Why did Mammoth players receive so many award votes this year? Here’s what voters said

In the Utah Mammoth’s second season of existence, the amount of awards votes their players received increased eleven-fold.

Under the “Utah Hockey Club” name, Clayton Keller grabbed a third-place vote for the end-of-season all-star team and Mikhail Sergachev got six Bill Masterton Trophy votes, awarded to the player is judged to have persevered through the most hardship.

The list of players who received votes in season two is much longer:

We reached out to a few beat reporters around the league to see what they liked about these particular Mammoth players. Here’s what they said.

Harman Dayal, The Athletic: “I was blown away by how Keller carried Utah’s offense when Logan Cooley went down long-term with injury, especially since the Mammoth were outside a playoff spot when that happened. There were other right wingers like Martin Nečas who scored more points than Keller, but Nečas had the benefit of playing on Nathan MacKinnon’s line, whereas I’d argue that Keller didn’t have a true No. 1 center to play with all season.”

Adam Vingan, Sportsnet: “Guenther scoring 40 goals at such a young age was wildly impressive, but his one-timer was also one of the most dangerous weapons in the NHL. He led all forwards in one-timer attempts with 177, and his 17 one-timer goals ranked fifth among all skaters, behind only the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Leon Draisaitl.”

Sheng Peng, SJ Hockey Now: “Starting goalies don’t play as much as they used to, so I give a lot of credit to a starter like Karel Vejmelka, the only netminder to eclipse 60 appearances this season. It takes an underrated mental and physical fortitude to carry the load like that, and Vejmelka did it with very respectable Goals Saved Above Expected numbers, while also leading the Mammoth to the playoffs.”

KAREL VEJMELKA BRINGS THE DELTA CENTER TO THEIR FEET 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/4ZEVttQxfK

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 10, 2026

It’s also worth noting that head coach André Tourigny garnered a third-place vote for the Jack Adams award, given to the coach of the year. That award is decided by the broadcasters’ association, which does not publicly reveal who voted for whom.

Which Mammoth players got NHL Awards votes from the Deseret News?

I included three Mammoth players on my ballots:

• Nick Schmaltz, Selke Trophy, third place
• Nate Schmidt, Lady Byng Trophy, fifth place
• Clayton Keller, Bill Masterton Trophy, third place

Schmaltz was particularly impressive with how seamlessly he transitioned to center after playing wing almost his entire NHL career. He didn’t just survive, either. He blew his career highs out of the water in goals and points, while playing top penalty kill minutes and placing fourth in the league in takeaways. That’s easily worth a Selke vote in my book as the league’s best two-way player.

The Lady Byng Trophy goes to the NHL’s most gentlemanly player, and that’s exactly what Nate Schmidt is. He never seems to be unhappy, and he treats everyone with a great deal of respect. It’s also worth mentioning that he played a major role on the ice in the Mammoth’s success this season.

Clayton Keller went through the unimaginable, losing his father unexpectedly. He pushed forward despite that, opting not to miss a single game. He led the team in points, helping the franchise to its first-ever playoff appearance. The Bill Masterton Trophy recognizes players’ perseverance, and Keller persevered through a lot.