Utah Mammoth’s 2025-26 Report Cards: Michal Kunc

In the final month of 2025, Kunc went the first two games without a point before registering two assists against the San Jose Barracuda. Across the month, the forward got his first promotion to the second line, mainly due to injury. He produced one more assist before being injured in the second-to-last game of the month. In total, Kunc had three points in nine games in December.

Kunc’s injury kept him out of the lineup until late February, when he returned in a game against the Reign. However, he was a healthy scratch in the very next game before returning to action in a game against the San Diego Gulls, where he scored his fourth goal of the season.

The forward played the next six games, scoring another goal before being healthy scratched in the middle of March. With players like Jack Ricketts and Ty Tullio playing better, it forced players like Kunc, who at times was unreliable defensively, out of the lineup. He sat out two of the next six games for the Roadrunners during the month while only scoring one goal in the four that he did play.

In the final month of the season, Kunc found himself in the press box more frequently than the prior month. In the Roadrunners’ final nine games, the forward only played in three of them. He did score goals in two of those games but still didn’t do enough to play in the season finale against the Henderson Silver Knights.

In his lone season with the Roadrunners, Kunc produced 16 points in 43 games. Half of those points were goals. With the Roadrunners failing to make the playoffs, Kunc’s season ended with the Mammoth not calling him up to be one of their black aces during their playoff run.

As a pending restricted free agent (RFA), Kunc’s future was uncertain, especially after a disappointing final two months. However, answers came quickly as Kunc signed a two-year deal with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech league in May, ending his time in North America.

In a Czech article published immediately after he signed his contract, Kunc mentioned he would’ve liked to stay in North America. However, nothing was offered to him, leading him to sign overseas. He also mentioned the ECHL players like Ricketts and Tullio passing him by in the depth chart, how he was far away from even making the NHL, and that he should’ve played more selfishly as other players did.

The Future

One thing Kunc did mention is that even though this venture into North America didn’t end the way he wanted it to, the door back to North America isn’t closed should an offer come to him. However, for now, he heads back to the Czech League for the foreseeable future.

It was a tough season for Kunc. Hockey is a completely different game in North America, and the AHL is a tough league with everyone fighting for their jobs and the opportunity to try to get to the NHL. 

However, something that was very difficult for Kunc was that he was halfway across the globe from his home in Czechia in a completely different environment, with only his wife and dog with him. All of the rest of his family was back home. While there were a few Swedish players on the Roadrunners, including Nordh, with whom Kunc developed a good relationship, it was definitely hard on the forward, as it was an experience he had never had before.

It was an unfortunate result for Kunc, but ultimately, most undrafted Czech players have this experience when they’re brought over from Europe. They have one or two seasons in the AHL, which are middling at best, with maybe a handful of NHL games if they’re lucky. It’s not anyone’s fault. Some players are meant to be great in the Czech League but not in the NHL or the AHL.

If Kunc wants to be back in the position of fielding offers from North American teams, it’s about making enough of an impact back in the Czech League to be a part of Czechia’s Olympic and World Championship team. Miloš Kelemen is one of those players who eventually made it onto Slovakia’s Olympic team and made enough of an impact to start getting discussions about his return to North America.

More than likely, though, Kunc’s NHL dreams are unfortunately dead, just like Patrik Koch and Ronald Knot before him. Maybe one day, some NHL or AHL team will offer him a contract. However, Kunc will likely spend the rest of his career in his home country, which ultimately could be what’s best for him and his family.

Final Grade

Ultimately, the Kunc experiment did not work in Tucson. It’s very rare to find another player with the talent of Vejmelka in a large pool of undrafted players playing in Czechia. While a solid start might’ve provided a glimpse of hope, an injury-riddled January and February combined with a stretch of healthy scratches ruined any of Kunc’s potential future with the Mammoth or the Roadrunners.

Again, maybe in some other team’s system, Kunc is more of an impact player. Maybe with a couple more seasons in the Czech league under his belt, he returns to North America better adjusted for life in the AHL and NHL. However, as of right now, he is not an NHL player, and he’s arguably not an everyday AHL player.

Overall, Kunc is getting a D-plus for his season. It just didn’t work out for the forward in North America. While 16 points isn’t the worst he could’ve done and he outscored some of the Mammoth’s prospects in Tucson, it wasn’t enough to get a future in the NHL and even have a future on what’s shaping out to be a stacked 2026-27 Roadrunners team.

Back in a more comfortable environment in his home country, Kunc should be happy and more than ready to be one of HC Kometa Brno’s top forwards. If he really wants to return to North America, the next two seasons should be about him improving enough to be ready for that. Maybe, just maybe, he’ll get a second chance. However, if he doesn’t, being back home hopefully will be enough for Kunc.