The Utah Mammoth selected six players on the second day of the 2025 NHL Draft on Saturday.
With their lone selection in the second round (46th overall), the Mammoth selected defenseman Max Pšenička from the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound blueliner began the 2024-25 season in Czechia, scoring two goals in 16 Extraliga games with HC Plzeň and adding 3-8-11 in 20 contests with HC Plzeň’s junior team. Pšenička finished the campaign with Portland, registering 1-6-7 and 12 penalty minutes (PIM) in 24 regular-season games. He also tallied 1-7-8 and eight PIM in 18 playoff contests as the Winterhawks advanced to the Western Conference Final. The Prague, Czechia native spent each of the previous three seasons (2021-24) in HC Slavia Praha’s system and most notably earned 13-38-51 and 70 PIM over 70 contests in the Czech under-17 league.
In the third round, Utah chose forward Stepan Hoch from Czechia’s HC Motor České Budějovice with the 78th overall pick. The České Budějovice native tallied 1-2-3 and two PIM in 23 Extraliga games with Motor and also made 30 appearances for the junior team, posting 12-17-29 and 18 PIM at the under-20 level. Hoch also earned 1-1-2 in two games with HC Stadion Litomerice of Maxa liga, Czechia’s second-highest league. The 6-foot-4, 192-pound forward has played 83 career games with HC Motor České Budějovice’s junior team over the last three seasons (2022-25), registering 23-37-60 and 52 PIM.
With their fourth-round pick, the Mammoth took forward Yegor Borikov from Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) at 110th overall. He tallied 12-13-25 and 16 PIM in 67 KHL games in 2024-25 and added 7-1-8 in 11 playoff contests alongside Dinamo Minsk teammate and fellow Utah prospect Vadim Moroz. Borikov also skated in one game with Dinamo Shinnik-Bobruysk of the MHL, Russia’s top junior league. The 6-foot, 185-pound forward has recorded 17-16-33 and 22 PIM in 108 career KHL games with Dinamo Minsk over the last two seasons (2023-25). Borikov has also skated in 50 MHL games with Dinamo Shinnik-Bobruysk since 2022-23, earning 12-12-24 and 42 PIM.
The Mammoth used their 142nd pick in the fifth round on goaltender Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko from the MHL’s Tolpar Ufa. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Tkach-Tkachenko made 40 appearances for Tolpar Ufa in 2024-25, posting a 23-8-7 record, 2.99 goals-against average (GAA), .908 save percentage (SV%) and two shutouts. The Chernolesovsky, Russia native has spent each of the last three seasons (2022-25) in Salavat Yulaev Ufa’s organization, and he earned a 19-3-0 record, 1.43 GAA and four shutouts in 22 games for Ufa’s under-17 team in 2023-24.
With the first of two sixth-round picks (174th overall), Utah selected defenseman Ludvig Johnson from EV Zug of Switzerland’s National League. The 6-foot, 181-pound Johnson tallied 4-6-10 and 10 PIM in 31 National League games with Zug and posted 4-13-17 and 16 PIM in 14 games with Zug’s junior team. Johnson has played 63 career games with Zug’s under-20 team since 2022-23, registering 13-31-44 and 66 PIM. The Zug native represented Switzerland at the 2024 IIHF Under-18 World Championship and 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, and he ranked third in points among Swiss defensemen at the World Juniors, with 1-1-2 and six PIM in five games.
The Mammoth acquired the Nashville Predators’ sixth-round pick (182nd overall) in exchange for their sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
With its final selection today, Utah drafted defenseman Reko Alanko from Jokerit’s junior team in Finland. The 6-foot-5, 201-pound blueliner posted 4-9-13 and 50 PIM in 33 games with Jokerit’s under-18 squad in 2024-25 and also recorded two assists and 10 PIM in 13 games with the under-20 team. Alanko spent the 2023-24 campaign with JYP’s under-18 squad, tallying 6-11-17 and 38 PIM in 40 contests.
