By Matt Reigle

Copyright outkick

It’s an exciting time for the Utah Mammoth as they prepare for their sophomore NHL campaign, which happens to be their first with a proper name. They’ve got some good additions in Brandon Tanev and Stanley Cup-champ Nate Schmidt joining the lineup, and Vitek Vanecek adding a bit of depth in net. But do you know what else they’ve got for this season? A brand-new training facility that looks to be about as good, if not better, than any in the NHL. According to the team website, the new facility — which doesn’t appear to have a name yet — is opening just ahead of the team’s training camp, and it was all built in around 13 months. Team owner Ryan Smith showed it off and gave a tour to a few of the team’s new additions in a video posted to social media. The 146,000-square-foot facility also serves as the team’s headquarters and, when fully opened to the public in 2026, will include multiple ice sheets, a team store, skate rentals, locker rooms, and concessions. So, it’s pretty clear that the Mammoth are serious about growing the game locally, which is awesome to see. But, again, let’s take a moment to appreciate just how nice this is. I mean, look at it! The Mammoth missed the playoffs last season, finishing seven points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. Could they get over the hump and make a playoff debut this season? Uh… maybe? I think Utah was a halfway decent team last year and is better this season with their additions, but the Central Division is brutal. Five teams made the playoffs from the Central last season: Winnipeg, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, and St. Louis. Maybe they can win a few games and leapfrog St. Louis, but I’m not sure how many other teams are going to be trending backward. But, you never know. Last year, at this time, I was thinking the Nashville Predators would be one of the teams making the postseason out of the Central, and… well… that didn’t happen.