalies. A lot on the release and tracking. If I compared the first and second session, I could see a big improvement in that, so I think it was a great start and I’m looking forward to the next days.”

Owen Allard also is returning to development camp and has turned to the camp’s coaches to get feedback on how to improve.

“It’s obviously fun to be here and test yourself and compare and contrast other prospects,” Allard explained. “The development coaches have been giving all of us prospects lots of feedback and (what) we have to work on this summer in training.

“They’re giving me lots of feedback,” Allard continued. “Just trusting my speed, my physicality. I’m a big body out there so I feel like I just need to use my body more. Going into pro next year, that’s going to be a big thing to adjust to so I’m just trying to focus on that, getting stronger, faster, just trying to push for a roster spot.”

Tij Iginla Gives Health Update

Utah Mammoth prospect Tij Iginla is at development camp; however, due to two hip surgeries this season, he will not be a full participant at camp. Iginla will skate and participate in the on-ice sessions with a no-contact jersey. Despite missing time from injury this season, Iginla has used his recovery time to work on his game through different methods.

"It wasn’t what I probably would have expected at 18-years-old getting double hip surgery,” Iginla explained. “I think a lot of good will come from it. I only played 20 games (this year) so it wasn’t a normal season but I think I was (working on) finding different ways to get better, whether it was the mental side of the game, or lots of different things. Just trying to trust the process and believe it’ll all work out for the best.

“I should be full skating, full contact and everything soon here, probably about a month or so,” Iginla also shared. “Through the summer, keep getting stronger, more powerful, all that stuff from a weight room side of things. Then keep honing my skills on the ice and then just going to camp as ready as I can, and then just giving myself the best chance I can to make the team.”

Development Camp Roster

Here is this year’s development camp roster:

Recent Transactions

On Monday, Utah acquired a conditional third-round draft choice in the 2027 NHL Draft from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Matias Maccelli. The 2027 third-round draft choice will upgrade to a 2029 second-round draft choice if Maccelli records at least 51 points during the 2025-26 season and Toronto also qualifies for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“We appreciate everything that Matias has done for the organization,” said Bill Armstrong, general manager of the Utah Mammoth. “He is a great person, consummate professional, and we wish him all the best.”

Utah also announced the signing of defenseman Montana Onyebuchi to a two-year, two-way contract, worth $775,000 at the NHL level for both seasons on Monday.

Onyebuchi, 25, tallied 3-7-10 and 112 penalty minutes (PIM) in 64 American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Tucson Roadrunners in 2024-25. He ranked third in penalty minutes and tied for fourth in plus/minus (+6) among all Roadrunners skaters. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenseman also skated in three postseason contests for Tucson, tallying an assist in his Calder Cup Playoff debut. Learn more here.

Utah Building Its Future Through Draft

For Utah Mammoth General Manager Bill Armstrong, Utah’s scouts, and the entire organization, the goal with every Draft is to grow the prospect pool with talented, multi-dimensional players. When it comes to the first-round, best available player is Armstrong’s go-to. On the second day, as teams rank prospects differently, Utah looks at their prepared list and selects who they view as the best available in Rounds 2-7.

“Adding depth,” Director of Amateur Scouting Darryl Plandowski said about Day 2 of the Draft. “Every year we try to do the same thing. There’s always lots of players around the world that you can add. There’s only 32 in the first round, so now you get a chance to keep adding talent to your roster.

“The talent’s getting better, and we get a chance to stack more players into the big groups,” Plandowski also shared. “I think that’s the exciting part about this draft. Who knows how many picks we’ll have next year, but that’s the way scouts think. We always get a chance to add into the (prospect) group.”

“We’re stacking players,” Associate Director of Amateur Scouting, Ryan Jankowski, agreed. “I think this year we did try and maybe take a few more swings. All throughout the draft, we’re still looking for hitting some gems in these areas throughout the day.”

Read more here!

Stay Tuned!

There will be full coverage of Development Camp on UtahMammoth.com, stay tuned throughout the week!