Training Camp: Day 16

The Utah Mammoth’s first home game of the preseason is finally here! The team held its first morning skate in the newly renovated Delta Center, and will host the Los Angeles Kings at 7 p.m. ET.

“I think people will realize they’re really close to the action,” head coach André Tourigny said on Delta Center. “I think that will give us a good home ice advantage. That’ll be really steep, really loud, that will be cool.”

“It’s pretty crazy what they’ve got done in one summer,” defenseman Olli Määttä shared. “It’s really cool, impressive … it’s going to be great, I think everybody’s excited. I know it’s a preseason game, but I think having a first game at home, in front of our fans, it adds a little motivation there for sure. I think everybody’s a little excited about it.”

Morning Skate

Here’s who was on the ice for this morning’s skate:

Forwards: JJ Peterka, Jack McBain, Daniil But, Brandon Tanev, Gabe Smith, Curtis Douglas, Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther, Lawson Crouse, Clayton Keller, Cameron Hebig, Kailer Yamamoto, Andrew Agozzino, Kevin Stenlund, Michael Carcone

Defensemen: John Marino, Nate Schmidt, Nick DeSimone, Dmitri Simashev, Olli Määttä, Mikhail Sergachev

Goaltenders: Karel Vejmelka, Vitek Vaněček

The team ran through special teams this morning, here was the power play units today:

PP1: Sergachev, Keller, Schmaltz, Guenther, Peterka

PP2: Yamamoto, Carcone, But, Crouse, Schmidt

Close to the Real Deal

Both the Mammoth and Kings are expected to have a predominately NHL roster for tonight. Määttä discussed what he’s expecting out of tonight’s game.

“It’s going to be (closer) to what the games are going to be (like) when the season starts,” Määttä shared. “And that’s what you want. We’ve got a lot better with our system, getting back in (to) playing our game. They’ve done the same thing, so it’s going to be pretty close to what it’s going to be. That’s what’s exciting about it. I think these games are the ones (that) get you ready for the real thing.”

Progress and Evaluation

The Mammoth are focused on the team’s progression throughout this preseason slate. Tourigny discussed after skate how the team is focused on preparing for the season opener in Colorado on Oct. 9.

“(We’re making) sure we’re ready for Colorado,” Tourigny explained. “But to be ready for Colorado, we need to keep progressing, playing well, we need to keep working on our pace. I think right now, everything (that’s) happened during training camp, we can feel the progression. I can go phase by phase in our system. We feel we’re better, we feel we’re tough to play against, we’re stingy, we generate more offense, we have more net presence. Everything is going in the right direction. That’s what’s important. Hopefully we have the score on our side for sure, you always want to win, but first and foremost for us is to make sure we keep progressing.”

Roster Changes

Over the last few days, the Mammoth have made cuts to the training camp roster and assigned players to their respective teams.

At noon today, goaltender Jaxson Stauber cleared waivers and will report to the Tucson Roadrunners. Also at noon, the Mammoth placed defenseman Scott Perunovich and forward Ben McCartney on waivers with the purpose of being assigned to Tucson.

Following Wednesday’s practice, the Mammoth assigned defenseman Maveric Lamoureux to the Roadrunners and assigned forward Cole Beaudoin to the Barrie Colts (OHL).

Currently, the team’s training camp roster sits at 36 players.

Get Your Gear!

This season’s Utah Mammoth jerseys are on sale today! Make sure to stop by Delta Center before tonight’s preseason game to get your gear. If you can’t make it in person, you can buy jerseys on the team’s website here.