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Austin’s main takeaway heading into Columbus: Utah may have just played the best game in franchise history, and now we get the first real road test of what that actually means. The 6-0 win over Chicago wasn’t just loud on the scoreboard — Utah doubled Chicago in shots 32-15, owned nearly 76% of expected goals, took 80% of the high-danger chances, won 72.2% of faceoffs, and out-hit them 42-12. But the real tension in this matchup is Logan Cooley. After Cooley’s crowd-hush game-winner in Columbus last year, Austin thinks the Blue Jackets — especially Mathieu Olivier — will be looking to make him uncomfortable. That puts a spotlight on Anders Lee, and maybe even Liam O'Brien, as Utah’s built-in answer if this turns nasty. Subscribe and listen for the full episode breakdown and road-trip benchmark talk. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

Austin Facer argues that Utah’s 6-0 destruction of the Chicago Blackhawks on opening night may have been the best overall performance in Utah Mammoth history. This wasn’t just a win. It was a full-game mugging at Delta Center, with Utah controlling roughly 57 to 58 minutes, doubling Chicago in shots on goal, and allowing Karel Vejmelka to face just 15 total shots on the way to the first home shutout in franchise history. The night started with the most familiar possible twist: Dylan Guenther scoring the team’s first goal of the season for the third straight year. He added another on the power play, finishing with 2 goals and 5 shots, while Michael Carcone scored 40 seconds after Guenther’s opener to turn the game into a runaway almost immediately. Austin also digs into why this felt different from previous Mammoth teams: Utah won 72.2% of its faceoffs, went 2-for-3 on the power play after going 0-for-8 against Chicago last season, and got immediate impact from new faces like Anders Lee and Vincent Trocheck. Lee scored his first point in a Mammoth uniform, Trocheck won 11 of 14 draws and delivered 6 hits, and the whole thing somehow included Tusky repelling from the ceiling like that was a normal mammoth activity. SLC Puck is powered by BigTuskEnergy.com CONNECT WITH SLC PUCK! 🤝 Patreon ➡️ https://www.patreon.com/slcpuck 🛍️ Merch ➡️ https://www.bigtuskenergy.com 🤑 SLC Picks (DFS) ➡️ https://www.slcpuck.com/t/slc-picks 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/slcpuck 🎥 TikTok ➡️ https://tiktok.com/@slcpuck ✳️ Spotify ➡️ 🐦 Twitter ➡️ https://x.com/slcpuck 👍 Facebook ➡️ https://www.facebook.com/slcpuck ☕️ Buy Me A Coffee ➡️ https://buymeacoffee.com/slcpuck This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

Opening night in Salt Lake City is here, but the real point of this episode isn’t just vibes. It’s that Utah absolutely cannot let Chicago be the same weird boogeyman it was last season after going 0-2-2 against the Blackhawks and 0-for-8 on the power play in that season series. Austin argues this season starts with a real test: did Utah actually get more dangerous, or are we still waiting around for the Dylan Guenther one-timer? He predicts Utah wins 5-2, gets a power-play goal from the second unit, and says Daniel Bute might be the one to absolutely nuke one home. Subscribe and listen for the full game-day spiral. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

Year three of NHL hockey in Utah is here, and this episode is basically a live check-in on the collective fan brain. Nervous? Excited? Too emotionally compromised to answer? Same. Austin and Sam talk through what this season feels like after a playoff run, a six-game exit against Vegas, and another round of Delta Center upgrades that somehow keep making opening night feel bigger. They get into the new-look roster, why the Blackhawks opener feels winnable, whether Vegas is officially Utah’s real rival now, and the specific players who could surprise people right away. There is also, naturally, an important discussion about Nate Schmidt, Dmitri Simashev, giant defensemen, and what Mammoth players might be eating during intermission. Subscribe for more Utah Mammoth chaos and listen to the full episode. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

