After a breakout 40-goal season, Dylan Guenther is already looking for new ways to become an even more dangerous weapon for the Utah Mammoth.
Dylan Guenther is already pretty scary when he has the puck on his stick.
After a 40-goal season, though, the Utah Mammoth forward isn't content to simply repeat what he accomplished. He's already looking for ways to make himself even harder to stop.
That might be the most frightening part of Guenther's development.
The 23-year-old has improved his goal total in every NHL season since entering the league, going from six goals as a rookie to 18, then 27 and finally 40 last season. For most young players, reaching that kind of offensive milestone would be reason enough to feel satisfied.
Guenther isn't wired that way.
When asked what he'd like to add to his game, Guenther laid out a few of the areas he's focused on.
“Trying to create more space for myself, move a little bit more, and then just being able to kind of shoot it through screens, shoot it while I'm changing the angle, and the defenseman's moving a little bit more," he told reporters during Utah's Media Day.
He’s already capable of beating goaltenders in plenty of ways. Now, he wants to add even more weapons to his arsenal, giving himself another layer to his game and making him an even more dangerous offensive threat.
“Trying to add deflections and that kind of stuff closer to the net is definitely a goal.”
It's easy to overlook something as small as a deflection when a player has already found the net 40 times in a season. But for Guenther, those little details are exactly where the next step can come from.
His development isn't only about what happens with the puck, either.
Guenther played 85 games last season, including the playoffs, more than he had ever played in a single season. Another long campaign will require him to take care of himself just as carefully as he prepares for the games themselves.
That's something he has learned with experience.
As a younger player, Guenther said, it was easier to simply show up at the rink, play and move on to the next day. Now, he understands that staying healthy and maintaining his body throughout an NHL season requires more work.
“Making sure my body is good to go every game. I think that's something that's hard. As a younger player, sometimes you just want to go to the rink and get out, and you always feel good. But now that I've gotten a little bit older, there are some things that I have to stay on top of.”
There is also a bigger reason for Guenther to keep pushing.
The Mammoth want to get back to the playoffs, and Guenther knows a strong individual season won't mean much if Utah doesn't take care of business as a team.
“I think that we got better over the offseason, but, you know, teams every year make the playoffs and then don't get in. I think that's the main goal, and just realizing how important the start of the season is for us to do that.”
That makes the early part of the season especially important for a young Utah team trying to take the next step.
For Guenther, though, the process is bigger than one season or one statistical milestone.
He has improved every year since entering the NHL, and he sees no reason for that to change now.
“I think continuing to improve is what I've always wanted to do, and I think I've done that, too. Every year I've been in the league, I've gotten a little bit better every year. I don't think that changes. You go home and you know what stuff you need to work on, what you need to get better at.”
That's what makes Guenther so intriguing heading into the next chapter of his career.
He has already gone from a ninth-overall pick trying to establish himself in the NHL to a 40-goal scorer who has become a centerpiece of Utah's offense.
And somehow, he still sees plenty of room to grow.
