Utah Mammoth’s 2025-26 Report Cards: Maksymilian Szuber – The Hockey Writers – Utah Mammoth

The Utah Mammoth’s 2025-26 season is officially over. The team finished with a 43-33-6 record, good enough to clinch the first wild card spot in the Western Conference. Despite a strong series, the Mammoth lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 1 in six games. Meanwhile, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, finished with a 34-28-10 record, placing seventh in the Pacific Division, outside of a playoff spot.

With the season in the books, it’s time to look at the 49 players under an NHL contract and grade their 2025-26 season. Over the course of this summer, we’ll take a look at their season, their future, and give them an overall grade. We’re going alphabetically by first name. Next up is Maksymilian Szuber.

Player Info

Age: 23

2025-26 AHL Stats: 11 goals, 16 assists, 27 points in 65 games

Originally Acquired: Sixth-round pick (163rd overall) in 2022 by the Arizona Coyotes

Contract Status: Entering the first year of a one-year two-way deal with the Montreal Canadiens with a $.850 million annual average value (AAV). Restricted free agent (RFA) in 2027 

Season Overview

In the final season of his entry-level deal, the goal for Szuber was to play in his first NHL game since the 2023-24 season. The defenseman was coming off a career-high 32-point season, one in which he arguably deserved an NHL call-up. Another goal was to continue being one of the top defensemen for the Roadrunners, especially as the team looked to continue their playoff streak.

Szuber was sent down to the Roadrunners with a majority of the AHL players right before Tucson’s training camp. The defenseman made his season debut in the Roadrunners’ first game of the season against the Ontario Reign, a game in which he produced an assist.

In the third game of the season, Szuber scored his first goal of the season against the Calgary Wranglers. He also produced another assist in the game to become one of the six players on the Roadrunners to start the season at a point-per-game rate. Szuber produced another assist in the second game of the series against the Wranglers to put up four points in four games.

The defenseman went pointless in the next three games before producing two assists in the final game of October to put up six points in the eight games the Roadrunners played in the month. That led all Roadrunners defensemen during October.

November’s first two games didn’t see Szuber record a point, but the third game of the month against the Colorado Eagles saw him score two goals to help shut out the defending Pacific Division champions. The defenseman tallied another goal to finish out November with three points in eight games.

Szuber started off December with points in two straight games. He produced a goal and an assist in the final three games of the month to put up four points in eight games. Alongside Montana Onyebuchi, the defenseman was putting together a solid season. With the Olympics coming up, there was a strong possibility that Szuber could join Team Germany in the tournament, especially after playing for the country in the World Championship in the summer.

However, come January, Szuber did not get an Olympic nod despite Team Germany coming to Tucson to look at both him and Julian Lutz. Using the snub as motivation to finish the season out strong, Szuber recorded six points in the first seven games in January, including a two-goal outing against the Iowa Wild, and produced seven points across the overall month. Five of those points were goals.

His 2nd of the game and Tucson’s 4th…MAX SZUBER GOAL pic.twitter.com/XE1oqENKlq

— Tucson Roadrunners (@RoadrunnersAHL) January 11, 2026

The defenseman started off February on a hot streak as well, putting up four points in the first six games of the month. With a couple of players overseas at the Olympics, Szuber was given his first NHL call-up of the season. While it only lasted a day, it did show the Mammoth had been paying attention to the defenseman’s strong season in Tucson. He finished out the month with one more point in two games.

March started slow for Szuber as he didn’t produce any points in the Roadrunners’ first four games of the month. However, he did earn a call-up from the Mammoth with Mikhail Sergachev missing some games. The defenseman was with the Mammoth for four days before being sent back down to the Roadrunners and playing in a game against the San Jose Barracuda the same night.

Szuber only produced one point across 10 games in March before finishing the season with a goal in the final nine games, playing his 200th AHL game on April 18. The defenseman finished with 27 points in 65 games, the third most among Roadrunners defensemen but the lowest point total in his career. However, his 11 goals were a career high, the most among Roadrunners defensemen, and tied for the seventh most among AHL defensemen.

