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Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl Excited' About Oilers' Central Division Rival

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 12:35 PM ET

The Utah Mammoth are the NHL's newest team, and reportedly, their brand new facilities have top players around the league incredibly excited as they enter their second season in the NHL.

The first season of hockey in Salt Lake City in the NHL took place this last season, and now we officially have the Utah Mammoth, a team that's ready to take the league by storm in 2025/26.

With a young core, this team is building something special for the future, and that's not only on the ice but off of it, as owner Ryan Smith is reportedly building some of the most sought after facilities in the NHL.

So much so that brand new Mammoth player Michael Carcone has mentioned just how much players around the league are taking notice of Utah's setup, as he mentions players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Steven Stamkos and how excited they are despite not being on the team.

'It is the talk around the league right now. At our gym in particular, you can see the Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Steven Stamkos talking about the new facilities. They've heard about it. They're excited for it and they're not even part of the organization.'

Unfortunately for the Mammoth, there weren't many free agents out there in 2025 to tempt to Salt Lake City with their young core and new facilities, but in landing JJ Peterka, Brandon Tanev and Nate Schmidt, they're building something special all around.

With a star studded class of 2026, we'll see if the talk around the league is enough to get players interested in joining the league's newest team, but as of right now, things are certainly looking up for the Mammoth.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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