The Utah Mammoth opened preseason with a 4-1 loss, but there was still one bright spot worth circling: Vincent Trocheck looked sharp in the faceoff circle.
Utah sat most of its top names in the game, including Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Logan Cooley and more. Trocheck, though, was in the lineup, and he made his presence felt right away.
He won six of the seven faceoffs he took for Utah, a small sample but a clear sign of why the Mammoth wanted him in the first place. Trocheck brought some offense, too, as Utah tried to find its footing in the loss.
The 33-year-old’s game has long been about more than just one skill. He can help on draws, defend well, skate, and chip in as a scorer. In 67 games in the 2025-26 season, Trocheck put up 16 goals and 37 assists, and while his time with the New York Rangers didn’t fully match expectations, he arrives in Utah with plenty to offer.
He also joins a lineup with a lot of firepower around him. Trocheck is expected to skate on the right wing of the top line with Keller and Schmaltz, both of whom are capable of 30-plus goals and strong assist numbers. If Utah decides to mix things up, he could also end up alongside Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther.
That’s another reason the fit makes sense. Guenther and Cooley both look ready to push for 30-plus goals in 2026-27, giving Trocheck no shortage of skill to work with.
Utah also brought in Trocheck for veteran leadership, alongside former New York Islanders captain Anders Lee, 36. Both are expected to help guide younger players such as Tij Iginla and Caleb Desnoyers.
For a preseason opener that ended in defeat, Trocheck’s faceoff work was still a welcome takeaway for the Mammoth.
In Other News...
Daniil But Is Forcing A Bigger Utah Lineup Question
Daniil But has already pushed himself into a conversation Utah probably expected to keep a little quieter this early. In a preseason game, he skated on the first line with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, and the trio made an immediate impression with each player scoring a goal and adding to the offense. For a club still sorting out its forward combinations, that kind of showing from a young winger is hard to ignore.
The bigger issue is what comes next, because preseason chemistry does not always translate directly once the games count. Utahs regular-season look is expected to keep Keller and Schmaltz alongside Vincent Trocheck, which leaves But trying to force his way into a top-six spot rather than simply settle in where the numbers happen to fit. If his recent play keeps making that decision harder, the lineup question only gets more interesting. [Read more 🡒]
Mammoth Showed Coyotes Fans A Very Different Team Against The Kings
The early preseason look from Utah had a different edge to it, and Andr Tourigny noticed it right away. Against the Kings, the Mammoth skated with pace, leaned into the physical side of the game and kept their defensive pressure high, creating a tone that felt far more assertive than the kind of sleepy exhibition start teams sometimes show this time of year. The offense came from a few places, too, with Anders Lee scoring twice and Daniil But opening the scoring.
What stood out most was how consistently Utah played on the front foot instead of waiting for Los Angeles to settle in. The Kings had their pushes, but the Mammoth kept finding ways to answer them while staying on the attack, a sign of a team trying to build habits rather than simply chase a preseason result. For a roster still sorting itself out, it was the kind of game that offered a clearer glimpse of what Tourigny wants to see. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona High School Football Has A New Team To Chase
Week 4 in Arizona high school football brought the kind of shake-up that tends to follow a big upset, with Basha handing Liberty its first loss and sending the rest of the states pecking order into motion. The result created a new front-runner, while Centennial also strengthened its place near the top with a win over Mesa. Several teams still have spotless records, including Hamilton, Centennial and Desert Mountain, which keeps the next round of matchups meaningful even before the playoffs talk starts in earnest.
For programs chasing the new standard, the margin for error is getting smaller by the week. Hamilton now sits in position to be hunted, and the top group is tightening around a slate of upcoming games that could sort out who is for real and who is simply benefiting from an early-season surge. Libertys loss changed the conversation in a hurry, but it also set up a deeper race for the No. 1 spot that should make the weeks ahead worth watching. [Read more 🡒]