Guenther (undisclosed) will miss the upcoming 2025 IIHF World Championship, Utah Hockey Club Insider Craig Morgan reports.
Guenther was on track to becoming an important piece of Team USA alongside Utah teammate Logan Cooley. Instead, an injury will force him to miss the World Championship in Sweden this coming May. The good news is signs point to this injury not being long-term, so concern level for his future moving forward should be low. The 22-year-old Guenther scored 27 goals and added 33 assists this past season, both career-best marks.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Kailer Yamamoto: Returns to Tucson
Rotowire
Yamamoto was sent to AHL Tucson on Wednesday, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports.
Yamamoto had two goals and three points over 12 appearances with Utah in 2024-25. Utah's season is over, so Yamamoto will help Tucson instead. He has 19 goals and 53 points across 52 outings with the minor-league club.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Matt Villalta: Sent to AHL
Rotowire
Villalta was assigned to AHL Tucson on Wednesday.
Villalta spent the past few weeks in the NHL, but he made just one appearance for Utah, turning aside 28 of 31 shots (.903 save percentage) en route to a win over Nashville on Monday. However, he'll head back to the minors now that Utah's regular season is over.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Clayton Keller: Scores in regular-season finale
Rotowire
Keller scored a power-play goal in Tuesday's 6-1 loss to the Blues.
Keller mustered all the offense Utah could generate in this win with a power-play tally in the second period, and the goal allowed the 26-year-old to reach the 30-goal plateau for a third consecutive campaign. Keller ends the season with a career-high 90 points (30 goals, 60 assists) in 81 appearances while also racking up 218 shots, 11 hits and 30 blocked shots while averaging 19:07 of ice time.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Gives up six goals
Rotowire
Vejmelka stopped 23 of 29 shots in Tuesday's 6-1 loss to St. Louis.
Vejmelka was beaten four times in the first period, including thrice over a 6:37 stretch and twice on the power play, and Utah couldn't even sniff a comeback. Vejmelka settled down afterwards and only gave up two goals the rest of the way, but the damage was already done. This was Utah's final game of the regular season, and the team had been eliminated from playoff contention for quite some time. This means the 28-year-old ends the 2024-25 campaign with a 26-22-8 record and career-high marks in both GAA (2.58) and save percentage (.904) across 58 starts -- also a personal best.
Hockey Club's Ian Cole: Secures assist in Monday's win
Rotowire
Cole logged an assist, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Monday's 7-3 win over the Predators.
Cole has contributed four assists, a plus-7 rating, 33 hits, 54 blocked shots and 26 PIM over 21 contests since the start of March. He's hardly a consistent presence on the scoresheet, but his physical play is helpful in deep leagues with an emphasis on non-scoring categories. For the season, Cole has 17 points, 77 PIM, 66 shots, 106 hits and 209 blocks across 81 appearances as a steady top-four defenseman in Utah's lineup.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka: Between pipes in St. Louis
Rotowire
Vejmelka will get the road start Tuesday against the Blues, according to Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Vejmelka has played well down the final stretch of the season, earning a 4-1-1 record, .925 save percentage and 1.98 GAA across six appearances in April. Vejmelka and his club can play the role of spoiler Tuesday -- the Blues are competing with Minnesota and Calgary for one of the two final Western Conference wild-card spots. The 28-year-old netminder is sporting the best ratios of his career (.906 save percentage, 2.52 GAA), and even though Utah won't be in the playoffs, Vejmelka has a strong foundation to build on heading into 2025-26.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Nick Bjugstad: Finds twine Monday
Rotowire
Bjugstad scored a goal, fired four shots on net and dished out two hits in Monday's 7-3 win over the Predators.
Bjugstad scored the second goal of the game for Utah off a feed from linemate Alex Kerfoot with just under two minutes remaining in the first period. Overall, the 32-year-old Bjugstad is up to eight goals, 19 points, 114 shots on goal and 104 hits across 65 appearances this season. He's thrived as a goalscorer in Utah's last five games with three goals over that span. Bjugstad's contract expires at the end of the season, but if Utah elects to re-sign him, he's proven that he can do damage in a limited role by posting 64 points over his last two seasons.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Michael Kesselring: Grabs two points Monday
Rotowire
Kesselring scored a goal, registered an assist and fired four shots on net in Monday's 7-3 victory over Nashville.
Kesselring tallied the opening goal for Utah just over 12 minutes into the game before assisting Clayton Keller's first marker in the third period. Overall, the 25-year-old Kesselring is up to seven goals, 29 points and 148 shots on net across 81 appearances this season. The blueliner has steadily improved in all categories since his first full season. He should maintain top-four minutes with Utah next season and have solid fantasy value in deeper leagues if his offensive capabilities continue to develop.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Kevin Stenlund: Tallies one of each
Rotowire
Stenlund scored a goal, dished an assist and had two PIM in Monday's 7-3 win over the Predators.
