The Utah Mammoth encouraged fans to celebrate on the ice after their penultimate game, marking a significant moment ahead of their first-ever playoff run. This initiative highlights the team's efforts to build a strong fan base.
Key points
Utah Mammoth encouraged fans to decorate the ice
First-ever playoff run for the team
Game played against Winnipeg Jets
Event took place at Delta Center
Fans celebrated after the penultimate game
Mentioned in this story
Delta Center
Utah MammothWinnipeg JetsNHL
Fans stand and cheer a goal is scored as the Utah Mammoth and the Winnipeg Jets play at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.
Fans stand and cheer a goal is scored as the Utah Mammoth and the Winnipeg Jets play at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Minutes after the Utah Mammoth’s penultimate game of the regular season concluded Tuesday, fans flooded onto the Delta Center ice.
It’s not like a football, basketball or soccer game, where security guards are the lone barrier between the stars and the public — even NHL players sometimes have a hard time opening the solid, heavy gates that surround the ice surface.
But in this instance, and for the first time ever, team officials encouraged fans to come down and decorate the ice with messages of support to the team ahead of its first-ever playoff run.
It was a scene that Mammoth season ticket holder and lifelong hockey fan Jerry VanIeperen never thought possible just a few years ago.
“I never imagined an NHL team would be in Salt Lake,” he told the Deseret News. “I was hoping (to get the) AHL at some point again. It’s just been so fun.”
VanIeperen remembers walking his dogs in his Calgary Flames jersey, knowing most passersby had no idea what he was representing.
Now, he and his wife, Marcie, have found an entirely new friend group as they attend Mammoth games and other events.
For every lifelong hockey fan like Jerry, there are several new hockey fans like Sean Gillan and Colin Lloyd, who spoke to the Deseret News on the ice at the painting event.
“We both became hockey fans because of the Mammoth,” Gillan explained.
They’ve benefited from a number of the Mammoth’s programs that are designed for the purpose of getting new fans invested in the game. They frequently use the Smith’s grocery store $15 ticket program, for example.
Q&A
How did the Utah Mammoth engage fans before their first playoff run?
The Utah Mammoth invited fans to come down to the ice after a game to decorate it with supportive messages, fostering community engagement.
When did the Utah Mammoth play their penultimate game of the season?
The Utah Mammoth played their penultimate game on April 14, 2026.
What is significant about the Utah Mammoth's upcoming playoff appearance?
The upcoming playoff appearance is the Utah Mammoth's first-ever, marking a milestone in the team's history.
Where did the Utah Mammoth play their recent game against the Winnipeg Jets?
The Utah Mammoth played their recent game against the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
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“It’s always kind of been in the background that I’d like hockey, but I never had a team, you know? ... Having something that’s local and that’s constantly there for you, it changes everything,” Lloyd said.
Getting to this point with both the team and the fan base has been years in the making.
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Sophie Sanchez, Mykah Castillo, and Jacob Berkowitz join other fans in painting the ice after watching the Utah Mammoth defeat the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Fans take part in painting the ice after watching the Utah Mammoth defeat the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Andrew Kerby, draws on the ice as he joins other fans in painting the ice after watching the Utah Mammoth defeat the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Junior Hatch, wearing a Mammoth hat lays on the ice and poses for his mom Lindsey Hatch as she takes a photo of him as fans paint the ice after watching the Utah Mammoth play the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Fans take part in painting the ice after watching the Utah Mammoth defeat the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Fans take part in painting the ice after watching the Utah Mammoth defeat the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Fans take part in painting the ice after watching the Utah Mammoth defeat the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Fans take part in painting the ice after watching the Utah Mammoth defeat the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Jen Chatterton, lays on the ice as she and other fans take part in painting the ice after watching the Utah Mammoth defeat the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Fans line up to take part in painting the ice after watching the Utah Mammoth defeat the Winnipeg Jets at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
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Fans paint messages on the ice following the Utah Grizzlies final game at the Maverik Center in West Valley City on Sunday, April 12, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
The on-ice build
The NHL might have the most tedious rebuilds in all of sports.
Virtually every team that has achieved long-term success has had not just one, but several highly drafted players. Teams seldom trade those picks, so you have to earn them through bad seasons of hockey.
Even then, there are no guarantees. Look at the Buffalo Sabres.
There are teenagers with learner’s permits who have never been alive for a Sabres playoff game. They’ve had two first-overall and two second-overall picks since then, and they’ve finally made the playoffs this year.
