Here’s everyone the Utah Mammoth selected in the 2026 NHL Draft

The Utah Mammoth’s third draft in franchise history has come and gone — and by most accounts, the Mammoth got some steals.

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Here’s everyone they selected, and why those players matter.

Round 1, pick 17: Ethan Belchetz

• Position: Left wing
• Height: 6-foot-5
• Weight: 229 pounds
• Hometown: Oakville, Ontario
• 2025-26 team: Windsor Spitfires, OHL
• 2025-26 production: 57 games played, 34 goals, 59 points

Most outlets projected Ethan Belchetz to be a top-12 pick, give or take. When he fell to No. 17, Utah saw an opportunity.

The Mammoth traded pick No. 19 and one of their third-rounders to the Los Angeles Kings to move up and snatch Belchetz, a power forward with offensive ability.

Belchetz has a lot of similarities to current Mammoth associate captain Lawson Crouse. Both are big guys who scored roughly a point per game in the Ontario Hockey League in their respective draft seasons.

“He’s got a lot of great hockey sense,” said Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong at the conclusion of the first round Friday evening. “I love his game. (He) thinks the game at a high level. He’s a big, big man. He can do a little bit of the nasty sometimes and take care of business, too.

“He’s a great kid. We did a lot of work on him. We weren’t sure that he was going to be there when we were picking and we had to trade up to get him, but we love who he is. We love the size, the hockey sense, the ability to play tough and hard. He’s going to fit right into our culture.”

Belchetz is excited to join the Mammoth.

“I want (the fans) to know I’d do anything to lift the (Stanley) Cup over my head and bring a championship to the (state) of Utah,” he said. “They deserve it there. They’re unbelievable fans. Every single game seems so cool and I can’t wait to get down there.”

Round 3, pick 96: Adam Valentini

• Position: Center
• Height: 5-foot-10
• Weight: 185 pounds
• Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
• 2025-26 team: University of Michigan, NCAA
• 2025-26 production: 40 games played, 11 goals, 27 points

Armstrong doesn’t draft sub-six-foot players very often — but when he does, they’re usually pitbulls.

That’s exactly what Adam Valentini is. He will never be outworked by anyone and he’s unafraid to go to the corners.

Plus, he can score.

Aside from No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna, no first-year draft-eligible player scored more points in the NCAA this season than Valentini.

Most experts projected Valentini to go in the late first or early second round, so when Utah snagged him with the last pick of the third round, they felt they got great value.

“I think I play 200 feet of the ice really hard,” Valentini told the local media in a virtual interview after being drafted. “… And I think my offensive ability sets me apart from other players. I feel like I’m also reliable in the (defensive) zone.”

Mammoth director of amateur scouting Darryl Plandowski was impressed that as a 17-year-old, Valentini bet on himself by going to college rather than staying another year in the much easier USHL.

“We met him at the combine and you can tell right away that he’s a very confident person,” Plandowski said. “When you’re that size, you better be confident — and he is. That was why we thought, ‘You know what? For the third round, it’s a really good swing.’”

Round 4, pick 115: Carl Axelsson

• Position: Goalie
• Height: 6-foot-4
• Weight: 183 pounds
• Hometown: Danderyd, Sweden
• 2025-26 team: Muskegon Lumberjacks, USHL
• 2025-26 stats: 44 games played, .916 save percentage, 2.48 goals-against average

For the first time in Armstrong’s tenure as GM (Arizona Coyotes days included), he has selected goaltenders in consecutive years.

Carl Axelsson was eligible for the 2025 draft, but did not get selected. He went back to the USHL and posted impressive numbers.

“He’s big, he’s strong. He’s going to go to a solid university, so we know we’ve got two or three years for him to develop,” said Plandowski. “He had a real good year in the USHL.”

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Axelsson is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for the 2026-27 season.

Round 5, pick 130: Theodor Knights

• Position: Left defense
• Height: 6-foot-4
• Weight: 207 pounds
• Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
• 2025-26 team: MoDo Hockey, Swedish U20
• 2025-26 production: 24 games played, 0 goals, 2 points

The Mammoth couldn’t beat Shea Theodore and the Golden Knights in the playoffs this year. Maybe adding a “Theodor Knights” will help.

Knights fits the Armstrong draft profile: a big guy who plays a physical game. Knights’ two points in 24 games aren’t necessarily impressive, but his 78 penalty minutes tell the story of who he is.

He told the media after being selected that he models his game after Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov — big, physical guys. It’s also worth noting that Tanev’s brother, Brandon Tanev, plays for the Mammoth.

“Defensive D-man,” Knights said when asked what his role was this season. “Very many defensive face-offs. … Shutdown player. You can put me in when the other guys have their best players on the ice and I will always go in and shut them down and make the game harder for them.”

MoDo, where Knights has played the last two seasons, is famous for producing high-profile NHLers. Their list of alumni includes:

• Henrik and Daniel Sedin
• Peter Forsberg
• Victor Hedman
• Markus Näslund
• William Nylander

“I think because (of) the training culture around the club,” Knights said when asked why MoDo is so good at developing elite talent.

“It’s a hockey town and everyone loves hockey there, so everyone wants to compete for a good spot on the tapes — and we’re really close to each other, also, so it’s a combination of everything.”

Round 5, pick 147: Florent Houle

• Position: Right wing
• Height: 6-foot
• Weight: 192 pounds
• Hometown: Quebec City, Quebec
• 2025-26 team: Sherbrooke Phoenix, QMJHL
• 2025-26 production: 52 games played, 19 goals, 41 points

By most accounts, Florent Houle is a pesky player who can get under opponents’ skin. With 93 penalty minutes in 52 games in a league that doesn’t allow fighting, that’s apparent.

Plandowski said that was a focus of this year’s draft for his team.

“You want guys that drive the team in some way,” he said. “Whether that’s offense, scoring goals, whether that’s defense, whether that’s playing a physical brand of hockey, I think you’re always looking for somebody that can make a difference.”

Like Axelsson, Houle is an over-ager who went back after going undrafted and worked hard to earn a selection.

Round 7, pick 211: Artem Prima

• Position: Right wing/left wing
• Height: 6-foot-1
• Weight: 176 pounds
• Hometown: Yekaterinburg, Russia
• 2025-26 team: Minot Minotauros, NAHL
• 2025-26 production: 28 games played, 8 goals, 26 points

Artem Prima split the season between the NAHL and the USHL, scoring a little less than a point per game in both leagues. It’s not exactly the steepest competition, but both leagues have a proven track record at elevating players to the NCAA, an excellent development league.

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