Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
They are loaded with young prospects and they have just the right amount of veteran knowledge.
They are the Tucson Roadrunners and they have emerged as one of the hottest teams in the AHL to start the season. The Utah Mammoth affiliate enters November on a nine-game winning streak (7-0-2-0) and in first place in the Pacific Division.
They do it in style too. On the road Friday night, they crushed Ontario with five third-period goals in a 5-4 victory. One night later, it was more of the same. Down 2-0 against the Reign, Tucson responded for a 3-2 win.
Cameron HebigEarned Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for seven points in three games last week, including four goals. Ben McCartneyLed his team with 14 points and had a league-best plus-10 rating, was invited to Utah on Sunday. And while losing McCarthy’s production hurts, it came in a trade where the Mammoths sent away top prospects. Daniel Booth to Tucson. But, who is just 21 years old, was taken 12th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft and has played in 13 games for the mammoths with four points (two goals, two assists). He had 19 goals and 39 points in 41 games for Tucson last season.
Michael Hrabalsecond-round pick from that 2023 class, is adjusting smoothly to full-time professional life in the Roadrunners’ crease. Also 21, he got a late-season look in Tucson after coming out of the University of Massachusetts last spring and is 4-1-1 with a 1.85 goals-against average and .926 save percentage through six games this season. He was the Hockey East Player of the Year last season at UMass.
But and Hrabal are just two of the young talents Utah has deployed to Tucson; attackers Caleb Desnoyers and: Tij Iginla are top-10 picks starting their pro careers with the Roadrunners. Desnoyers, the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, is a 19-year-old who had 78 points (22 goals, 56 assists) in 45 games for Moncton (QMJHL) last season, followed by another 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 21 playoff games. Iginla is the son of a Hockey Hall of Famer Yarom Iginla and the mammoth sixth overall in 2024. Like Desnoyers, he dominated junior play and scored 90 points (41 goals, 49 assists) in 48 games with the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets in 2025-26.
Sending Desnoyers and Iginla to Tucson follows a familiar plan of action for the Utah GM Bill Armstrong. Defender Dmitry SimashevThe sixth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, played 40 games with Tucson last season, participated in the AHL All-Star Classic and later earned a spot on the AHL All-Rookie Team. However, the mammoth isn’t afraid to reward the young player with NHL ice time. Each player played in 28 NHL games last season, with Simashev becoming a regular on Utah’s blue line.
in front Yegor BorikovThe 20-year-old signed his entry-level contract last May after a 16-goal season in the Kontinental Hockey League with Dynamo Minsk. So did another 20-year-old linebacker, quarterback Gregor Bieberwho played in the Swedish hockey league last season. Borikov’s teammate with Minsk, striker Vadim Morozjoined the Utah organization on an entry-level contract, and Thomas Lavoie another new face is on the way. Mix in the protector Artem Duda (2022 second-rounder) as well, and Utah has a big prospect with Tucson. Dating continues with the 2024 fourth-rounder Gabe SmithWith Moncton teammate Desnoyers, who has 19 goals in 21 playoff games, on this Tucson roster as well.
The mood is good in Tucson right now, getting ready for their weekend showdown with Coachella Valley at the Tucson Arena. But the early part of the season is a time when AHL teams often really lean on their veterans as young talent adjusts, and in some cases re-adjusts, to the league.
So this summer, the Mammoth did more than just stock their AHL affiliate with first- and second-year prospects and hope for the best. Armstrong and his staff reshaped the organization’s depth chart. Zach Joneslast year’s Eddie Shore Award winner signed a two-year contract with Utah on the first day of free agency. Forward Joshua Roy came from the Montreal Canadiens in an offseason deal. And the organization kept the attackers Austin Poganski, Kevin Rooney and: Sammy Walker as well as blueliners Robbie Russo On AHL contracts.
And of course, there’s Hebig, a Roadrunners fixture after joining the team for the 2020-21 season. The ninth-year pro holds several team records, including career games played (368), goals (97) and points (199). The Mammoth rewarded him with a two-year NHL contract in 2025 after he played in a series of AHL deals.
It is the foundation of deep experience.
But the head coach Steve Potvin has been through enough of the highs and lows of this league. Strong prospects have come through Tucson, while the Roadrunners have won just one postseason series in their 10-year history.
“It’s a weird thing because I think we come in every season with hype.” Potvin said before the season. “And every season, I think you go back and try to refine your process, and every year you think you have a pulse, and sometimes you think this is the answer, right? And I think now, over the years, watching the teams and picking up on how the champions do it, you start to really refine your process.
Still, a recall here or there, a rookie slump or some injuries, and a winning team can quickly become a struggling team. That’s why as much as accumulating wins and points helps now, so does building a solid foundation in the fall months. So it’s time for Potvin, his coaching staff and those veterans to establish and reinforce that mindset.
“I think communication is the most powerful force, and awareness,” continued Potvin. “As long as our guys understand what it takes and how to communicate with each other, we’re going to go a long way.”
With more than two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was awarded the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league in 2015-16.