The defenseman did receive one more NHL call-up before the season concluded, serving as a black ace for the Mammoth during their postseason run. He also received a two-game suspension from the AHL due to a slashing ejection from the final game of the season that he’ll serve in October.

However, Szuber will not serve that suspension with the Roadrunners. On June 29, the defenseman was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Joshua Roy. Over a month later, Szuber signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Canadiens for the upcoming 2026-27 season.

The Future

Szuber was one of the best defensemen for the Roadrunners all season long. He was also one of the players who played close to a full season with the team. Dmitri Simashev was constantly up and down from the NHL, and Artem Duda’s season was shortened by injury. Even Maveric Lamoureux didn’t produce as much and as consistently as Szuber.

Yet, despite the good season and getting called up three times throughout the season, Szuber didn’t receive a single NHL game. With the Mammoth’s blueline stacked for the foreseeable future and players like Simashev more than likely above him in the depth chart, a change in scenery was needed if Szuber wanted any chance to play another NHL game in the near future.

In the Canadiens organization, Szuber is likely to have a better shot at making the NHL squad. He could challenge for a bottom-pairing role or the seventh defenseman role if he has a strong training camp. If he has to play in the AHL on the Laval Rocket, he’ll easily be one of the top defensemen on the team, likely along with David Reinbacher. Szuber will also be on a competitive Rocket team that will look to defend their North Division title.

In terms of taking the next step in his development, Szuber is on the right path. He’s remained consistent in terms of offense throughout his three seasons with the Roadrunners. His playing time has only increased, with his ice time usually above 20 minutes a night this season. Szuber also was a big part of helping the Roadrunners get through a massive injury issue in the middle of the season when Duda and Terrell Goldsmith were injured, and Simashev was either up in Utah or battling illness.

Now, it’s about separating himself from everyone else to get an NHL spot. A fresh start in Montreal will be helpful for that. However, Szuber needs to have the best camp of his life in order to get a spot with the Canadiens. If that doesn’t work, he’ll need to take his game up another level and look like an NHL player every night with the Rocket. 

Szuber is a hard worker and one who has been constantly underrated during his time with the Roadrunners. With the path he’s currently on, he’ll be an NHL defenseman one day. However, it’s up to him to make that day come sooner rather than later.

Final Grade

It was another strong season for Szuber, who proved he was one of the best defensemen on the Roadrunners this season. He probably should’ve been one of the players to get an NHL game in as a reward for a strong season in the AHL after the Mammoth clinched their playoff spot. He even arguably deserved an NHL call-up over guys like Lamoureux when the Mammoth changed up their blueline in early December. Szuber definitely deserved an Olympic nomination for Team Germany, a snub that they might’ve regretted with their disappointing early exit in February.

Not only did Szuber play hard all season, but he always showed up to the rink with a smile, ready to work hard and learn. Many Mammoth and Roadrunners players always noted how positive he was and how great it was to have him in the locker room. The defenseman was a great part of the Roadrunners’ locker room and blueline, and one they might miss going forward.

Overall, Szuber is getting an A-minus for this season. Offensively, besides Simashev and Scott Perunovich, he was the best player on the blueline. He was also the best goal scorer on the blueline this past season. Defensively, he got more physical and became a better two-way player on top of earning more minutes. While there’s still a lot to learn, Szuber noticeably improved over the past year.

Getting traded to the Canadiens might be the best thing that will happen in Szuber’s career. The path to the NHL is not as crowded as it is in Utah. He’ll be given all the tools to succeed in Laval and make the jump that he hasn’t made since the 2023-24 season. As mentioned, if he continues the strong play and work he’s had the past three seasons, Szuber will one day be an NHL defenseman, and while being a top-four defenseman might be a pipe dream, he will likely be a fan-favorite depth player who could play an important role on a playoff team.