Utah Mammoth Reassign Maksymilian Szuber
Saturday: The Mammoth announced that Szuber has been sent back to the Roadrunners. He did not see any game action while on recall.
Monday: The Utah Mammoth announced tonight that they have recalled defenseman Maksymilian Szuber from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.
The recall was made just before the club began its contest against the Chicago Blackhawks, and was likely made with an eye to the injury currently being managed by defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.
Sergachev has been out since March 5 with a lower-body injury. With Sergachev unavailable for selection by head coach Andre Tourigny, the addition of Szuber gives the team an additional blueliner to work with in Sergachev’s absence.
This isn’t Szuber’s first recall in recent weeks for the 23-year-old defenseman, though he has not yet dressed for any games for the Mammoth. He has one NHL game to his name, coming in 2023-24 with the Arizona Coyotes. He’s been making a push for consideration for an NHL role in 2025-26, a development that has been underscored by his handful of recalls this year.
The 6’3″, 220-pound defenseman won a DEL Championship with Red Bull Munich in 2022-23 before crossing the Atlantic to cut his teeth in the North American pro game. He’s been a steady top-four defenseman at the AHL level over the past two years, and has had a strong season so far. In 50 games for the Roadrunners, he’s managed 10 goals and 25 points. He’s handling a solid diet of minutes for the Roadrunners, and is contributing on both sides of special teams.
While the Mammoth are looking to hold onto their current spot in the Western Conference playoff picture (their ceiling is likely the first Wild Card spot, given the substantial standings lead held by three Central Division juggernauts, the Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, and Dallas Stars), they stand to benefit if they can find a way to test Szuber in some NHL games down the stretch.
He’s a pending restricted free agent who will have the right to file for arbitration if he so chooses. If the Mammoth can get Szuber into some NHL games, they would likely have a better sense of how close he is to being firmly NHL-ready, which would then give them a better sense of what level of investment to commit to him on his next contract.
Additionally, from Szuber’s perspective, getting the chance to play in some NHL games could enhance his case for a more substantial contract this summer. It would potentially allow him to position himself in negotiations more as a player on the NHL-AHL bubble, rather than a full-time AHL talent.
Mammoth Reassign Ben McCartney, Kevin Connauton, Maksymilian Szuber
The Mammoth announced Monday they’ve reassigned forward Ben McCartney and defensemen Kevin Connauton and Maksymilian Szuber to AHL Tucson. That wipes their active roster of all the players they’ve summoned for practice purposes over the Olympic break, signaling they expect both of their Olympian skaters who advanced to the medal games, Clayton Keller and Olli Määttä, to be available Wednesday night against the Avalanche.
McCartney, 24, is in his fifth pro season, all in the Utah and Arizona organizations. He was a seventh-round pick by the Coyotes in 2020 and has panned out nicely for them and now the Mammoth as an impact winger for Tucson. He only has two NHL games to his name, coming with Arizona back in 2021-22, but has been a consistent scoring piece for Tucson in the interim and has been an alternate captain for the club since 2023.
This season, the physical winger’s game has assumed new heights. He’s already set new career highs with 21 goals and 46 points in 47 games and leads Tucson in scoring. Along with 2023 first-rounder Daniil But, who Utah returned to Tucson last week, he’ll be among the Mammoth’s top forward recall options down the stretch.
While McCartney had been practicing with the Mammoth for the better part of a week, Connauton and Szuber were both just summoned over the weekend. The two defenders are at polar opposite stages in their careers and have had wildly different campaigns in Tucson. Connauton, who turns 36 today, is a veteran of 360 NHL games but hasn’t played at the top level since 2022. He likely won’t be adding to that total as he’s had a nightmarish season in the AHL, recording just two assists and a -11 rating in 23 games.
Szuber, meanwhile, continues to build his way toward competing for an NHL roster spot. The 23-year-old has far outpaced the development the Coyotes expected of him when using a sixth-round pick on him in 2022. The Polish-born German ranks sixth on Tucson in scoring this season with a 10-14–24 line in 44 games, along with a +5 rating. That’s promising production for someone touted as a potential third-pairing shutdown piece on the left side.
Mammoth Recall Maksymilian Szuber, Assign Scott Perunovich
The Utah Mammoth have joined many teams in rotating around their roster days before the NHL returns from the Olympic break. Defenseman Maksymilian Szuber has been recalled to the NHL club while Scott Perunovich has been assigned to the minor leagues, per a team announcement.
It is unclear if Szuber will stick with the NHL club through their return to game action but the young prospect has had a strong start to the year. Szuber has recorded 10 goals, 24 points, 38 penalty minutes, and a plus-five in 44 games with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. He has been involved all over the ice, using his big frame to dominate play up-and-down the ice. That presence has established Szuber as Tucson’s second-best defenseman behind Utah top prospect Dmitry Simashev – though Szuber is the only blue-liner on the team with double-digit goals.
Narrowly above both Szuber and Simashev in scoring is the veteran Perunovich, who has three goals and 30 points in 43 AHL games this season. The 27 year old has landed in Utah’s AHL system after failing to stick in the NHL lineup for the St. Louis Blues or New York Islanders. He has racked up 32 points in 108 NHL games dating back to 2021 but hasn’t yet debuted with the Utah Mammoth.
With this move, Perunovich seems set to continue filling his top-four role with the Roadrunners, while Szuber could earn his second NHL game. The German defender will compete with Ian Cole, Olli Maatta, and Kevin Connauton for time in the lineup. He made his debut with the Mammoth last season and recorded one penalty and a minus-one.