The Utah Mammoth have locked up one of their newest defensive prospects, signing Max Psenicka to a three-year, entry-level contract on Thursday.
Psenicka, a second-round pick by Utah at No. 46 overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, is now under contract after being selected in the franchise’s second draft since moving from Arizona.
The 19-year-old from Praha, Czechia, just finished his first full season in North America with the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks. In 53 games, he produced eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points and finished at plus-3. Portland earned the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, though Psenicka was held off the scoresheet in a first-round sweep by the top-seeded Everett Silvertips, who went on to win the WHL championship.
Utah also gave him a brief look with the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, at the end of the regular season. Psenicka played two games there and picked up an assist in his pro debut against the San Diego Gulls on April 15. He also finished that short stint with a plus-1 rating on an amateur tryout.
His season wasn’t limited to club hockey. At the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, Psenicka recorded a goal and three points in seven games as Czechia advanced to the gold medal game before falling to Sweden in the final.
The 6-foot-5 defenseman’s Portland numbers were even stronger across the full year, with nine goals and 28 assists for 37 points in 57 regular-season games, plus eight points in 22 playoff contests.
Before making the jump to North America, Psenicka spent part of the 2024-25 season in the Czech Extraliga with HC Plzeň, where he played 16 games and scored two goals before joining Portland for the back half of the year.
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Ryan Smith Made A Surprising Call With Those Golden Knights Jerseys
During the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Utah Mammoth found a clever way to turn old loyalties into new ones, letting fans trade in Vegas Golden Knights jerseys for Mammoth gear. It was the kind of promotion designed to do two things at once: build a fan base in a new market while acknowledging the complicated hockey geography that came before it, when Utah had also been part of the Golden Knights territory.
Ryan Smiths move added another layer to the idea, since the jerseys collected in the swap were not simply tucked away after the promotion. The effort fit neatly with the Mammoths larger push to establish themselves in Utah without needlessly antagonizing a neighboring franchise, and it left the team with a feel-good gesture that still carried a little edge for anyone watching the market shifts closely. [Read more 🡒]