The founding season for the Utah Hockey Club (now the Utah Mammoth) is officially over. The team finished the game with a record of 38-31-13, while their American Hockey League member Tucson Roadrunners finished the game with a record of 34-32-4-2, enough to have a seventh playoff spot in the Pacific Division. The runners lost 2-1 to Abbotsford Canucks in the first round of the playoffs.
With the season in the book, it’s time to take a look at the 48 Utah players under the NHL contract (not including Connor Ingram for obvious reasons) and rate their 2024-25 season. We will also reflect on their performance in the 2023-24 season to see if they improve or worse, and their future creativity. We arrange our names alphabetically. Next is Matias MacCelli.
Last season
After a fantastic rookie season, Maccelli hopes to take another step forward in 2023-24, especially after becoming a big factor in the Arizona Coyots power play. He started the season meaninglessly in his first three games, but it has long been.
Maccelli put up first place against St. Louis Blues, where he received two assists. He will continue to set record marks in the next eight games, including his first goal against the Los Angeles Kings. It won’t stop there, because after not scoring in the first two games, Maccelli scored six points in the next six games.
In December, the Finnish striker’s works continued. He scored 6 points in seven games. In fact, in December, only two of McKelly did not make any point.
Related: Utah Mammoth’s 2024-25 transcript: Logan Cooley
January is arguably the slowest month for McKelly because he only has 5 minutes in the whole month. However, February won the game for him after he scored eight points in 11 games.
Maccelli started to explode in a three-pointer against the Ottawa Senator. Later this month, he scored five points in three games. He scored three goals and assists in the final three games, ending the season, including an overtime title against the Edmonton Oilers and a goal in the last game in the history of the Coyotes series.
It’s a great season for Maccelli. He played in all 82 games for the first time in his career. He has 17 goals and 40 assists and 57 points, all of which are professional highs. His average ice time is 16:14. Most importantly, he is once again an important part of the coyote power play, scoring 12 points in human advantages.
This season
Entering his third season in the NHL and his first season in Utah, the expectation from Maccelli is that he will be the solidified part of the top 9 and continues to attack in five-on-five and powerful games. He started the season in season three with Lawson Crouse and Josh Doan.
Although Maccelli didn’t make the point in his first game, he performed well in the second and third games of the season. In his tenth game, he was in his first goal of the season, and his second game against the San Jose Sharks. He scored 6 points in these 10 games. Opening his eight-game winning streak last season wasn’t like his eight-game winning streak, but it’s still a nice output.
McKelly! 🙌
His first goal of the season put us in a 2-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/52UPMW98UJ
– Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) October 29, 2024
Maccelli scored his third goal of the season in a few games after his match against the Blues. As the forward starts struggling, this will be his last goal for a while. He only scored four points between November and December. Head coach André Tourigny tried to switch lines, which included putting Maccelli on the top line with Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton, but nothing.
MacCelli entered 2025 against the Dallas Stars in a match against Lawson Crouse. Later, he scored two further goals after his game against the New York Rangers. His final goal with Utah against Utah in late January against the Winnipeg Jets.
Shortly after the Jets race, Maccelli scratched her health for the first time this season due to “internal reasons.” He returns for the next game but is in the scratched roster from February 8 to March 20. Rumors spin around Maccelli and he may trade before the trading deadline. But nothing happened and the forward stayed in Utah.
Maccelli was hit in Utah against the Buffalo Sabers and stayed in the roster for two games. But, he was put back in the news box again and stayed there until the end of the season.
Overall, McKelly played 55 games for Utah and contributed only 18 points. This is down 39 points from last season. His average ice time also dropped to 13:44. This disappoints everyone.
“Obviously, that’s not what I expected, and I think anyone wants to get into this season,” McKelly said. “Even if I’m not playing, I think I’ve improved over the past few months. I have to go back to it this summer and get better, and better next year.”
Maccelli mentioned that it was difficult for him to sit in the press and watch his teammates try to help Utah fight for the playoffs. In the summer, he plans to work hard to become stronger, work hard to make his shots and improve his overall game.
“I think there will be more gyms this year,” McKelly said. “I’ve been on the ice lately, so I’ve tried to work hard, shot a lot, do a lot of work overall and try to get better.”
The coaching staff also told McKelly that they wanted him to return to Arizona to play, stay consistent and put forward a lot of points.
Despite his poor season, MacCelli said he wanted to go back to Utah, telling reporters that he loved his team, city and fans. Unfortunately for him, he would not get a crack in the redemption of Salt Lake City. Just weeks after he quit the interview, McKelly was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a conditional 2027 third-round draft pick.
future
The Maccelli transaction must be completed. With Brandon Tanev and JJ Peterka joining him, he has no room for the roster next season. It’s also obvious that he’s already lost favor with the Mammoth’s coaching staff, seeing players like Liam O’Brien play in front of him. In fact, one unnoticed statistic is that Cruise scored the same as McLee, except he played 26 games, 26 more than Finn.
Toronto is a great place to end with Maccelli. Mitch Marner was traded this summer and signed with the Vegas Golden Knights, leaving a potential spot for the Finnish striker’s top six. He will also be surrounded by elite organizers and scorers such as Auston Matthews, William Nyland and Matthew North. Not to mention, Ye Zi is expected to be a highly competitive team this season.
Psychology is a huge game when it comes to what Maccelli needs to do. You can tell his confidence throughout the season and it’s healthy because a large part of it doesn’t help. Changes in the scenery should help.
McKelly also mentioned his strength because of what he is going to do, which will help his overall game. His two-way game has been a worrying issue as he is not a defensive striker and it should improve under a coach like Craig Berube. But his confidence is the biggest thing he needs to improve.
For Leafs fans, Maccelli’s expectations for next season are to go back to the 40-point range, if not more. If he goes into the top six and is in a power play, it needs to happen. McKelly’s contract also ends after next season, so if he wants to get more money, his productivity needs to be restored to 2023-24.
Final results
Is the season bad in Maccelli? A large part of it can be put on him, but there are many factors at work. Utah is getting better and better, their forward team has improved, driving him out of the roster. It felt like he wasn’t on the same page as the coach, and it didn’t help his case when he tried to return to the lineup in March and April.
Expectations are high this season, especially considering he won 57 points a year ago. However, one of Utah’s biggest disappointments last season was Cruise’s drop to the same number of points, one of Utah’s biggest disappointments last season.
Overall, Maccelli will receive D-Plus for the season. For a one-time 57-pointer, it was undoubtedly a season’s defeat. 18 points is not good enough, and every stat of his has dropped from last season. Looking back at 2023-24 Maccelli, it shows that he can be a major offensive player who can control the hockey and the game. The Finnish striker’s 2024-25 version shows only a glimpse of it.
Leafs fans should be excited about Maccelli, though. Toronto’s clean plate should really help him. He will have a chance to return to the Arizona game and possibly better. If he could bounce back and return to his upward trajectory, he could be a big part of the Leafs since the early 2000s and their first playoff appearance without Marner. Who knows, he can even make Mammoth regret trading him.
