The Mammoth win.
Utah's prospects made a statement in San Jose on Saturday, shutting out the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in the opening game of the 2026 Rookie Faceoff at Tech CU Arena and Sharks Ice.
The tournament, which runs September 12-15, brings together young talent from six Western Conference organizations — the Mammoth, Golden Knights, Ducks, Avalanche, Kings, and Sharks — giving each team's next wave of prospects a chance to compete outside their own development camps before main training camp begins.
Utah's power play did all the damage Saturday, and Vegas never found an answer.
The trouble started early for the Golden Knights, who ran into penalty trouble in the opening period. The costliest was a double-minor when defenseman Max Psenicka was nailed with a high-stick, an incident that unfortunately ended his night. Utah made them pay for it — and then some, finishing a perfect 3-for-3 on the man advantage.
Miko Matikka got things started, crashing the net to bang home a juicy rebound. Then, still working the same four-minute power play, Daniil But made it 2-0 with a highlight-reel effort — muscling his way through traffic and slipping a slick move past goaltender Pavel Moysevich.
Utah wasn't done. Later in the period, Artem Duda blew into the offensive zone and ripped a wrist shot from distance that beat Moysevich to complete the trifecta.
From there, the game settled down into an even-strength display of both offensive and defensive prowess.
By the final horn, it wasn't particularly close in terms of who controlled the game. The scoreboard read 3-0, but the story was really about a Mammoth group that took advantage of every opportunity handed to them and never let Vegas dictate the pace.
