Utah Mammoth’s 2025-26 Report Cards: Anson Thornton

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 Anson Thornton.

Player Info

Age: 22

2025-26 ECHL Stats: 0-0-0 record, 0.970 save percentage, 1.52 goals against average (GAA) in one game

Originally Acquired: Signed in free agency on Oct. 13, 2021, by the Arizona Coyotes

Contract Status: Pending restricted free agent (RFA)

Season Overview

There isn’t a lot to say about Thornton’s 2025-26 season simply because he didn’t really have a season. The goalie started the season on the Mammoth’s injured non-roster list, not playing any preseason games, and was sent down to Tucson to be with the Roadrunners during his recovery from a lower-body injury.

To start February, Thornton was sent down to the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies to begin his season, the third-ever ECHL team he has played for in his career. On the road against the Tahoe Knight Monsters, Thornton played well, making 32 saves on 33 shots. He looked quick and flexible, like he had never left.

However, with less than a minute remaining in the second period, Thornton made a save that left him discomforted. He was seen flexing his right leg and was pulled from the game shortly thereafter. That would be his last and only appearance in a game during the 2025-26 season.

Thornton sat out the rest of the season with another lower-body injury. It was the second straight season where the goaltender suffered a season-ending injury in the middle of an ECHL game.

The Future

One year later, and only 39:35 of playing time throughout a whole season, and we’ve come to the same ending that Thornton had last season, only in a worse spot for him. Once again, he has shown he’s at the bottom of the goaltender depth chart, behind Karel Vejmelka, Vítek Vaněček, Matt Villalta, Jaxson Stauber, and now Michael Hrabal.

Even Dylan Wells, who is currently leading the Kansas City Mavericks on a Kelly Cup playoff run, might’ve surpassed Thornton. In last season’s report card, it was mentioned that this might have been his last chance to earn an NHL extension or potentially his last in the Mammoth organization. That very well might be true.

Thornton is now an RFA and doesn’t have a lot to show why the Mammoth should give him another contract. Across 45 pro games and four different teams, Thornton hasn’t had a season with a save percentage of .900 or better outside of this year’s one-game season. He struggled heavily in the AHL. He didn’t do much better in the ECHL, and other than a good preseason game last season and the two periods with the Grizzlies in February, he hasn’t had a standout game.

There’s some potential there. Thornton had a really solid junior career, complete with some highlight reel saves. However, it just hasn’t translated to the pro level at a consistent rate.

Sunday's @RealCdnSS #SaveoftheNight belongs to @ArizonaCoyotes prospect Anson Thornton, with this left pad larceny for @StingHockey 🎥 pic.twitter.com/o2sYd3YglG

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 18, 2022

It does hurt that for the past two seasons, Thornton has been placed on two of the worst ECHL teams of the past two years, the Allen Americans and now the Grizzlies. However, no doubt had Thornton stayed healthy, the Mammoth and the Roadrunners would’ve moved him from the Grizzlies to a team contending for the Kelly Cup like Wells and Maxim Barbashev.

That brings us to the main issue: Thornton can not stay healthy. He’s dealt with injuries every single season ever since he turned pro. Is it his fault? Doubt it, but it is a problem, unfortunately. With a very crowded goalie room and the main four goalie spots already taken up next season, where does Thornton fit in this organization?

The answer might be cruel, but in short, he doesn’t. If Thornton wants a shot to remain pro, it will most likely come in the form of an AHL or ECHL contract. Especially with Wells’ recent run with the Mavericks, it more than likely won’t be with the Mammoth organization.

Overall Grade

Players suffering through injuries throughout the season are always hard to grade. If you judge Thornton’s one game this season, he played really well. However, that was less than 40 minutes of play in the third and final game of a series in the ECHL. If that’s the only thing a player has to show for a season, that’s not great.

Overall, Thornton is getting a D-minus for this season. In the very small sample size, he showed flashes of why the Coyotes originally took a chance on him. However, in a big season for the goaltender, Thornton’s year was derailed by injury, forced to watch other, more promising goaltenders turn pro and pass him by.

When he was signed during his career in juniors, the hope was that Thornton would one day find his way into a backup role in the NHL. However, three pro seasons later, the goaltender has shown no progress and has consistently been injured. He’s still young, only 22. Goaltenders take a while to develop. Maybe that becomes a reason the Mammoth bring him back. 

However, the team has three other goalies younger than him in the pipeline (Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko, Carsen Musser, and Melker Thelin), and at this point, Vejmelka and Hrabal are the Mammoth’s future. The best chance for Thornton to have some sort of path to the NHL isn’t in this organization.