The Utah Mammoth’s first AHL recall of the season brings up one of their more interesting blue-line prospects, as Artem Duda gets his first NHL call-up.
Duda was recalled from the Tucson Roadrunners on Tuesday after putting together a strong start in the minors. Through six games with Tucson this season, he has three points and is tied with Zac Jones for the team lead in scoring among defensemen. He also owns a plus-six rating, which leads the club.
For Duda, this is a major next step. The second-round pick from 2022, selected by the Arizona Coyotes, has never been called up to the NHL before.
His path back to this point hasn’t been smooth, either. Last season he appeared in just 27 games, collected 13 points, and then had his year cut short by a knee injury that required surgery.
Since then, he’s been focused on getting back to full strength. He said the work over the summer paid off, and his preseason showing backed that up. After an impressive rookie camp and a strong training camp, he was among the final cuts, along with Ben McCartney, before Utah opened the season.
“I feel like I’m the strongest person I’ve ever been,” Duda said. “Everything is good.
The knee is good. I’m skating and playing physically.
I just have to keep going like that.”
The timing of the call-up also lines up with some injury trouble for Utah. John Marino did not play in Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, which pushed Nick DeSimone into the lineup. Then on Tuesday, Michael Carcone was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury after not playing since Oct. 8 against the Boston Bruins.
Whether Duda actually gets into a game this week is still uncertain. Utah used several call-ups last season - Maksymilian Szuber, Kevin Connauton, Scott Perunovich, Dmitri Simashev, and Maveric Lamoureux - but only Simashev and Lamoureux ended up appearing in games for the Mammoth.
One factor working in Duda’s favor is roster flexibility. He is not eligible for waivers, so Utah can send him back to Tucson without exposing him to another team. That may be part of why the Mammoth chose him over Jones, who would have to clear waivers.
For Tucson, the timing means a short stretch without one of its top defensemen. The Roadrunners are set to begin a weekend trip to Nevada for games against the Henderson Silver Knights, and Cal Thomas and Brandon Holt could be asked to step into bigger roles.
Utah’s next game comes Thursday at Climate Pledge Arena against the Seattle Kraken.
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Former Coyotes Pick Is Finally Getting The Chance Arizona Never Could
The latest bit of movement involving Tucson has a familiar name at the center of it. Utah recalled defenseman Artem Duda from the Roadrunners, giving the blue-liner a chance to make his NHL debut after carving out a solid run in the AHL. For those who followed the Coyotes final drafts before the franchise relocation, Duda is one of the prospects who once passed through Arizonas pipeline and kept developing after the organization moved on.
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Karel Vejmelka is among the names being mentioned as a possible fit, which is enough to make this a storyline worth watching from Arizonas side. The ripple effect gets even more interesting because the Rangers are not just searching for a stopgap, they are being linked to a much bigger goalie shakeup that could involve several clubs, and the Coyotes could wind up in the middle of it if those talks gain real traction. [Read more 🡒]
Roadrunners Face Early Test As Momentum Shifts Away From Home
The Tucson Roadrunners are heading into a useful early measuring stick, opening a five-game road swing with back-to-back meetings against the Henderson Silver Knights on Oct. 23 and 24 at Lees Family Forum. It comes at a good time for Tucson, which has put together a four-game point streak and won three of its last four in regulation, giving the club some traction before the trip turns its attention away from home ice.
Ben McCartney has been one of the drivers of that stretch, staying hot with a five-game point streak, while rookie goaltender Michael Hrabal has also settled in nicely after a recent milestone in net. The Roadrunners will find out quickly whether that momentum can travel, with the first stop in Henderson offering an immediate test of how well Tucson can carry its recent form into a tougher road setting. [Read more 🡒]