Tij Iginla during practice as the Utah Mammoth hold rookie camp at their new practice facility in Sandy on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025 (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News).
(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – With more than two months remaining until the NHL’s regular season returns to Salt Lake City on October 1, discussions surrounding the Utah Mammoth roster have already begun after NHL.com released their projected lineup earlier this week.
Not a bad projected lineup here.
Both Trocheck & Lee in the top six, Crouse back on the third line, & Yamamoto on the 4th.
They also have Simashev making the opening night roster paired with Peeke.
Thoughts? https://t.co/dVacP1wkcj
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) July 27, 2026
While there’s still plenty of time and numerous factors that will play into constructing the official opening night roster, let’s take a look at how the lineup could shake out over the next 64 days.
NHL.com prediction:
Mikhail Sergachev — MacKenzie Weegar
Nate Schmidt — John Marino
Dmitri Simashev — Andrew Peeke
Beginning with the D-core, this is exactly how I’d expect Utah’s roster to look on opening night.
Despite some ups and downs last season after MacKenzie Weegar was acquired at the deadline, there’s no reason to believe that he and Mikhail Sergachev won’t be the top pairing, especially considering what we saw from Weegar after he finally found his footing in the postseason.
🚨 Weegs ties it up! pic.twitter.com/1lXcL9rXTm
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 22, 2026
WEE got ourselves a goal!!
Weegar makes it 1-0, Utah! pic.twitter.com/P1O0932Zar
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 25, 2026
98 and 52 are the most talented and seasoned defensemen on the roster who both understand that they can be better moving forward.
“I don’t think we played good enough,” Sergachev explained during exit interviews. “We could’ve played a lot better and helped this team. We didn’t.”
“The standard’s obviously high. The expectations are really high. We’ve got to know that it’s really hard. … But we’re going to get better,” Weegar added.
October 1 will be a great time to prove it.
As for John Marino and Nate Schmidt, that’s a defensive duo you simply do not mess with.
In addition to career-highs across the board for No. 6, their collective +29-goal differential at 5-on-5 was the highest such mark of any defensive pairing last season.
Related: Utah Mammoth sign John Marino to max term contract extension
Lock them in as the second pairing.
In regard to the third defensive pair, this is where things start to get a little interesting.
Heading into the offseason, Utah needed to move on from both Ian Cole and Sean Durzi.
While Cole was great during his two seasons in Salt Lake City, at the age of 37, he fulfilled his purpose.
As for Durzi, despite an incredibly positive attitude and the heart of a lion, his -12 plus/minus during the regular season was the second worst on the team while his -2 during the playoffs was also tied for second worst.
So, where does that leave Utah?
Entering his fourth year in the pipeline, it’s time for Dmitri Simashev to play a full season in a Mammoth sweater.
If not, I’d say he’s falling behind although I fully expect the 21-year-old to get it done.
As for his partner, training camp will prove to be an intense battleground for that final spot between Maveric Lamoureux, Andrew Peeke and Nick DeSimone.
As it currently stands, I’d expect Peeke to win the spot, DeSimone to remain as the healthy scratch option and Lamoureux to return to Tucson yet again.
Hopefully, Lamoureux can prove me wrong.
NHL.com prediction:
Clayton Keller — Nick Schmaltz — Vincent Trocheck
Anders Lee — Logan Cooley — Dylan Guenther
Lawson Crouse — Barrett Hayton — Michael Carcone
Jack McBain — Kevin Stenlund — Kailer Yamamoto
To preface, this is a forward lineup I could see unfolding on opening night, especially if no other prospects outside of Dmitri Simashev make the roster.
However, where my opinion slightly differs is that I do expect that either Tij Iginla or Caleb Desnoyers will be in a Mammoth sweater on October 1.
But before we jump into that discussion, let’s talk about Utah’s center depth.
While things can always change, GM Bill Armstrong has already outlined who will likley be at the center position on each of Utah’s four lines.
“I feel like we’ve got some of the best center depth in the National Hockey League,” he said. “Starting at Nick Schmaltz on the number one line, (Logan) Cooley at the second line, Hayton on the third line and (Kevin) Stenlund on the fourth.”
