Have you ever wondered how often you’d have to eat to take in 5,000 calories per day?
Utah Mammoth defenseman Maveric Lamoureux, who’s eagerly trying to put on weight, revealed his 8-meal-a-day schedule at rookie camp on Wednesday:
- 6:30 a.m.
- 10:30 a.m.
- Noon
- 3 p.m.
- 5 p.m.
- 7 p.m.
- 9 p.m.
“Food doesn’t taste good for me,” he joked. “I ate way too (much) food this summer.”
The 6-foot-6 defenseman played 15 NHL games last year, though a hand injury ended that. When he eventually returned to action, he was immediately sent down to Tucson, where he finished out the season with the Roadrunners in the AHL.
Injuries reduced Lamoureux’s draft season, 2021-22, and it’s done the same every season since, but no matter what’s happening, he seems to always have a smile on his face.
“Overall, I’m just really excited to come back and start everything again,” he said.
Lamoureux spent Wednesday afternoon skating on a pairing with fellow behemoth Dmitri Simashev, who stands at 6-foot-5. As far as Lamoureux knows, the plan is for the two of them to play together this year.
“I’m pretty sure it is (the plan),” he said. “I definitely like playing with him, so if both of us do everything good and we end up playing together with Utah, I think it’s going to be a pretty dangerous pairing, me and him.”
Even if they don’t make the NHL squad out of training camp, it’s well within the realm of possibility that they comprise Tucson’s top pairing.
It’s well-documented that the Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning, who account for five of the last six Stanley Cup championships, had towering defensemen who punished opposing forwards. The Mammoth are still constructing what they hope will be a Cup-winning roster, but having those two guys is a great place to start.
Tij Iginla fully healthy
Like Lamoureux, 2024 sixth overall pick Tij Iginla missed the bulk of his draft-plus-one year due to injury, but after undergoing surgeries on both hips, he’s ready to play a full season.
“I’m feeling good,” he said. “So happy to be out here, back playing. I mean, it was a bit of a long year for me with the rehab, but great to be out here, great to be in the new facility with all the guys.”
The 19-year-old seemed to be skating without any issues, and, as always, he dazzled everyone in the building with a shot release that belies his age.
Iginla spent the summer in his hometown, just south of Kelowna, British Columbia in Canada, skating with a number of established NHL players.
He said he was able to lean on a few people in the group who have had the same surgery. Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers was likely among them, though Iginla didn’t specify.
He said he’s been taking a lot of preventative measures to make sure his hips stay healthy: band work, stretching, strengthening exercises, using rollers and getting treatment.
His goal is to make the NHL roster this year. If that doesn’t happen, though, look for him to dominate in the WHL, where his Kelowna Rockets are hosting the most prestigious tournament in junior hockey, the Memorial Cup.
Cole Beaudoin leading the way
Shortly after drafting Cole Beaudoin in 2024, GM Bill Armstrong pointed him out as a potential future captain for the franchise. Beaudoin showed why on Wednesday.
“I think that’s where my game thrives, is that compete, that relentlessness on pucks,” Beaudoin said. “That’s going to be what I’m doing at the rookie tournament and even in practice, pushing players to be better.
“I want to get better, so that’s what I want to bring: that culture and that leadership aspect to each player and push each player to be better each and every day.”
Beaudoin is another Mammoth prospect trying to live up to the team’s name. He doesn’t have the height of Lamoureux or Simashev, but he’s a strong, physical force and he’s adding muscle year after year. He says he gained about 5-10 pounds this summer.
Notes from Bill Armstrong
Armstrong made it clear that each player has the chance to prove himself as an NHL player.
“Well, I’m not taking dreams away from anybody,” he said in response to the question of how many players at rookie camp could realistically make the team. “I’m not a dream stealer, so I don’t know how to answer exactly how many, but I think that’s the goodness of our club right now and where we are as an organization.”
“The young legs, the excitement — they still believe that there’s Santa Claus and that’s the greatness of what they do."
Armstrong also commented on 2025 fourth overall pick Caleb Desnoyers, who is at the camp but is not participating in the on-ice sessions, having undergone wrist surgery in August.
“I think just being around the NHL guys in camp also will help him, just in learning the good habits, how hard it is in the National Hockey League and how you have to compete every single day — on your good days and on your bad days," Armstrong said.
He said Desnoyers is so determined to succeed that he resumed working out the day after he got his surgery.
The new practice facility is here (kind of)
Smith Entertainment Group had more than a few skeptics when they announced in April that their new practice facility would be open for the team in September and to the public in January. At that point, the building didn’t even have walls.
Of course, that wasn’t SEG’s only ambitious plan met with high levels of doubt, but they’ve never let that stop them. The facility is here and it’s beautiful.
As was the plan all along, it’s still rough around the edges. For instance, the bleachers aren’t set up yet, so everyone watching rookie camp had to stand the whole afternoon.
There are also miscellaneous pieces construction materials strewn across the inside and outside of the building, the current “public” bathroom is in what appears to be the referees’ room and some of the outlets don’t have power.
The facility is set to open to the public in January. By that point, those loose ends are expected to all be taken care of.