The Arizona Coyotes were in that same boat the bulk of their existence. No matter how much losing they did, they could never seem to assemble enough top talents to sustain any success.
Until Bill Armstrong arrived.
Nick Schmaltz Contract Extension Press Conference
Utah Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong speaks during Nick Schmaltz contract extension press conference at the Utah Mammoth Ice Center in Sandy, UT on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Hunter Dyke/Utah Mammoth | Hunter Dyke
One year removed from his Stanley Cup championship as an assistant GM with the St. Louis Blues, Armstrong went to Arizona with a plan.
The first step was to take on bad contracts in exchange for draft picks. The flat salary cap during the pandemic seasons put cap space at a premium, which increased the haul the Coyotes could get in each trade.
Next, they had to use those draft picks the right way. Armstrong brought in Darryl Plandowski and Ryan Jankowski to lead the scouting department. A number of others, including head coach André Tourigny, came in to help develop the young players.
“I can’t wait to see this crowd in playoff hockey. ... It’s fast, it’s physical, it’s intense at moments, but they’re going to have so much fun. I’m so — like, I can’t even explain how excited I am to hear that crowd when we play home games.”
A few losing seasons later, the staff had the cupboards overflowing with young talent — much of which is still proving itself to this day.
Now, in the sixth season of Armstrong’s tenure (combined between the Coyotes and the Utah Mammoth), things are getting exciting. The group is set for its first playoff berth since the COVID-19 bubble and its first with fans in the stands since 2012.
“I can’t wait to see this crowd in playoff hockey,” said Mammoth defenseman MacKenzie Weegar. “... It’s fast, it’s physical, it’s intense at moments, but they’re going to have so much fun. I’m so — like, I can’t even explain how excited I am to hear that crowd when we play home games.”
The off-ice build
Armstrong and his staff had spent several years building the roster, but after moving to Utah, another type of build became necessary: the fan base.
The credit for that belongs, in large part, to folks behind the scenes at the Smith Entertainment Group offices.
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Fans celebrate after a goal by Utah Mammoth left wing Michael Carcone (53) during game against the St. Louis Blues at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
We will dive deeper into this in a summer article — stay tuned — but for now, suffice it to say that through the on-ice success of the team, the community initiatives and the two best-on-best international tournaments that have happened since the team arrived in Utah, the Mammoth have drawn thousands of new eyeballs to the sport of hockey.
“We have unbelievable fans and I am just so excited for them to get to experience a playoff run,” Chris Barney, president of revenue and commercial strategy for SEG, told the Deseret News. “... It’s going to be an incredible catalyst and experience driver for the entire community.”
Constructing a winning roster
Unlike some other sports, one or two high picks don’t immediately take a hockey team from the draft lottery to the Stanley Cup Final. Even the best players, excluding goalies, play less than half the minutes in a given game, so depth is needed.
The Mammoth’s current lines are a good representation of the group’s various eras of drafting and trading.
Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Lawson Crouse were all drafted in the first round between 2014 and 2016 (the latter two were acquired through trades after being drafted), and they’re all in their prime now. Much of the Mammoth’s offense comes from those three.
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Utah Mammoth President Chris Armstrong, right, gives Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) the Leading Scorer Award after an NHL game against the St. Louis Blues at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
The next line features Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, two productive, young NHL players who are still getting better. They’re currently paired with Kailer Yamamoto, whose situation is much different, but they have also played plenty of hockey this season with JJ Peterka, who fits into their same category.
Having the one-two punch of two highly productive lines has made a huge difference for the Mammoth this season.
Now, here’s the absurd part: The Mammoth still have six first-round-drafted players who have yet to fully break into the NHL. Just think what the roster could look like when Tij Iginla, Caleb Desnoyers and Daniil But hit the level that Cooley, Guenther and Peterka are currently at.
Armstrong frequently says that his “best team is not here yet.” This is what he’s talking about.
For that reason, this playoff run is not an all-in situation for Utah. While they’d love to make a deep run, their main goal is simply to get the guys some playoff experience so that they’ll be ready to win by the time their “best team” arrives.
“There’s a lot of patience that goes in, you know? Most clubs that become championship clubs have to go through some pain,” Armstrong told the Deseret News in February.
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Tij Iginla during practice as the Utah Mammoth hold rookie camp at their new practice facility in Sandy on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News