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Dylan Guenther, Utah Hockey Club (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Utah Mammoth’s 2024-25 Report Cards: Dylan Guenther

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Chase Beardsley | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 9:55 AM ET

The inaugural season for the Utah Hockey Club (now the Utah Mammoth) is officially over. The team finished with a 38-31-13 record while their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, finished with a 34-32-4-2 record, which was good enough for the seventh playoff spot in the Pacific Division. The Roadrunners went on to lose in the first round of the playoffs 2-1 to the Abbotsford Canucks.

With the season in the books, it’s time to look at the 48 Utah players under an NHL contract (excluding Connor Ingram for obvious reasons) and grade their 2024-25 seasons. We’ll also reflect on how they did during the 2023-24 season and see if they improved or did worse, along with what their future holds. We’re going alphabetically by first name. Next up is Dylan Guenther.

Last Season

After a season split between the Western Hockey League and the NHL, Guenther was set to resume his time in the pros for the 2023-24 season. After the Arizona Coyotes’ preseason, he was one of the final training camp cuts thanks to a two-point outing for Michael Carcone in the final preseason game, who claimed the last NHL roster spot. Guenther was sent down to the AHL.

While Guenther didn’t score in his first AHL game, he ended up on the scoresheet twice in his second game after recording two points, including his first goal with the Roadrunners. With the team, the 2021 first-round pick exploded offensively. That included a seven-game point streak in November where he had nine points.

Towards the end of 2023, Guenther somehow took his play to a whole different level. In his final five games with the Roadrunners, he had eight points, including a four-point outing against the Bakersfield Condors. Half of those points were goals.

Up in the NHL, the Coyotes were dealing with some roster changes. The Chicago Blackhawks had just claimed Zach Sanford, and Jason Zucker was suspended for three games for a hit on Nick Cousins. With Guenther having 28 points in 29 games with the Roadrunners, he was the obvious next man up. So, the Coyotes recalled him with the idea of giving him a couple of games with Zucker out of the lineup.

Right out of the gate in his first NHL game of the season, Guenther scored a goal. He followed that performance up with a two-point game against the Boston Bruins. Although Zucker’s suspension ended after that game, the Coyotes kept Guenther in the lineup.

Guenther had some stretches where he went pointless, but he seemed to make some sort of an impact in most games. He had several multipoint games. In back-to-back games to begin March, he had five points. Later in March, Guenther scored his first overtime winner against the Seattle Kraken on a breakaway, something he would become especially good at.

At the trade deadline, Guenther was sent down to the Roadrunners in order to make him eligible for the AHL playoffs. However, he remained with the Coyotes and continued to get better, especially after being placed on a line with Logan Cooley and being added to the power play.

In the final couple of games in the season, Guenther really showed off how good he can be. In his final 10 games, he had 12 points, including a four point night against the Vancouver Canucks and three goals in his final two games.

In total, Guenther played 45 games with the Coyotes and recorded 35 points. 18 of those points were goals. After the conclusion of the NHL season, Guenther was sent down to the AHL along with Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan to join the Roadrunners for the first round of the playoffs.

Back down in the AHL, Guenther fit back in the Roadrunners’ lineup decently. While he didn’t score in Game 1, he had seven shots. In Game 2, he scored the first goal of the game. However, the Roadrunners lost 4-3 to the Calgary Wranglers, ending their season.

As the team moved to Utah, Guenther joined Team Canada for the World Championship. In nine games, he had four points as Switzerland beat them in the semi-finals, while Sweden beat them in the bronze medal game.

This Season

Before the beginning of the 2024-25 season, which was set to be Guenther’s final year of his entry-level contract, he signed an eight-year deal with an average annual value of $7.14 million. It’s a contract that will keep the star forward in Salt Lake City until 2033.

Guenther wasted no time showing Utah fans why the team signed him for the long haul. In the first-ever game in franchise history, at the 15:04 mark in the first period, he unleashed his wicked wrist shot to score the first-ever goal in Utah franchise history. He later scored an empty net goal to secure the team’s first-ever win in franchise history.