Stenlund assisted linemate Nick Bjugstad's goal in the first period before he lit the lamp himself with 25 seconds remaining in the contest. With his pair of points, Stenlund is up to 14 goals, 14 assists and 100 shots on net in 81 appearances this season. The 28-year-old center was quiet offensively until mid-March. Since then, he has posted 13 points in his last 16 games, which includes four multi-point efforts. His ceiling in fantasy is limited by his fourth-line role, but he's a name to keep an eye on in deeper leagues. Perhaps he'll carry his late-season momentum into the start of the 2025-26 campaign.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Logan Cooley: Stays hot with three tallies
Rotowire
Cooley scored a goal and dished out two assists in Monday's 7-3 win over the Predators.
Cooley lit the lamp for Utah's third goal of the game before assisting on both of Clayton Keller's twine finders in the third period. With his trio of points, Cooley extended his scoring streak to four games and has nine points in that span. He's been highly effective on offense since mid-March with 18 points in his last 15 games. Overall, the 20-year-old center is up to 25 goals, 40 assists and 155 shots on net in 74 appearances this season. Cooley's improvement from his rookie campaign a season ago is an exciting sign from a fantasy perspective. He will likely retain his role centering Utah's top line and is a candidate to take another big step forward in 2025-26.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Nick Schmaltz: Sets career high in points
Rotowire
Schmaltz scored a power-play goal and fired three shots on net in Monday's 7-3 win over Nashville.
Schmaltz found the back of the net for the second of two goals scored by Utah in 70 seconds early on in the second period. With the twine finder, Schmaltz not only secured his fourth consecutive season with 20 goals or more, but also set a new career high of 62 points, passing his previous best of 61 from a season ago. In addition to his offensive success, he also has played every single game for Utah this season which has him on pace to make this season his most durable one yet. Overall, the 29-year-old winger has 20 goals, 42 assists and 158 shots on net in 81 appearances this season. Schmaltz should see some play in all fantasy formats next season as he's likely locked into a top-six role with Utah for the foreseeable future.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Alex Kerfoot: Picks three apples Monday
Rotowire
Kerfoot provided three assists and blocked two shots in Monday's 7-3 win over the Predators.
Kerfoot began his outing with a helper on each of Utah's first two goals. He picked up a secondary helper on Michael Kesselring's goal before delivering the primary pass on Nick Bjugstad's tally minutes later. Kerfoot's final helper arrived on Kevin Stenlund's goal in the third period. Overall, the 30-year-old Kerfoot is up to 17 assists, 28 points and 101 shots on net in 80 appearances this season. While he has struggled at times this season, Kerfoot has played above a point-per-game pace down the stretch with eight points in his last seven games. Kerfoot's offensive impact is limited in a fourth-line role, but he is making the most of his ice time down the stretch.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Clayton Keller: Shines with four points
Rotowire
Keller scored two goals, dished out two assists, put five shots on net and had two blocks in Monday's 7-3 win over the Predators.
Keller's four-point night began with two assists, including one on the power-play, in 70 seconds early on in the second period. He then lit the lamp twice himself in a six-minute span midway through the third period. Keller's performance Monday was his fourth game this season with four or more points. The 26-year-old winger also used Monday's game to secure a new career high in points as he passed his previous best of 86 points from the 2022-23 season. Overall, Utah's captain has 29 goals, 60 assists and 216 shots on net in 80 appearances this season. With 89 tallies, he is tied for 11th in points across the league with Sidney Crosby and Artemi Panarin. Keller has cemented himself as a premier talent in the NHL and will enter the 2025-26 season with great value in fantasy.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Matt Villalta: Posts first career win
Rotowire
Villalta saved 27 of 30 shots on net in Monday's 7-3 win over Nashville.
Villalta's first career win at the NHL level was a strong all-around performance, as he allowed just two goals at even strength. After the 14:20 mark in the second period, he kept Utah's net clean while the Hockey Club's offense erupted for three more goals to seal the win. Monday's outing was Villalta's first game of the season with Utah, as he's spent the entire campaign with AHL Tucson. Utah has one game remaining this season Tuesday, so Villalta will finish the season with a 1-0-0 record, a .900 save percentage and a 3.00 GAA unless the Hockey Club elects to deploy him in back-to-back games.
O'Brien (lower body) will play against Nashville on Monday, per Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune.
O'Brien will occupy a bottom-six role and provide some physicality in the lineup after missing the last 14 games. He has produced two assists, 31 shots on goal, 98 hits and 50 PIM in 27 appearances this season. O'Brien's return will bump Kailer Yamamoto to the press box as a healthy scratch.
... See More... See Less
Hockey Club's Matt Villalta: First goalie off
Rotowire
Villalta was the first goalie off following Monday's morning skate, Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune reports, indicating that he'll draw the road start against Nashville.
Villalta was called up from AHL Tucson in late March, but Monday's start will be his first since joining the NHL club. Karel Vejmelka's streak of 23 consecutive starts will come to an end, but he'll likely start Tuesday in St. Louis to close out the regular season. Villalta made 41 appearances for AHL Tucson this year, going 17-21-3 with a 3.01 GAA and .906 save percentage.
0:35
0:29
0:30
0:24
1:01
0:25
1:53
1:57
1:59
0:44
2:21
2:13
2:13
1:58
2:19
2:19
0:26
1:48
2:01
3:16
