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Kailer Yamamoto, Utah Hockey Club (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

Utah Mammoth’s 2024-25 Report Cards: Kailer Yamamoto

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Chase Beardsley | Last updated Jul 30, 2025 9:35 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 Kailer Yamamoto.

Last Season

After a wild offseason where he was flipped from the only NHL team he ever knew, the Edmonton Oilers, just to be bought out by the Detroit Red Wings a day later, Yamamoto became a free agent for the first time in his life. Looking for somewhere to solidify himself as a permanent NHL player, he chose to go somewhere familiar. He signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Kraken, returning to his home state of Washington.

Yamamoto played almost 15 minutes in his first game with the Kraken, but his ice time quickly dropped after that, not increasing until a handful of games later. He scored his first goal with the team in the fourth game of the season against the Colorado Avalanche. Yamamoto tallied his first assist in the next game.

The former Oiler produced two points in the final game in October to bring his total to four points in 10 games. It wasn’t a horrible start for Yamamoto, considering he wasn’t playing much. In November, he only produced half that number in 14 games. December brought five more points to his totals, all of which were goals. However, in January, Yamamoto started to become a healthy scratch.

In the first 17 games of January, Yamamoto was scratched for nine of those games. Players like Eeli Tolvanen, who was injured, came back, and a trade that brought in Tomas Tatar played a part in this happening. Yamamoto was scratched throughout late January and early February as he failed to make an impact or register any points for eight straight games when he was in the lineup.

After ending his scoring drought in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Yamamoto continued to be a regular in the press box. He only produced three more points in his final couple of games across March and April. In 59 games, he recorded 16 points with a career low in average ice time.

As a pending restricted free agent, Yamamoto was never offered a contract by the Kraken. That left him as an unrestricted free agent (UFA) come free agency. Heading into most teams’ training camps, Yamamoto remained a UFA looking for his next home.

This Season

With the season rapidly approaching, Yamamoto still did not have a contract in September. However, Utah would invite him to their training camp on a professional tryout agreement. After a solid camp and appearances in six of the seven preseason games for Utah, he was signed to a one-year, two-way contract.

Yamamoto was a healthy scratch for the first couple of games of the season before making his first appearance in a Utah jersey in a game against the Boston Bruins. He appeared in two more games before being placed on waivers with the purpose of assignment to the AHL. Yamamoto was unclaimed and was sent down to Tucson.

After arriving in Tucson, Yamamoto appeared in his first AHL game since the 2019-20 season. In his second game with the Roadrunners, he produced two points, the first of many multipoint games with the team for him.

Yamamoto played the next 51 games with the Roadrunners, producing 51 points. He had multiple multipoint games, including two against the Henderson Silver Knights, once in November and then another one in January. He even had a three-point outing against the Bakersfield Condors in March.

The forward didn’t take his time in the AHL for granted. He worked hard on his confidence in making plays throughout the season, hoping to improve his game in order to play again up in Utah.

Yamamoto’s time came when he was called up during Utah’s road trip in Florida. In his second game back in the NHL, he scored his first goal with Utah and his first NHL goal since April 2024. In his next couple of games back in the NHL, he looked like a better player than he did back in October. He produced another point a couple of days after scoring his first goal, giving him two points in four games since his call-up.

Perhaps the peak of Yamamoto’s season came during a weekend that concluded against his former team. After a game against the Winnipeg Jets, he was sent down to Tucson to help the Roadrunners win a series against the Condors in order to stay ahead of them in a playoff race. After producing two points, the forward was called back up right in time for a game against the Kraken.

During the game, Yamamoto was left with a bloody lip after being high-sticked by his former teammate Jamie Oleksiak. However, he was able to snipe home his second goal of the season shortly after. It was one that Yamamoto was happy to score, especially after he was let go by them unceremoniously in the summer.