In Utah’s first three games of the season, Guenther scored five goals, including an overtime winner against the New York Islanders. He continued to become one of the best offensive players on the team with 11 points in 13 games in November. The next month, in December, Guenther had 12 points in 13 games.

To kick off the spring, Guenther scored some of his most important goals of the season. In back-to-back games against the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets, he scored game-winning goals in overtime. The one against the Flyers was scored within milliseconds of the game ending, which sent the Delta Center crowd into a frenzy.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?????????????? pic.twitter.com/JqTmp9HdiC
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) February 5, 2025

Guenther did miss some time with injury later in the season, including a lower-body injury and a face injury when a puck hit him and broke his nose. However, it didn’t stop him from ending the season with 60 points in 70 games, which put him in fourth place on the team. On top of that, Guenther also recorded his 100th career NHL point during the season. It’s even more impressive when you consider it was his first full NHL season in his career.

When you look back at where Guenther started during his first NHL stint in 2022-23, you can still see the impressive raw talent, but you can also see how he’s improved his game over time. Now, not only has he mastered his great wrist shot, but he’s also learned how to be a factor on the power play, how to sneak the puck to the net, and become a playmaker.

“Throughout my three years, I’ve played a little more each year,” Guenther said. “I’ve gotten a little better each year through just understanding how busy it is, how often you play, how to manage myself physically and mentally, and taking care of my body and all that.”

27 of Guenther’s 60 points were goals, which was second best on the team, only behind Clayton Keller. Nine of those goals were game winners, which was the best on Utah, and three came in overtime, which also led the team. Guenther also led all players on Utah in power-play goals with 12.

The Future

Despite speculation, Guenther did not play for Team Canada in the World Championship, most likely due to trying to fully recover for the 2025-26 NHL season.

In his first three seasons in the NHL, Guenther has seen his team get better and better. This season, the group managed to get 12 more points than they had at the end of the previous season in Arizona. Now, the next step for the Mammoth and Guenther is to make the playoffs and play strong hockey throughout the first couple of months of the season.

“We’ve taken a step,” Guenther said. “Ever since I got drafted here, we’ve gotten better. I think the next step is to get into the playoffs. It’s not going to be easy. The division is strong, and the league is so competitive. Making sure that when we’re playing in October and November, we know how important those games are.”

For Guenther himself, a goal he set to improve is to try to become less predictable. There were points during the season when teams figured out how to stop him. His usual spot is on top of the faceoff circle where he unloads his impressive wrister, and some teams managed to either remove him from that spot or block his shot. Because of this, Guenther wants to become a more versatile player.

Overall, Guenther’s love for the game drives him to get better and better. He doesn’t set any limits for himself, and similar to everyone in the Mammoth locker room, he wants to do anything he can in order to get his team to the playoffs and beyond.

“I just want to continue to get better every year,” Guenther said. “I don’t want to set any limitations. This is what I want to do. I love playing hockey.”

Final Grade

Three seasons into his NHL career and Guenther is looking like a future superstar in the NHL. In 148 games, he has 110 points, and nearly half of them are goals. It’s incredible production from a player who is only 22 and wasn’t even a top-five pick in his draft.

What Guenther really showed this past season is that he’s a bona fide goal scorer. He more than likely will be the top goal scorer for the Mammoth in years to come. He also showed that he’s more than just that. He knows how to pass well, set up plays well, and defend well. While his goal scoring is the best part about him, he’s become a solid player in every part of his game.

Overall, Guenther is getting an A for this season. In his first full season in the NHL, he almost led the whole team in goal scoring and was in the top five in terms of points on his team. Guenther became an integral part of the power play and also grew his game in different areas. On top of that, he was a player who showed up in massive moments for the team with his numerous game-winning goals, a potential sign that he could be a big factor in winning playoff games in the future.

There’s no question that the young forward will be a part of helping the Mammoth make runs at the playoffs in the foreseeable future. Next season, the goal for Guenther is to become more consistent in his production, along with being more unpredictable. If he can improve his game, he can potentially reach the 30-goal plateau and maybe even higher. Points-wise, being near a point per game isn’t out of the question as he continues his development as one of the best players on the Mammoth.