Karel Vejmelka had some impressive numbers in the 2025-26 season. Vejmelka may have set unreasonable expectations for the 2026-27 season. Vejmelka didn't exactly have the greatest numbers, but he did have a great 38-20-3 record. The question is: did Vejmelka set unreasonable expectations for himself, and should the Utah Mammoth be concerned about how he might perform in the future?
Should Utah be a little concerned with their goalie situation still?
Utah went into this offseason knowing that it needed a decent backup goalie. The goalie room in the 2025-26 season didn't exactly help the Mammoth out too much, and they knew they no longer needed the services of Vitek Vanecek.
This led the Mammoth to enter the trade market and acquire a goalie, Sebastian Cossa. Cossa was a rare 1st round draft pick as a goalie, selected 15th overall in the 2023 draft by the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings refused to rush their top goalie prospect, allowing Cossa to spend a lot of time in the AHL.
In the 2025-26 season, though, by adding another goalie, the Red Wings didn't have room for Cossa. This led Detroit to trade Cossa to Utah for the 23rd overall selection in the 2026 draft, a pick that the Mammoth had traded for earlier that night as part of the return of JJ Peterka. The Mammoth certainly got themselves a pretty good deal that wasn't expensive.
However, the question remains, even with Cossa as the backup and Vejmelka as the starter, does Utah have some major concerns? Vejmelka was 38-20-3 but had a .897 SV% and allowed 2.75 goals per game, which isn't very impressive. Cossa, meanwhile, is both inexperienced and young, giving Utah a reason to believe there may be growing pains. Utah wants to compete for it all by adding some players that they did, and their goalies will be a big part of that.
Vejmelka and Cossa should have a better defense in front of them, especially with the hiring of Adam Foote. But at least, there's certainly some concern around the goalie room and if it can thrive this next season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google