Yamo gets hit in the mouth, comes back out, scores

3-0, Club. pic.twitter.com/u4t0S8jj4b
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) April 9, 2025

Yamamoto played three of the next four games, ending his NHL season with three points in 12 games. Shortly after the conclusion of the NHL season, he was sent down to Tucson to play in the final two games of the AHL season, one of which ended up being the playoff clincher for the Roadrunners. Yamamoto finished his AHL season with 56 points in 54 games. He led the Roadrunners in points and assists.

In the playoffs, Yamamoto showed off his pro hockey experience by playing a complete game throughout the three-game series against the Canucks. He scored on a breakaway in Game 2 while slamming into the boards behind the net to help the Roadrunners win the game. He was physical throughout each game and was the best player in the playoffs for the team, besides maybe Jaxson Stauber. Unfortunately for Yamamoto, the Canucks’ Game 3 win ended his 2024-25 season.

The Future

After a great season split between Utah and the Roadrunners, Yamamoto solidified himself as a great forward option in the NHL while also becoming an All-Star in the AHL. He also showed that he’s not one to complain and be frustrated by the constant shuffling between the two leagues.

The overall professionalism and hard work by Yamamoto won him a new one-year, two-way extension with the Mammoth on the first day of free agency. Unlike the prior summer, the forward won’t have to wait the whole summer worrying about earning a new contract. It couldn’t have come at a better time as he’s set to get married this summer.

Giving Yamamoto a contract was a smart move by the Mammoth. It gives them depth on offense, which they’re well familiar with. It also gives the Roadrunners their biggest weapon back next season if he gets sent back down to Tucson. With the team potentially losing some offensive depth over the summer, bringing back Yamamoto was a critical thing to do.

The Mammoth did bring in Brandon Tanev and J.J. Peterka during the offseason, which does add some more players for Yamamoto to try to beat out to earn a roster spot. Not to mention, the team signed one of their top prospects, Daniil But, who, with players like Tij Iginla and Cole Beaudoin, will also try to snag a roster spot in the NHL. It won’t be easy for Yamamoto to be back in the NHL next season, despite his return.

In the worst-case scenario, Yamamoto will play next season with the Roadrunners. Even that would be beneficial for both the Mammoth and the Roadrunners. Obviously, Yamamoto would provide lethal offense for Tucson. However, he could also mentor and play with top prospects like But or Julian Lutz or any other forward who makes their way down there.

For Yamamoto personally, if that happens, he’ll find a way to make positives out of a hard situation. When he was sent down to Tucson the first time in October, he improved his game to the point where it was very obvious he was a much better player when he came back up to the NHL in March.

What will most likely happen is what happened this past season. Yamamoto will most likely split his time between the NHL and the AHL. If he can be productive once again in the AHL and continue growing his overall game during his chances in the NHL, it could result in a one-way contract next offseason in free agency, which is most likely the step for him.

Final Grade

Yes, Yamamoto didn’t have a dominant season like Clayton Keller. Sure, he played fewer games with Utah than most players. However, in his time between Utah and the Roadrunners, he improved his game. If you compare his play from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, there is a notable difference.

On top of that, Yamamoto was a vital player for the Roadrunners. If you remove him from the team, Tucson most likely doesn’t make the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Roadrunners might not have pushed the Canucks to a deciding Game 3 without Yamamoto’s breakaway goal. There are a lot of things that could’ve gone wrong if it weren’t for his lethal offense and overall play.

Overall, Yamamoto is getting an A-minus for his season. He provided excellent depth with his hardworking play for Utah when he was subbed into the lineup, and he gave the Roadrunners lethal offensive production that was much needed after the full-time departures of Josh Doan and Dylan Guenther. He was quite literally a Swiss Army knife for the entire Utah organization.

Yamamoto’s return means more than most might think for the Mammoth. Yes, it does everything that was mentioned above, but it also brings back a player who never complains despite the multiple plane rides between Salt Lake City and Tucson throughout the season. A player who even despite playing in the AHL for the first time in four seasons, worked harder than he had ever before and eventually earned another contract because of that attitude. It’s something Mammoth prospects can look up to. It shows the strong culture the team has built as Yamamoto heads into his second season with the organization.