Three preseason games in, the biggest Utah Mammoth roster answer feels a lot less complicated than it did a week ago: Daniil But should be on the opening-night top line. Austin makes the case for But riding shotgun with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz after his three-point breakout against Los Angeles, and lays out the full lineup he’d use for game one against Calgary at the Delta Center. He also gets into the harder roster calls: why Tij Iginla and Caleb Desnoyers look AHL-bound for now, why Dmitri Simashev has won a defense spot, why Liam O’Brien forced his way into the conversation, and why Brandon Tanev may be the odd man out. Subscribe for more Utah Mammoth therapy and listen to the full episode. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

The season is finally here, and Austin’s main point is pretty simple: yes, the home opener is going to be a blast, but the real story is how much pressure is baked into Utah’s start. The Mammoth open Thursday against Chicago, and even without Connor Bedard in the lineup, this is not some free square after Utah struggled badly against the Blackhawks last year. Austin also zeroes in on the bigger problem: Utah plays 13 of its first 18 games on the road. That’s a real gut check for a team trying to prove last year’s playoff berth wasn’t the warm-up act. There’s real optimism here, but also a warning not to panic if the standings look weird by November. Subscribe and listen for more SLC Puck all week long. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

Eric Jensen jumped on the show and made the case Utah isn’t just a cute up-and-coming team anymore. His big swing: the Mammoth finish top three in the Central, with one of Colorado, Dallas, or Minnesota sliding back while Utah cashes in on better depth and fewer contract headaches. We also got into why Colorado-Utah still isn’t a real blood-rivalry yet, why Minnesota feels weirdly fragile because of the Quinn Hughes situation, and why St. Louis might be the annoying team everybody is forgetting. If Utah is going to make real noise, this is the exact divisional conversation that matters. Subscribe and listen for the full episode. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

LATE UPLOAD: RECORDED SEPT. 22, 2026 Daniil But was the biggest thing Austin could not stop thinking about after Utah’s 6-3 preseason win over the Los Angeles Kings. But finished with a goal, an assist, a game-high plus-3, three shots, a block, a hit, and zero giveaways. More than the stat line, he looked decisive, physical, and smart on basically every shift next to Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. This episode is built around one argument: But may have forced Utah’s hand. Austin breaks down why that Keller-Schmaltz-But line looked so dangerous, why But’s net-front work and puck movement stood out, and why this suddenly feels like a real opening-night possibility instead of a training-camp experiment. There’s also a little pushback even after a fun win. Karel Vejmelka allowed 3 goals on 22 shots, and Austin thought Utah’s odd-man rush coverage and Vejmelka’s left-to-right tracking still looked shaky. Plus: Liam O’Brien brought the usual chaos and scored, Anders Lee had two goals, and Tij Iginla flashed some swagger with a filthy postgame shootout finish. SLC Puck is powered by BigTuskEnergy.com CONNECT WITH SLC PUCK! 🤝 Patreon ➡️ https://www.patreon.com/slcpuck 🛍️ Merch ➡️ https://www.bigtuskenergy.com 🤑 SLC Picks (DFS) ➡️ https://www.slcpuck.com/t/slc-picks 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/slcpuck 🎥 TikTok ➡️ https://tiktok.com/@slcpuck ✳️ Spotify ➡️ 🐦 Twitter ➡️ https://x.com/slcpuck 👍 Facebook ➡️ https://www.facebook.com/slcpuck ☕️ Buy Me A Coffee ➡️ https://buymeacoffee.com/slcpuck This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

LATE UPLOAD: RECORDED SEPT. 27, 2026 Utah’s first preseason game in Denver felt exactly like preseason hockey is supposed to feel: rusty, weird, sloppy, and just useful enough to tell us something. In a 4-1 loss to Colorado, the biggest thing Austin kept coming back to was Maveric Lamoureux making life harder on himself, especially after the blind backhand turnover that led directly to Beckett Hamilton’s goal. There were still real positives. Caleb Desnoyers won faceoffs, played physically, and didn’t look afraid of contact. Sebastian Cossa stopped 11 of 12 and looked like a backup you can live with. But if there was one guy whose night actually changed the conversation, it was Lamoureux — and not in the way he needed. Subscribe for more SLC Puck and listen to the full episode. CONNECT WITH SLC PUCK! 🤝 Patreon ➡️ https://www.patreon.com/slcpuck 🛍️ Merch ➡️ https://www.bigtuskenergy.com 🤑 SLC Picks (DFS) ➡️ https://www.slcpuck.com/t/slc-picks 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/slcpuck 🎥 TikTok ➡️ https://tiktok.com/@slcpuck ✳️ Spotify ➡️ 🐦 Twitter ➡️ https://x.com/slcpuck 👍 Facebook ➡️ https://www.facebook.com/slcpuck ☕️ Buy Me A Coffee ➡️ https://buymeacoffee.com/slcpuck This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

