Kevin Connauton’s time with the Utah Mammoth organization appears to be ending the same way his 2025-26 season did: quietly, but with a clear sense that the finish line had been reached.
The veteran defenseman, now 36, spent most of the year on the fringes of the Tucson Roadrunners’ lineup, finishing with zero goals, five assists and five points in 30 AHL games. He also had one brief NHL call-up late in February, when some Mammoth players were overseas for the Olympics, but he was back with Tucson after a couple of days. Connauton is now an unrestricted free agent.
He opened the season in Tucson after being sent down early in training camp and cracked the Roadrunners’ opening-night lineup on the third pair with Montana Onyebuchi. That first game produced his lone assist for a while, coming on Owen Allard’s first pro goal. After that, the offense dried up.
October ended with Connauton at minus-three, and he was a healthy scratch for Tucson’s second game against the Manitoba Moose. November brought more of the same.
He finished the month at minus-four and spent four games in the press box, though his value as a veteran voice never disappeared. He hosted Thanksgiving for the team at his house for the second straight year, and he also dropped the gloves for his first fight of the season in a spirited scrap with Ian McKinnon in front of the Tucson crowd.
His role stayed limited through the winter. In December, he played in only two of the Roadrunners’ 10 games and was minus-two.
He then sat out the first seven games of January before getting back into the lineup against the San Diego Gulls, finishing the month at minus-three. February was just as sparse, with Connauton appearing in two of Tucson’s nine games before picking up his second point of the season against the Calgary Wranglers.
March offered a few more chances, but not enough to change his standing. He played in three of 12 games and added another assist against the San Jose Barracuda. Then came the final month, when he appeared in four of Tucson’s last nine games and dressed for the final three, including the season finale against the Henderson Silver Knights.
That last game carried a different feel. Captain Austin Poganski intentionally got kicked out of the opening faceoff so Connauton could take it, a move usually saved for special occasions like a final game.
The signs kept building from there. Connauton was named the game’s first star, his family joined him on the ice afterward, and he went to the locker room after recording his fifth and final point of the season.
All signs point to that being his last pro game in North America. Connauton has not officially announced retirement, but he has already started moving toward officiating, taking part in the British Columbia Hockey League’s officiating combine in Prague this summer and set to attend the NHL officiating combine in August.
What’s certain is that his run in the Mammoth organization is over. Over two seasons, he filled the role he was brought in to play: steady veteran presence for a young Roadrunners team.
In 86 AHL games, he shared the blue line with Maveric Lamoureux, Artem Duda and Dmitri Simashev, all players expected to become NHLers one day. He was also an assistant captain in both seasons and clearly meant a lot inside the room and around the organization.
Even with the uneven season, his overall body of work remains impressive. Connauton has played 831 pro games, including 360 in the NHL, and his 88 games with the Roadrunners across three seasons included his 450th AHL game this year.
For 2025-26, the grade lands at C-minus. The production faded, the minutes disappeared and younger players passed him by. But if this was the end, Connauton still left Tucson with a reputation as a respected teammate, a steady hand and a lasting imprint on the franchise.
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Utah Mammoth May Have Landed Two Draft Steals Nobody Saw
Utahs draft board got a little more aggressive when the Mammoth traded up from No. 19 to No. 17 and grabbed Ethan Belchetz, a prospect whose size and upside made him one of the more intriguing names available. The move fit the kind of swing a young team can afford to take, especially when the goal is to add players who might grow into bigger roles rather than simply fill immediate holes.
The bigger surprise may have come in the third round, where Adam Valentini was still on the board at No. 96 after being projected to go earlier. Size concerns helped push him down, but that kind of slide can create real value for a team willing to bet on talent over consensus. For Utah, landing both players could end up looking like a rare draft haul if those gambles turn into contributors. [Read more 🡒]