Utah goalie Connor Ingram reentered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program on Sunday, shuffling the organizationβs goaltenders.
Ingram posted on social media that he hasnβt been himself since his mother died of breast cancer in December.
βAt this point in my life, I need to put my health first and take the proper time I need away to come back at 100%,β Ingram said. βThough many view the program as a resource for substance abuse, I want to recognize all that they do. I am once again privileged to have access to their network of world class health professionals to hopefully avoid long-term negative effects of putting your health second. With the programβs assistance, I look forward to getting the medical help I need and returning to a happy and healthy life.β
Utah recalled goalie Jaxson Stauber from Tucson in response, and the Roadrunners called up Dylan Wells from the Allen Americans.
Stauber is 2-1-1 in the NHL this season with a 2.23 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. For Tucson, Stauber is 10-5-2 with a 3.11 GAA and a .898 save percentage.
After Tucson Roadrunners goalie Jaxon Stauber was called up to the NHL, Matthew Villalta is enjoying having more time on the ice.
Wells is 2-0 for Tucson this season, with a 2.95 GAA and a .885 save percentage. Last year, Wells went 10-5-3 for the Roadrunners and has played in the AHL for seven seasons, including the playoffs in 2019 for the Bakersfield Condors.
Stauber and Matthew Villalta had been splitting time, but last week Villalta, an AHL all-star last year, played in two of Tucsonβs three games. Villalta is 14-18-3 with a 2.91 goals against average and a .909 save percentage and won four of his last six.
On Wednesday, Villalta made 37 saves in Tucsonβs 4-1 win over the Ontario Reign, and he won the AHLβs third Star of the Night award. He spent four seasons playing for the Reign.
Playoff push
After splitting their two-game series at Bakersfield, the Roadrunners are in the seventh and final playoff spot in the division, with 59 points, two ahead of the Condors.
Bakersfield has two games in hand on Tucson, but the Roadrunners are eight games ahead in regulation wins, the first tie-breaker.
βEvery win is huge and itβs playoff hockey right now,β said Tucson forward Sammy Walker to Roadrunners personnel on Saturday night. βThatβs a good team and they had an answer from their loss (Friday), so we just gotta keep moving and we take one game at a time and try to just get some wins here.β
Tucson is two points behind the sixth-place Abbotsford Canucks.
The Roadrunners are seven points back from the Ontario Reign (31-19-3-1), who sit in fourth place, the last home-ice advantage slot in the first round of the playoffs.
The Roadrunners (27-23-3-2) host the Reign on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Reign are the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings.
Saturdayβs loss ended a season-high six-game point streak for the Roadrunners, but they are 6-2-1-1 in their last 10 games while Ontario is on a 0-4-1-0 streak.
Making moves
On Thursday, Utah signed forward Cameron Hebig to a two-way deal for the rest of the season.
βHeβs been on our team for a long time and this is a person that shows up every single day with the intention of improving,β said Tucson Roadrunners head coach Steve Potvin of center Cameron Hebig.
The all-star had been on an AHL contract but the two-way contract means he can be moved up to the NHL quickly. As part of the deal, they waived him with the intention of sending him back to Tucson and he cleared waivers.
Then on Friday, Utah sent Tucson forward Aku RΓ€ty, the rights to defensemen Victor Soderstrom and the contract of Shea Weber to the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2026 fifth-round pick.
Soderstrom is playing in Sweden after being a Roadrunner for four seasons. Weber is effectively retired, having not played since 2021 and being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2024.
RΓ€ty hasnβt played yet for Rockford, so his last game action was Tucsonβs 3-2 overtime loss to Rockford on Mar. 1.
Last season, RΓ€ty had 44 points in 57 games for Tucson in his first year in North America, but this season, he had 19 in 50 games. The Arizona Coyotes picked RΓ€ty in the fifth round of the 2019 draft.
Sammy slammy
Sammy Walker scored a power-play goal on Saturday, continuing his hot streak.
He had three points over the weekend, including a couple of assists on Friday. He has 7 points in his last six games and 13 points in 14 games since joining the Roadrunners.
Utah traded for him from Iowa Wild as they started their gem show road trip. He had 11 points in 30 games for Iowa.
Walker is already sixth on the team in power play points with 8.
βI feel like weβre moving the puck pretty well and we were lucky that one, the rebound kind of just popped right to me,β Walker said. βBut weβre moving our feet and weβre moving it quick and just using each other and luckily weβve been successful, but the big thing is we gotta be consistent with it and keep it going.β
A Yamamoto hat trick?
A Gordie Howe hat trick is when a player scores a goal, gets an assist and gets into a fight, and Tucson forward Kailer Yamamoto may have made his case for a new form of hat trick.
In Fridayβs 5-4 win over the Condors, Yamamoto scored two goals and got an assist in the first two periods but got a game misconduct for spearing and a five-minute major.
Roadrunner forward Kailer Yamamoto (56) slips the puck around Abbotsford defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev (59) in the third period of their AHL Pacific Division game in Tucson on Jan. 24, 2025.
After Yamamotoβs ejection, Tucson killed the major penalty as well as a double minor from forward Ben McCartney (who had two goals, including the game-winner) and a minor from defenseman Artem Duda. The Condors couldnβt score in the 11 minutes of Tucson penalties to start the third, two of which they had a 5-on-3 advantage.
On Saturday, the AHL suspended Yamamoto for Tucsonβs game that night, which they lost 3-2.
Yamamoto played two seasons for Bakersfield before playing for the Edmonton Oilers, Seattle Kraken and Utah HC.
