One of the biggest surprises for the Utah Mammoth during the 2025-26 season was the emergence of center Nick Schmaltz, who put up a career year. Schmaltz has shown potential in the past, but he really became a cornerstone of the Mammoth team- a Mammoth team that reached the postseason for the first time ever in it's short franchise history. Hopefully, for future seasons, the Mammoth can get the same version of Schmaltz.
2025-26 Stats: 33 G, 41 A, 74 PTS, 17 +/-, 3.5 WAR
Before, the 20th overall selection of the 2014 NHL draft had five seasons with over 20 goals scored, including four straight between the Arizona Coyotes, and Utah. However, he never scored more than 23, so to see 33 this season was a very nice surprise for Utah. Schmaltz was second on the team with 74 points and overall added significant value. And in addition to his 33 goals and 41 assists, Schmaltz had a good plus/minus of 17 and a very nice 3.5 WAR (wins above replacement, or the amount wins he provided over the average NHL center).
To see such production from the 30-year-old Schmaltz was one of the best things that happened to Utah this season, and hopefully, Utah can get a good amount of production from the center in the future. Schmaltz has had some nice seasons in the past, especially with Arizona in 2021-22 and 2022-23, where he produced good numbers in only 63 games each season- but Schmaltz reached new heights in 2025-26.
2025-26 Grade: A 100%
If this was an actual grade, this season was a 10/10, or 100% score for Schmaltz. Utah likely expected to see some nice or at least good numbers from Schmaltz. This is of course because of his consistency since 2021. However, 2025-26 Schmaltz wasn't the same kind of player. Schmaltz added a significant layer of depth to an offense who had only two big goal scorers, Dylan Guenther, who scored 40, and Schmaltz, who of course netted 33.
The Mammoth had four others who scored more than 20 goals, Logan Cooley (albeit in only 54 games), JJ Peterka, Lawson Crouse, and Clayton Keller. Which is good, but not exactly great. Schmaltz adding 33 to a group that seemed to struggle at times really helped Utah push forward towards the playoff. Ultimately, there is absolutely nothing to complain about when it comes to Nick Schmaltz and the season he had in 2025-26.
Can Young Mammoth Grow Massively?
Some of the most interesting things to see in future seasons, concerning the offense, will be the following: can Cooley blow up into a superstar? Can JJ Peterka rally after a down season? Will Guenther continue to cook? Can Keller get some help from others offensively? And finally, can a blockbuster trade push the Mammoth to the top? These are among the top questions for Mammoth team that showed tremendous potential this season, and if they can find some good answers to these questions, then the team will only get better.
Nick Schmaltz's 2025-26 season was one of the best things that happened to Utah this season. Schmaltz became one of the main drivers of an offense that got Utah into the postseason- of course with some defensive help too, but the offense wasn't all bad in 25-26. Schmaltz will be fun to watch in the future and hopefully, he can continue to get goals and assists for Utah.
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