SALT LAKE CITY – In the third and final game of the 2026 Rookie Showcase, the Utah Mammoth prospects struggled mightily against the Los Angeles Kings in a one-sided loss on Tuesday afternoon.

Missing four of their top prospects as Daniil But, Dmitri Simashev, Michael Hrabal and Artem Duda watched in street clothes, Utah was simply a different team as they suffered a 4-0 loss to the Kings.

Shorthanded Mammoth struggle in rookie showcase finale against LA

With several of their most promising prospects out of the lineup on Tuesday, the Utah Mammoth struggled to generate much at either end during their showcase finale.

Unsurprisingly, without the leadership and offensive abilities of But, Simashev, and Duda, Utah’s offense was a shell of itself as passes consistently failed to meet their target’s tape, turnovers were aplenty and special teams struggled at both ends.

In absence of Simashev and Duda, Utah’s defensemen were completely disconnected from the forwards and continuously turned the puck over in dangerous areas.

Without But, the forwards lacked creativity and could not get to the middle of the ice which resulted in a stagnant power play that finished the day 0/8.

Meanwhile, LA was able to take advantage of Utah’s mistakes as they found the back of the net twice on the power play after initially opening the scoring on a shorthanded goal early in the first period.

Unfortunately for Utah, they never found their footing in this game as they suffered a one-sided 4-0 defeat.

Fortunately, this final game of the rookie showcase was meaningless, and the club can now shift their focus to training camp.

What’s next for the Utah Mammoth?

The Utah Mammoth will host media day on Wednesday, September 16 at the Utah Mammoth Ice Center.

Utah Mammoth President of Hockey Operations Chris Armstrong, General Manager Bill Armstrong, Head Coach André Tourigny, forwards Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, Vincent Trocheck, and Anders Lee, defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and MacKenzie Weegar, and goaltender Karel Vejmelka will speak to the media.

On-ice training sessions will begin on Thursday.

Cole Bagley is the Utah Mammoth insider for KSL Sports. Follow him on X. You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.

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