Utah Mammoth’s 2024-25 Report Cards: Matt Villalta

Villalta’s 2024-25 season started off poorly. He won his first game of the season in his third start, but it became his only win in his first six games. Meanwhile, Stauber won four of his first six games.

With Ingram injured for Utah, the team decided to call up Stauber over Villalta. However, that gave him more opportunities with the Roadrunners to start winning games. That’s what he did, winning three of his next four games, including producing a shutout against the San Diego Gulls.

Although Villalta lost his first two games in December, he won his next five straight games. That stretch featured back-to-back shutouts. Over the month, Villalta’s record was 5-3-1.

Unfortunately for the goaltender, the next couple of weeks were rough. After winning his first game in January, Villalta lost his next nine games, not recording another win until the middle of February. It cost him the chance to be called up again, as Utah opted to bring up Stauber when Ingram left for the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.

Villalta did redeem himself with four wins in five games after the nine-game losing streak, including a win over the eventual Calder Cup champion Canucks. Another stretch of winless games came shortly after, although this time it was only three straight games before Villalta rebounded once again with three wins in four games, including his fourth shutout of the season.

After his shutout against his former team, the Ontario Reign, Villalta was called up to replace Stauber as the backup to Vejmelka. Similar to Stauber, he didn’t appear in a single game for a couple of weeks after being called up. However, Villalta eventually got his second-ever NHL start in the second-to-last game against the Nashville Predators.

Against the Predators, Villalta looked decent as he stopped 30 out of 31 shots to record his first-ever NHL win. His save percentage in his lone NHL game of 2024-25 was .903.

Villalta was sent back to the Roadrunners following the conclusion of Utah’s season. With the playoffs on the line and Tucson needing one win to clinch a playoff spot over the Bakersfield Condors, Villalta started both games against the Pacific Division champions Eagles, recording a win in the very last game of the regular season to send the Roadrunners to the postseason for the third straight season.

In his second season with the Roadrunners, Villalta’s stats dipped from his prior season. He finished the season with an 18-22-3-4 record. He had a .905 save percentage and a 3.03 goals-against average (GAA).

Despite his stats dropping from the prior season, Villalta was named the starter for Game 1 of Tucson’s playoff series against the Canucks. However, just like his prior playoff start, Villalta let in four goals in Game 1 on only 23 shots, finishing the game with an abysmally low .826 save percentage. 

With the series on the line, Villalta was benched and Stauber started Games 2 and 3. The Roadrunners were eliminated in the deciding game of the series, ending Villalta’s season.

The Future

With Ingram returning, the path to the NHL gets harder for Villalta. He’ll now fight four other goalies for one of the two spots on the Mammoth with the arrival of Vitek Vaněček in the offseason. After a dreadful playoffs and a middling season, Villalta looks like the worst goaltender out of those five, but there’s some reason to believe that, at the very least, he could get the starting job for the Roadrunners.

Looking at the two seasons Villalta has played within general manager Bill Armstrong’s system, he’s had a very good season and a mediocre season. That good season was in front of an experienced and well-defending Roadrunners team, while his mediocre season was played in front of a young and inexperienced team that had problems staying consistent. There is cause to believe that with an improved team, Villalta can get back to his winning ways.

On paper, the Roadrunners do look better for this upcoming season. They could have top prospects Dmitriy Simashev and Daniil But join them. Even if they don’t, a lot of their core guys are back, including Kailer Yamamoto, Maveric Lamoureux, Artem Duda, and Cameron Hebig. While Sammy Walker and Egor Sokolov aren’t currently signed, the team did bring in Scott Perunovich, and will probably get some additional prospects sent their way.

The Roadrunners and Mammoth did some work to make the team in front of Villalta better, but the other thing is that he has to improve. There were some highs for him during the season, including his first NHL win and his four shutouts, but he has to play like he did back in 2023-24.

It’s as simple as this. Villalta needs to win more. As of right now, he and Stauber will most likely split time evenly in the AHL. Make no mistake, though, head coach Steve Potvin is similar to Mammoth head coach André Tourigny in the fact that he will ride the hot goaltender and bench the cold one. Ingram, having a rough go personally last season, allowed Villalta to get more starts. Now with Vaněček in the system and Ingram back, that opportunity is gone.

Villalta’s contract is also up after this upcoming season. Utah’s top goaltending prospect, Michael Hrabal, is expected to come over from UMass before the 2026-27 season as well. It creates a big problem for Villalta, especially with Stauber getting a brand-new two-year extension this summer. Unless he has a fantastic season with Tucson, rivaling his 203-24 campaign, there’s a serious possibility that this could be his last season with the Roadrunners. 

The goaltending position might be one of the most interesting parts of the Mammoth this season. The team has five goaltenders who have played NHL games. Who will be in the NHL this? Who will the Roadrunners start with this season? Two of those goalies are also on expiring contracts. Will the Mammoth bring any of them back? Villalta’s play this season might dictate that.

Final Grade

There’s an argument to be made that Villalta can be an NHL player one day. He just turned 26 this June, and goaltenders get to their prime late. Such a case in point can be made with Vejmelka, who just had his best NHL season at 29 years of age. On some nights this season, Villalta showed some promise of getting there eventually, but on other nights, he looked like a career AHL goalie.

It was truly a mixed bag for Villalta in 2024-25, and part of that absolutely needs to be blamed on the Roadrunners team in front of him that wasn’t as good as the prior season. Losing players like Dylan Guenther, Michael Kesselring, and Josh Doan will do that to your team. Some of that does need to be placed on Villalta, though. There was a reason why Stauber was chosen ahead of him for most NHL call-ups.

Overall, Villalta is getting a B-minus for his season. It was a mediocre season for him, especially after an astounding season where he looked like a potential backup option for the team in the future. The 2024-25 season featured some of the best of Villalta, including his first NHL win, his four shutouts, and his play in December. It also featured some really low points, including only winning one game in his first six starts and his sub-.500 record. Improvements need to be made, but calling it a poor season would be a little extreme.

In 2025-26, a lot is going against Villalta, and there is pressure with his contract expiring and his job with Tucson likely on the line with Hrabal on his way. However, Villalta has the tools to become one of the best goaltenders in the AHL again. He’s been fantastic with the Roadrunners before. He can absolutely do it again with even more experience now under his belt.