The most interesting thing in Mammoth camp right now isn’t just that preseason starts in Colorado. It’s that 21-year-old Daniil But got a real look with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, and Andre Tourigny basically admitted this is a legit evaluation window to see whether he’s ready now or still a few months away. But is 6-foot-6, 216 pounds, played 29 NHL games last year, and was nearly a point-per-game guy in Tucson with 39 points in 41 games. If he can do the simple top-line stuff Tourigny described — go to the net, open ice, forecheck, win loose pucks, and get his shot off faster — he might force his way into the opening-night conversation. Subscribe and listen for the full episode breakdown. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

Chase Beardsley joined me after Utah’s rookie showcase in San Jose, and the big takeaway was hard to miss: Dmitri Simashev looked like a guy with a real opening-night case. Chase loved the way he ran the power play, used his voice on the ice and wore the captaincy, and he thought Utah’s power play looked rough once Simashev sat in game three. We also got into why Tucson matters so much here. The Roadrunners aren’t just a holding pen. They’re a real development environment, and that matters for guys like Simashev and Daniil But, even if Simashev may be closer to Utah right now. Subscribe for more SLC Puck and listen to the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOG1PiRMk-k This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

The funniest thing from Utah Mammoth media day was also somehow the most perfect snapshot of hockey life: Dylan Guenther showed up after sleeping on the floor because his mattress still hadn’t arrived. So yes, we got a real live millionaire goal-scorer getting sold out by Mattress Firm before breakfast. But the bigger takeaway was how settled this team sounds. Bill Armstrong talked about Utah’s depth and cap flexibility while other teams throw huge money at stars, and the whole day had a calm, serious, ready-to-work feel around the Mammoth. Subscribe and listen for the full media day breakdown. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

Trevor Lewis is back in Utah, and this is bigger than a feel-good alumni story. The Mammoth hired the Cottonwood Heights native and two-time Stanley Cup champion as a video scout and youth/amateur hockey ambassador, which means they’re adding somebody who knows exactly what winning looks like and actually cares what hockey becoming bigger here would mean. Austin gets into why Chris Armstrong’s line about Lewis knowing what it would mean to bring a Stanley Cup to Utah is the whole point. Lewis has already brought the Cup home before, he played 17 NHL seasons, skated in 1,034 career games, and now he’s putting that experience back into the state that made him. Subscribe for more SLC Puck, and listen to the full episode for the Trevor Lewis breakdown. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

Vegas fans are furious, and honestly, I get why. Gabe Smith sent Trevor Connelly hard into the boards at the rookie showcase, got ejected at 10:33 of the second, then somehow added a second round of punishment in the fight that followed. It was not clean. It was not subtle. It was also the clearest sign yet that Utah’s system is done playing summer hockey. That’s the part I keep coming back to. Steve Potvin called it “big boy hockey,” Dmitri Simashev is wearing the C in San Jose, and the whole vibe around this team feels like guys are sick of hitting their own teammates and ready for something real. Opening night against Calgary is close enough now that even the weird little rookie games are starting to feel spicy. Subscribe for more SLC Puck and listen wherever you get your podcasts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com

Brogan Houston from the Deseret News joined me to talk through the actual first-day rookie camp questions that matter: no Tij Iginla, no Caleb Desnoyers, what Dimitri Simashev’s role looks like, and why Mammoth fans should probably calm down a little on the Tij timeline. We also took a detour into one of the most beautifully random hockey stories imaginable: Brogan once worked on Carey Price’s vehicle at Kal Tire, recognized him from across the shop, and kept the work order like the sicko he is. Tremendous scene. Subscribe for more SLC Puck and listen to the full episode here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.slcpuck.com