Three reasons the Utah Mammoth look better
Several trades appear to have improved the new-look Utah squad, but two fellow countrymen from Russia might make the final roster, too.
In any offseason, there is bound to be turnover.
Somebody is going to be the odd man out.
In this case, it was Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring to Buffalo in a trade for German rising star JJ Peterka.
For this Mammoth squad that not only got a name change—and what amounts to a brand new arena—the expectations now ratchet up about five notches as the team narrowly missed out on a spot in the Western Conference playoffs.
Here are three reasons the Utah Mammoth look better on paper.
3. The New Adventures Of Turbo And JJ
Honestly, we don't know when highly regarded Russian center Danill But, or last year’s draftees Cole Beaudoin or Tij Iginla or even this year’s draft pick Caleb Desnoyers will suit up in the NHL. What we do know is that the Mammoth pulled off one heckuva coup this offseason when they got JJ Peterka AND Brandon Tanev to come to Utah.
Turbo Tanev looks like the kind of guy that you do NOT want picking up your daughter for a date to a movie. The fact he's a dead ringer for Judd Nelson in the Breakfast Club is weird, but he's going to fill a role that was severely lacking last season along the front line. This guy will shoot the puck from anywhere on the ice; he blasted 99 friggin’ shots and made 10 of them. Coach Bear is gonna love this guy, because what does Turbo like to do? Snap pucks right in front of the goalmouth for teammates to tap into the net. The informer from the-one-you-know-Toron-to can also make beautiful assists, occasionally (10 last season at Winnipeg), and has played on four NHL teams, twice with the Jets.
Peterka is the wild card here; he's the guy Arizona expected its hometown guy Doan to be—and wasn't—so Utah (née Arizona) moved Josh. JJ had his most productive season as a pro, scoring 68 points (27 goals, 41 assists) at Buffalo last season. I know Mammoth fans are excited about the German, however, I’d caution them to pump the brakes a tad.
While Peterka did have a great year with the Sabres, and will undoubtedly have a shot at the Olympics for Team Deutschland this winter, his first three seasons in Buffalo increased incrementally, points-wise, with every passing year. The thing Coach Bear will like most is that when Tanev is ripping shots into the crease, Peterka’s speed might put him on the receiving end more often than not. Utah obviously has high hopes for JJ, who was immediately inked to a five-year extension.
2. Vindication For Veggie?
It could be, if Karel Vejmelka gets a few more breathers on a Mammoth team that upgraded at goalkeeper over the offseason. Veggie is another fan favorite at the DC, and with an improved seating capacity that will rival that of the vaunted Intuit Dome in Los Angeles along with a better interactive experience, you can only suspect that Veggie is going to thrive in an environment in what is also an Olympic year for him.
Vejmelka was more or less forced to play in 58 games for Utah last season, a career-high. The Czech now gets a bit more help in front of the net from fellow countryman and NHL veteran Vitek Vanecek, who literally caught fire for Washington in his first two years in the league, and was traded to New Jersey where he had a 33-win season upon arriving.
Since then, however, life has been interesting for Vanecek who has been bounced to three NHL teams in the span of 18 months, playing on two last season—collecting two Stanley Cups along the way, one with Florida less than a month ago when he had that epic stare-down with Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner.
Therefore, it is hard to say what version of Vitek the Mammoth get. With Veggie having won 26 games last season with a 2.26 goals against average, and the Mammoth seeemingly on the rise in the West, it's a great year for Vitek (5 wins, 3.36 GAA) to have a career resurgence in Utah. As we already know, it can happen.
1. The Russians Are Coming
After rumors circulated last year that the two Russians, Daniil But and Dmitri Simashev (cover photo) were going to be headed to Utah sooner rather than later, fans started preparing for a Russian invasion. That had to be exciting, considering how seamlessly defender Mikhail Sergachev has fit in with the mammoth. Sergy is a huge fan favorite at the Delta Center and absolutely loves it here in Utah. If that sounds like another Russian Jazz fans used to know, or Andrei Kirilenko AKA AK-47, and how he turned his celebrity here into an NBA All-Star appearance several years after having been drafted, then the Mammoth could be on the right path.
That's what fans are hoping for with the certain arrivals of Simashev and But, both drafted by Arizona several years ago and signing entry-level, two-way contracts last month. Simashev was named Game MVP at the Development Camp and But had his moments in the weeklong rendezvous of current and former draft picks.
The thought is that Simashev (above) has a better than average chance of making the final roster as a defenseman whose skating skills are nothing to scoff at, while But has more of a 50-50 shot. Both Russians just won the KHL championship, so the hope is that, at some point, you'll see both of them on a Mammoth team that clearly has made big upgrades to its roster in the hopes they make a playoff spot.
Sergy was even in his native Russia to make sure that his brethren got their signings over the line for Utah this summer, so that the trio could potentially enjoy playing many years for the Mammoth. That is vitally important for a team that lost Michael Kesselring and yet picked up Nate Schmidt from the Florida Panthers. Coupled with Sergy and potentially Simashev, Schmidt instantly helps a defense that gave up 251 goals last season, third worst in the Central Division. «
Overthink This Photo 📸
USA. Mexico. Two countries that don’t really care for each other from a geopolitical perspective and REALLY hate each other on a soccer pitch.
And so it was this past Sunday in Houston at the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final, a game that few expected this young American squad to be in—let alone compete against a Mexican side that basically had its A-team.
The reason that the US came into this Gold Cup so short handed was that 11 of its top players including captain and AC Milan star Christian Pulisic opted out, leaving new head coach Mauricio Pochettino with the equivalent of a B or C-level team.
It didn’t matter to the Americans that were undefeated through group play at 3-0, knocking off a good Saudi Arabia team before needing a bit of a miracle in the semifinal to advance to this championship game. This hard working group proved they wouldn’t be a pushover against Mexico though, scoring on a Chris Richards header in the third minute. If the ref gives the US this penalty kick, nobody knows what might have happened in this game that the Americans lost, 2-1.
For Diego Luna, RSL’s young star (above), the Gold Cup seemed to have cemented his spot on the World Cup team next summer. His two goals in the Gold Cup quarterfinal were the only ones he’s scored in the red, white and blue as a senior international player, and Luna made the talk show circuit for some other reason than that he shares the same name with a famous Spanish actor. «
#BullshitOrNot
Utah Jazz Reddit has always served fans with a fresh-faced look at the team—without showing any bias. Well, those days appear to be over now that they’ve banned me for the very thing they’ve allowed for months and are still allowing others to do:
Total hypocrites.
Thanks for reading; be safe and be well. I’ll see ya next time. «