So, where does that leave newly acquired Vincent Trocheck who won 56.9 percent of his draws last season?
DOUBLE OT GAME WINNER FOR THE HOME TEAM! 🚨
Vincent Trocheck is the Game 2 hero for the Rangers as he scores the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner. pic.twitter.com/LIRRm5dKuL
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 8, 2024
While training camp will ultimately decide how the roster shapes out, Trocheck will more than likely play out on the wing in a top six role which he’s more than comfortable doing.
“I’m comfortable playing pretty much anywhere up front,” Trocheck said during his initial press conference with the Mammoth. “When you’re a forward, I think centers and wings is kind of interchangeable.”
“It’s just a matter of, once you start playing, there’s a faceoff and once you play, you’re playing. If you’re the first guy back, you’re low. First guy on the forecheck, you’re F1. It’s not necessarily if you’re playing center or wing…the forwards are interchangeable parts.”
Translation: Trocheck could simply take the draws and then slide over for No. 8 to attack the middle of the ice as that’s where he played the best hockey of his career last season (33G, 41A).
As for Anders Lee and Lawson Crouse, if Iginla or Desnoyers don’t make the roster, I’d expect NHL.com’s prediction to stand true with Lee on the second line and Crouse returning to the third.
While many argue that Crouse should remain on the top line, it’s hard to imagine him beating out Trocheck who didn’t come to Utah to play outside of the top six.
Notably, Crouse was also excellent regardless of what line he played on last year and even thrived alongside Michael Carcone on the third line midseason.
The only way possible way I foresee Crouse staying with Clayton Keller and Schmaltz is if a prospect doesn’t make it and the staff decides Trocheck is a better fit with Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther.
Now, let’s talk prospects.
Based on their development and performances over the last year, I anticipate that Iginla or Desnoyers will make the roster with a slight advantage currently in favor of the first ever draft selection in Utah’s history.
Without question, No. 12 was the most impressive prospect at Utah’s most recent development camp and while nobody is going to make the roster based on that week of hockey alone, he made his intentions incredibly clear.
“I think I’m ready,” Iginla said in regard to whether or not he’s ready to make an NHL roster this season. “I’m looking forward to a big summer of training and pushing it hard in the gym. I feel ready.”
“My goal is definitely to make the team this year.”
What followed was proof of his intentions as he was laser focused, took every drill seriously, dominated the competition and eventually registered a hat-trick in the scrimmage.
Iginla’s speed and creativity on full display this afternoon.
So dangerous every shift. pic.twitter.com/7oTkOeFgDq
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) July 2, 2026
As for Desnoyers, watch him for just a few moments and his hockey IQ absolutely jumps off of the page.
As demonstrated throughout the development scrimmage, “Desy” was everywhere as he battled along the boards, delivered checks, generated turnovers, lit the lamp, facilitated with ease and was a constant danger every single shift.
Similar to Keller, Desnoyers has the ability to patiently survey the zone while keeping things moving and swiftly locating the most dangerous option.
Additionally, Desy’s 6-foot-2 frame generally gives him a size advantage in a lot of situations while he appears to possess even more speed than before.
They make it look easy 😵💫 pic.twitter.com/fjkV1gJdjq
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) July 2, 2026
If one of them does in fact make the roster, this is how I’d see the forward lines shaping up:
Clayton Keller — Nick Schmaltz — Vincent Trocheck
Tij Iginla/Caleb Desnoyers — Logan Cooley — Dylan Guenther
Anders Lee — Barrett Hayton — Lawson Crouse
Jack McBain — Kevin Stenlund — Michael Carcone
As Bill Armstrong outlined in a recent press conference, either prospect is capable of playing on the wing in a top six role.
“Most centers, and Caleb showed this in the world juniors, can play wing,” he noted. “They’re some of the smartest players on your team.”
“With the upside of Desnoyers & Iginla, they can also filter into the top two lines…Caleb & Tij have the ability to come in and make our team…there’s openings.”
Regardless of how training camp goes, the Mammoth will have a better team on October 1 than they did on May 1.
With the additions of Trocheck and Lee, Utah is a deeper squad that addressed their primary flaws from a year ago which will hopefully allow them to not only return to the postseason but potentially win a series.
