SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 08: Sean Durzi #50 of Utah Hockey Club skates against the Chicago Blackhawks at Delta Center on October 08, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This game is the first for the franchise in Utah following their relocation from Arizona. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – After missing the last five weeks with a shoulder injury, Utah Mammoth defenseman Sean Durzi is expected to return soon as he recently shed his blue non-contact sweater and was a full participant during morning skate on Thursday.
Sean Durzi is in a regular sweater this morning. pic.twitter.com/T75GQgYAXF
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) November 20, 2025
Some positive news for the Utah Mammoth this week as head coach Andre Tourigny shared that Durzi should return fairly soon and will be listed as day-to-day moving forward.
While he won’t officially return to lineup against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night, Tourigny noted the talented D-man is taking all the right steps as he is no longer wearing a non-contact sweater.
“It’s coming. It’s close. You can see today, he had a black jersey so we’re day to day at this point,” Tourigny explained.
Per Tourigny, Sean Durzi is day to day and is getting close to making his return.
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) November 20, 2025
As a full participant this morning, Durzi took reps with Olli Maatta on the fourth defensive pairing as he inches his way back into the lineup.
Before the injury, No. 50 played alongside Nate Schmidt on the second pairing as Utah carried 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
The 26-year-old was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, in October 1998. In 2023, the Arizona Coyotes acquired Durzi from the Los Angeles Kings via trade. On June 30, 2024, he signed a four-year deal with the Utah Hockey Club, keeping him with the franchise through the 2027-28 season.
Born in a Toronto suburb, Durzi began skating at the age of five. He began his pro hockey dreams as a goalie before switching to defense. He played AAA hockey for the Mississauga Braves and Mississauga Rebels of the Greater Toronto Hockey League before earning a chance in the OHL.
The Owen Sound selected Durzi in the 12th round (228th overall) of the 2014 OHL Draft.
After being selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the 2018 draft (52nd overall), Durzi spent four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League for development.
Toronto dealt Durzi to the Los Angeles Kings in late January 2019.
Durzi broke out during the 2019 OHL postseason, earning a berth on the Memorial Cup All-Star Team after helping lead Guelph to the league title. He scored three goals and assisted 24 others during the championship run.
He opened the 2021-22 season in the American Hockey League with Ontario, scoring 16 points in 13 games to earn his first NHL call-up in November 2021. He would play 64 games with Los Angeles, registering three goals, 24 assists, and a team-high 121 blocked shots while playing nearly 20 minutes a night.
His rookie performance earned Durzi a two-year, one-way contract that paid the defenseman $1.7 million a year. He went on to tally career-highs with nine goals and 29 assists while helping the Kings into the playoffs for the second straight year.
Los Angeles shipped Durzi to Phoenix in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick. He played a career-high 76 games for the Coyotes in 2023-24. Durzi scored nine goals and added 32 assists while playing nearly 23 minutes a night.
Following the franchise’s move to Salt Lake City over the summer, Durzi inked a four-year deal with the inaugural Utah Hockey Club on June 30, 2024.
The 6’1, 196-pound defender played the first four games of the 2024-25 season before an injury forced him out of action until late February.
The Utah Mammoth will begin a four-game homestand against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night at 7 p.m. MT.
The game will be available on Mammoth+.
All Mammoth games will also be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM).
