Park Record
Park City and Wasatch Back News
Last year, Utah’s NHL team, then named the Utah Hockey Club, stopped in Park City a couple of times for a prospect camp and practice. Defenseman Sean Durzi and general manager Bill Armstrong gushed about the town’s warm reception, saying they’d be excited to return in the future.
Tuesday afternoon, the team indeed returned to town, now as the Utah Mammoth.
Park City was stop three of a seven-stop Utah tour known as “Mammoth Week.” The team is looking to grow their new brand and the sport of hockey across the state.
The Mammoth set up shop at the Park City Ice Arena Tuesday. They held training sessions on the ice and family-friendly activities outside the arena on the Quinn’s Junction soccer fields. While attendance was somewhat sparse, those who filtered in and out were happy to be there.
On-ice sessions included some for sled hockey players and preps players. Off-ice activities included a street hockey-like setup, target practice and pop-a-shot. There was also a stand where fans could get their hands on some new Mammoth merchandise.
“A family-friendly and engaging fan fest,” said the Mammoth’s Director of Youth Programming Kristen Bowness. “Every stop is different.”
The Mammoth will wrap up the week Saturday in St. George. There, they’ll have a street hockey tournament, and fans will have the chance to meet forward Clayton Keller.
The Mammoth saw the immense interest in their team last season. They sold out all 41 home games, according to Deseret News. The team doesn’t want to take that initial interest for granted, wanting to grow their fandom and the game in future generations.
“Last year was pretty thrilling, and I think every year is going to carry that same momentum,” Bowness said. “Our fan base is incredible, everyone is just so excited for us to be here. The more we can interact with the community and do more, like just putting more sticks in hands, we’re going to continue to grow that fan base and hopefully educate more about the game.”
Like many other professional sports teams, the Mammoth operate a youth organization called Learn to Play. They’d like to help kids see their development through from start to maybe playing in the NHL. With her third NHL team now, Bowness said the Mammoth are approaching community outreach similarly to others.
Bowness confirmed Park City and the Ice Arena have been great hosts for the Mammoth. She said Mammoth Week will be a fixture on the team’s calendar moving forward.
“Park City is wonderful,” Bowness said. “The management of this rink is so great to work with and supports anything that we do, which has been wonderful. … We’ll be in Park City as much as we can.”
One of the happy families visiting Tuesday’s Mammoth Week festivities was the Sendeks from Phoenix. They were visiting town for the week and took their two toddlers out to enjoy the warm weather and hockey. It appears the Sendeks held no ill will toward the team, which left Phoenix after the 2023-24 season.
“We were doing some research on things to do in the area and saw that this was happening,” Michael Sendek said. “My son loves hockey — I played it growing up — and thought there might be something fun to do; turns out there is.”
Sendek’s eldest son loved the street hockey setup next to the arena. He also was excited to pop inside to watch the Zambonis. Sendek said he travels to Salt Lake City often for work and would love to catch his first Mammoth game. He said he appreciated them putting on the community outreach event.
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Summer 2025
The Park Record newspaper publishes twice weekly in Park City, Utah, and has been serving the Wasatch Back since 1880.
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