Chase Beardsley Tue, October 20, 2026 at 10:34 PM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Utah Mammoth have called a player up from the AHL for the first time this season, and it's one of their top defensive prospects.
On Tuesday, the team recalled Artem Duda from the Tucson Roadrunners. The defenseman has three points in six games with the Roadrunners this season. He is tied with Zac Jones for the team lead in points among defensemen. Duda is also a plus-six, the best plus-minus rating on the team.
This is Duda's first-ever NHL call-up. He was originally drafted in the second round in 2022 by the Arizona Coyotes. Last season, Duda only played 27 games, producing 13 points before suffering a season-ending injury that resulted in knee surgery.
However, the defenseman worked hard over the summer to regain strength in his leg before having an impressive rookie camp and a very solid training camp. He was one of the final cuts, alongside Ben McCartney, as the Mammoth sent him down right before the season started.
Duda has mentioned that he has never felt better, and early results have shown that he's not lying.
"I feel like I'm the strongest person I've ever been," Duda said. "Everything is good. The knee is good. I'm skating and playing physically. I just have to keep going like that."
The Mammoth are currently starting to deal with injuries. John Marino did not play in Monday's game vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, forcing Nick DeSimone to sub in his place. Michael Carcone was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday with an upper-body injury. The forward has not played since Oct. 8 in a game against the Boston Bruins.
It's unclear if Duda will actually play in his first NHL game during this call-up. Last season, the Mammoth called up Maksymilian Szuber, Kevin Connauton, Scott Perunovich, Dmitri Simashev, and Maveric Lamoureux throughout the season. Only the latter two names appeared in games with the Mammoth.
Duda is also ineligible for waivers, meaning he doesn't have to clear them to be returned to the Roadrunners, which could mean a quick return to the AHL if needed. It could be a reason why the Mammoth opted to call him up over someone like Jones, who has to clear waivers.
The Roadrunners will likely play their first two games without Duda this weekend as they travel to Nevada to play the Henderson Silver Knights. They have options to fill that void with Cal Thomas and Brandon Holt, both deserving of the opportunity to play.
The Mammoth will play their next game on Thursday as they travel to Climate Pledge Arena to take on the Seattle Kraken.
Source: Sports
