Utah Mammoth’s 2025-26 Report Cards: Montana Onyebuchi

Onyebuchi went pointless in the final three games of November and put up an assist in the first two games of December before missing the next five games. The defenseman played one more game in 2025 before missing the next seven games.

Across his six games in January and the first of 2026, Onyebuchi put up three assists. He also had his third fight of the season, this time going against Mitch McLain. The defenseman played nine games in February, failing to produce a single point. However, he did have three fights, including another one against Doty.

Onyebuchi’s March started with an assist, his seventh of the season. Throughout the 11 other games of the month, the defenseman tallied two more assists. He also had his seventh and final fight of the season, a dramatic tilt in the middle of Canadian Life Center in his home province against Tyrel Bauer.

In the Roadrunners’ final nine games in April, Onyebuchi played in five of them, failing to register another point. In 44 games, the defenseman produced 10 points, the same amount he had the prior season. However, that came with two fewer goals. Onyebuchi also played in 20 fewer games and was a minus-11, a departure from his plus-six the season before.

With the Roadrunners’ season coming to a close, so did Onyebuchi’s. The team failed to make the playoffs, and the defenseman wasn’t named one of the Mammoth’s black aces for their playoff series against the Golden Knights.

The Future

Among all Roadrunners defensemen, Onyebuchi was eighth in points. He also had the third-worst plus-minus on the entire team. It was definitely a step down for him from last season, when his plus-minus stat was pretty solid. However, there are some asterisks on Onyebuchi’s 2025-26 season to explain why it might not have been the best season for him.

The big thing was injuries that plagued him throughout the whole season. The defenseman missed time in October, November, December, and January because of nagging injuries. It’s unclear what exactly he missed time with, but it clearly affected him enough to keep him out of the lineup for long periods of time. 

In March and April, once the Roadrunners fell out of the playoff race, the focus became giving younger guys more ice time and games. With Onyebuchi not playing his best, Brandon Holt and Max Pšenička jumped him in the lineup. It happens, and it’s understandable when Onyebuchi was a minus player in seven of his final eight games.

So, with a disappointing conclusion to the season and a year filled with injuries, what does Onyebuchi’s future look like? He has one more season under contract and, outside of the goal of earning another NHL contract, he will be a big part of the Roadrunners’ team next season.

The Roadrunners will field a much younger team than in past seasons during the 2026-27 campaign. Rookies like Tij Iginla, Caleb Desnoyers, and Gabe Smith will likely be a big part of this team. In an extremely physical league like the AHL, other players will do their best to lay big hits on impact players like the three mentioned above. 

That’s why Onyebuchi will be important to this Roadrunners team and the Mammoth organization next season. His physicality will help protect younger players like Iginla, Desnoyers, and Smith. The main reason why the defenseman is under contract is for exactly that reason. While Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But are taller and could defend themselves, Onyebuchi stood up for the two rookies throughout the whole season. With a whole batch of rookies expected to be on the team, the need for him becomes greater.

However, finding a way to get back to 60 or more games is a necessity. That means trying to avoid injury will be the big goal for Onyebuchi as he chases down another contract. It will be a crowded blueline this season for the Roadrunners, meaning training camp will be more difficult than it has been in prior seasons. If Onyebuchi comes into camp healthy and sticks to his physical game, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t get a spot in the lineup.

Overall Grade

Some people will look at Onyebuchi’s stats and say he isn’t an important part of the Roadrunners’ blueline. However, his importance goes beyond just the stats. He’s a leader in the Roadrunners’ locker room and is a main source of physicality for the team. He’s not afraid to stand up for his teammates and guide them through AHL seasons that can be challenging.

With that being said, you do expect Onyebuchi to be more effective defensively than he was this season. Injuries certainly played a part in keeping him out of the lineup for big portions of this season, but at the same time, he was one of the players coming in and out of the lineup towards the end of the season for a reason.

Overall, Onyebuchi is getting a C for this season. It’s easy to say the defenseman should get a lower grade than he had last season, but injuries were a huge reason for that. He played his usual role well when he was healthy. You would like to see a couple more goals out of him and a better defensive game, but it was simply an average season for Onyebuchi.

It should be an interesting 2026-27 season for Onyebuchi. There are big expectations for him to protect Iginla, Desnoyers, and others throughout the season while filling a void on the blueline, leadership-wise, that has formed with the departures of Kevin Connauton and Max Szuber. It’s also the final season of his two-year deal that he signed last summer. At the end of the day, he could filter in and out of the lineup as he did at the end of this season. He could also be an everyday AHL defenseman who could be one of the most important and overlooked parts of this Roadrunners team. It will all depend on his health and his ability to continue growing as a pro player.