Utah Mammoth Defenceman Out with Injury

Sean Durzi to Miss Four Weeks With Upper-Body Injury

Durzi was on the second defence pairing with veteran Nate Schmidt, playing an important role in Utah’s top-four. Durzi suffered a shoulder injury after just four games last season, which kept him out for 52 games. Now, it almost seems like Deja vu for Durzi. The Mammoth did not disclose if Durzi’s latest ailment is his shoulder again, but one can speculate. Having played in just two games this year, this is certainly not the start Durzi wanted.

With Barrett Hayton also missing time, Utah has been running a lineup of 12 forwards and seven defencemen to start the year. Olli Maatta has acted as the extra man. Rookie Dmitriy Simashev could be asked to play a larger role in Durzi’s absence. Hayton is now questionable for tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, so the Mammoth could go back to six blue liners.

What It Means

It looked like Durzi was starting to find his footing, averaging 18:55 TOI, recording an assist, and blocking four shots. He will now have to heal up and hope that he won’t miss more time. If the current timeline holds, Durzi could return to action in November. This is a big loss for Utah, as Durzi is the team’s top right-handed defenceman. They will have to move forward without him as the Mammoth continue their second-ever season in the NHL.

In just 32 games with Utah, Durzi has four goals and 12 points.