McIntyre Makes Utah History in Dream Come True Moment

At eight years old, Utah native Colten McIntyre may have thought he would make it to the NHL, but as his hockey career continued on with stops in the NAPHL, NA3HL, and EHL, he wasn’t sure he would get a call to the show. However, a path started to form during the summer of 2024.

“When the Utah Mammoth moved here from Arizona, they were looking for a goalie for their summer skates, McIntyre explained. “There’s not a lot of goalies in the state of Utah, so I skate with the guys that were already here. (Michael) Carcone and (Lawson) Crouse came to one of our pro skates and said ‘hey, we need a goalie for our summer skates,’ so last summer I started skating with them, did the same thing this summer, and was planning on going to school after this summer. But (Mammoth goaltending coach Corey Schwab) said ‘hey, we got this new position, would you be interested?’ So, I said ‘absolutely,’ went through the hiring process, and was lucky enough to get the job.”

For his job, McIntyre is at every practice and game. He travels with the team, and is always there as a resource for the Mammoth. His job is a unique one. Not many people can say they work as an emergency backup and practice goalie for an NHL team. However, with the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, it’s a position that NHL teams are adding to their organizations.

With his role, McIntyre participates in the team’s morning skate; however, he watches the game from the press box. As a result, he usually has the afternoon of a game day to himself. On Dec. 23, his relaxing afternoon took a quick turn with a text from Schwab.

“You got to get to the rink right now, just in case you got to go in,” McIntyre reflected on the text he got. “So, I had to hurry up, get dressed, pack up my bag, and get an uber over to the rink.”

Once he got to the rink, McIntyre let his family and friends know what was going on, put his phone away, and focused on the task at hand: serving as a backup goaltender for an NHL game. McIntyre signed an amateur tryout agreement, got dressed, walked out of the locker room, and took his solo rookie lap at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

“That was super cool,” McIntyre said of his rookie lap. “I was just trying to make sure I didn’t fall or run into anyone when they started getting on the ice. I was just really happy to get it done.”

Following the lap, McIntyre participated in his first ever NHL warmups, and then joined his teammates on the bench to back up veteran netminder Vítek Vaněček. From finding out he would suit up for an NHL game through the final whistle; the Mammoth embraced their teammate and made it a special experience.

“I feel like the luckiest guy in the world,” McIntyre smiled. “It’s a great group of guys as well that made me feel super welcome. They’re all super kind. They were giving me stick taps and cheering me on in warmups and everything. It’s just been an unreal experience to be around this level of hockey with this incredible group of guys.”

Although he didn’t play, McIntyre made history as the first Utah native to be on the Mammoth’s roster for a game. A dream come true moment became even more special for the Park City native.

“It’s an absolute honor,” McIntyre reflected. “I never thought that would be me, but I’m going to remember that for the rest of my life. I feel super lucky to do that for this state.

“I think eight-year-old me would believe me,” McIntyre said of this experience. “But after that, I would have just never thought I’d see the day. It’s just unreal. I’m still trying to process it even though it happened like a week ago. It still doesn’t feel like a real situation for me.”