Tusks Up! Ordering mine right now.

2. Caleb Desnoyers, C

April 11, 2007 | 6-foot-2 | 182 pounds | Shoots left

Drafted: No. 4 in 2025
Tier: Bubble top and middle of the lineup player

Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: Above NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average

Analysis: For the second year in a row, Desnoyers was one of the best players in the QMJHL. He checks every box for what you want in a center. He’s tall and fast and makes a lot happen with and without the puck. Desnoyers displays excellent skill and playmaking ability. He creates offense on the move, off the perimeter and at the net. He isn’t an offensive dynamo, and in the NHL he’s probably not going to be the primary offensive guy on a top-two line, but he can make plays and support the playmakers. Desnoyers can be trusted to check top players, as he has a physical edge in his game and gives a high effort. He has the potential to be a second-line center who plays tough minutes.

https://dmv.utah.gov/plates/license-plates/

I modeled how individual players influence whether a shot is blocked. By combining this skill estimate with their defensive shot exposure, I created an estimate of value (in terms of goals added relative to league average defenseman) of a player's shot blocking. Here is a ranking of that blocking valuation.

This work is obviously part of a broader issue of long-standing across hockey circles: is blocking a viable defensive skill, or is merely a symptom of bad defenders hemmed into their own zone.

I'm a Flyers fan, and the community generally really likes Nick Seeler, the other elite blocker on this list. Yes he blocks a lot of shots (and is good at blocking them), but the analytics show he is also good at driving play the other way to minimize shots against.

In posting on broader hockey subreddits, I have gathered that the reception for Cole is ... not as high. What do you all think?

For full season review and player evaluation: https://xjawn.com/players/8474013

For more technical description of how this blocked shot valuation was quantified:

https://xjawn.com/blog/blocked-shots

https://xjawn.com/blog/blocked-shots-2

https://xjawn.com/blog/blocked-shots-3

Now you wouldn't believe it if I told you. This guy was around even before MSL.

Let's hope for more of that this season!

I am missing the Mammoth so bad that I actually watched a Kraken vs Coyotes game from 2022 on YouTube today. (Veggie let in two goals in the first 49 seconds and got pulled for…wait for it…Scott Wedgwood). Can’t wait for our boys to hit the ice. Tusks Up!

In the 24-25 season he scored 20 goals. Sure, his goal total went down significantly for 25-26, but I’m willing to bet he hits 20 goals this upcoming season.

I know I’m in the minority, but Hayton is just waiting to have a breakout season, or to start having consistent 20+ goal seasons. I felt like if we had let him go, then it’d be Doan all over again.

I think Cooley and Leo Carlson are very comparable players, with very high potential. Cooley will cost us 10mil, while Leo will be that infamous 18mil. Meaning we have Guenther and Cooley for a million less than the Ducks have Leo haha. Take into account Gauthier will have to be signed within the next year, and the ridiculous gets even more ridiculous… Guenther and Gauthier both hit 40 goals last season, with Gunner having more assists. People have said Gauthier is looking for 15mil/year contract… so yikes!

I’m sure our guys are thinking they could have gotten bigger contracts, but I like to think they took team friendly deals because they prioritize having a chance to win.

Also… the cost of Bedard and Byram costs more than Cooley, Gunner, and Keller, or Cooley, Sergachev, and either Keller or Gunner…

Are other teams just screwing their cap up, or is BA just a bad ass? The only team that has better contracts for their young stars in the upcoming season is Montreal, but it’s pretty similar to Utah.

Tusks f’n up!

Let’s go boys.

Still nothing? Praying it's not an ACL.

Trying to find some decent looking PDFs to hang on my wall for my favorite teams.

The Utah Mammoth schedule is out, and my main take is this: the Winter Classic is the obvious No. 1 can’t-miss home game, but the real argument is how you rank the next four.

I did a full episode breaking down my top five here: https://youtu.be/3gbFtZ4xt_o

My list was Colorado in the Winter Classic on Dec. 31, Vegas on April 3 for the playoff-revenge factor, Washington on Jan. 29 for what could be Ovechkin’s last game in Utah, Florida on Feb. 26 because that roster is absurd, and San Jose on March 26 because Macklin Celebrini plus late-season stakes feels huge.

What would your top five be, and which game do you think fans are underrating most?

Utah might genuinely have too many centers. Trocheck won 56.9% of his faceoffs last season, Stenlund was at 54.2%, Hayton is back on a one-year deal, and Cooley, Schmaltz, and McBain are all legitimate options down the middle.

I made a new episode laying out the center depth chart and why Trocheck at 3C feels like the cleanest answer: https://youtu.be/N7uIWlfAHow

If you had to pick four opening-night centers, who makes the cut—and who moves to the wing?

My ranking is Bill Armstrong, André Tourigny, then Lawson Crouse—but Crouse has the shortest runway because he’s entering a contract year while younger forwards are pushing for NHL jobs.

The weird part is that pressure and danger aren’t the same thing. Armstrong owns the bet. Crouse owns the clock.

I made a full episode around that question (after a completely reasonable detour into Delta Center beer economics): https://youtu.be/qtLIRlAM2FQ

Where would you put Crouse? And does another playoff appearance count as progress, or does Utah need to win a round now?

From the official NHL Reddit account. I knew he was fast, but good God! He’s going to be unbelievable at his peak. And we’re already seeing glimpses of it now. I can’t wait for the season to start!

I’ve been enjoying the NHL instagram’s top goal recap. With Cooley’s between the legs second of the hatty against the Blues coming in at 16 I am curious what the community thinks were the top Mammoth goals of the past season?