Utah Mammoth’s 2025-26 Report Cards: Julian Lutz

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 Julian Lutz.

Player Info

Age: 22

2025-26 AHL Stats: Five goals, seven assists, 12 points in 55 games

Originally Acquired: Second-round pick (43rd overall) in 2022 by the Arizona Coyotes

Contract Status: In the second year of a three-year deal with a $.950 million annual average value (AAV). Restricted free agent (RFA) in 2027

Season Overview

The 2024-25 season was rough for Lutz. It was quite an adjustment for the German forward in his rookie season as he struggled to stay in the lineup with the Roadrunners. Going into the 2025-26 season, the goal for Lutz was to take a step forward back to the way he played in 2023-24 in the United States Hockey League (USHL).

Unfortunately for him, his sophomore season started very similarly to the end of the prior year. Lutz didn’t produce a single point in the Roadrunners’ eight games in October. However, the German forward did rack up 12 penalty minutes across those games, bringing a more physical presence to his game.

Lutz finally got his first point of the season in the second game of a series against the Iowa Wild, the opening goal of the game. The forward didn’t have to wait much longer for his second point of the season. Five games later, he scored his second goal of the season. Lutz finished November with two points in 11 games. He also finished the month with 13 penalty minutes. On top of that, he had his first pro fight against Caden Price.

KING JULIAAAN GOAL pic.twitter.com/GnCAcWkOkk

— Tucson Roadrunners (@RoadrunnersAHL) November 23, 2025

Five games into December, Lutz produced his first assist of the season in a game against the Bakersfield Condors. He produced one more assist before the turn of the calendar. Notably, in December, the forward received his first misconduct in a fiery game against the Calgary Wranglers.

Lutz’s January started with a bang. The forward produced three points in the first four games of 2026. He also had his second fight against Kasper Halttunen in a game against the San Jose Barracuda. Unfortunately, Lutz wasn’t noticeable in the next five games, going pointless until March. Even more unfortunate for the forward, he failed to make the German Olympic team despite officials from the country traveling to Tucson to watch him and Max Szuber play.

Throughout late January and February, Lutz struggled with injuries. He first missed seven games between Jan. 24 and Feb. 13. After playing three games in February, Lutz once again missed the next seven games, combating an injury.

Lutz returned in a game in March against the Henderson Silver Knights in dramatic fashion, producing two points, including a goal, in a 7-6 overtime loss. Despite the struggle to stay in the lineup and the lack of production, Lutz tried to have a strong mindset going into his return.

“Just work your way back after an injury, and then just go play,” Lutz said. “Coach said, just play your game. Be yourself. Don’t try to do anything special. That’s what I did. Try to be as fast as possible. Get great chances.”

The forward played in 12 of the team’s final games of the season. He scored his final goal of the season on March 28 in a game against the Ontario Reign and finished out his campaign on a two-game point streak. He was also given a misconduct in the Roadrunners’ final game of the season. However, Lutz was held out of the lineup in three of the team’s final five games.

Lutz finished the season with 12 points in 55 games. Compared to his rookie season, that’s one less point in eight more games. Despite that slight dip in production, the forward did score five goals, three more than in his rookie season. Lutz also finished with career highs in penalty minutes (58, a big jump from the 12 he had a season prior), shots (38), and shooting percentage (13.2%). He was fifth on the Roadrunners in penalty minutes.

The Future

Of all the prospects in the Mammoth’s system, Lutz has to have the weirdest career so far. He spent two seasons in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), one of the best leagues in Europe, and produced well in both of those seasons. Lutz’s ability to play decently in that league as a teenager is one of the reasons why he was drafted high by the Coyotes.

In his lone season in the USHL, Lutz had 68 points in 50 games and looked like a player who could really break out offensively in the AHL. However, that offensive flash has not been seen during his time with the Roadrunners.

Despite the lack of production, he’s found a way to be effective. During the season, Lutz became much more of a physical player. He checked hard, threw hits, and even had two fights. Lutz just looked like a smarter player and a better two-way player.

“I improved on just working hard every day, getting smarter, playing, playing with more confidence,” Lutz said.

With so many forward prospects in the Mammoth’s system, though, where does Lutz fit in? He’s arguably better than prospects like Miko Matikka and Sam Lipkin, but nowhere as good as Caleb Desnoyers and Tij Iginla. Is he an NHL player? To be honest, the answer still might be maybe, but it’s looking highly unlikely. While he’s grown as a player, Lutz has yet to really make a big impact in the AHL, has yet to receive an NHL call-up, and has been healthy scratched.

With the final season of his entry-level contract coming up, it’ll be a very important one. Lutz needs to make an impact and show he has a future within the Mammoth’s organization. It won’t be easy. Lutz was in the bottom six for most of this past season, and that’s likely where he’ll end up to start next season. For better or for worse, he’ll have some of the most skilled teammates he has ever played with on his side, like Desnoyers and Iginla. It is the best chance he’ll have to finally break out and prove he can be a future NHLer.

Overall Grade

After two seasons in the AHL, we know that Lutz will never be the offensive dynamo that we saw with the Green Bay Gamblers at the pro level. In 102 AHL games, the forward has produced only 25 points and scored only seven goals. It’s simply not good enough for an NHL call-up.

However, Lutz has started to reinvent himself as a two-way player. A player very reminiscent of Jack McBain’s style of play. If the forward can continue to improve his two-way play and physicality, and also improve his production rate, perhaps a path to the NHL could be there.

Overall, Lutz is getting a D-plus for this season. The forward wasn’t drafted to be a point-per-game player like Clayton Keller or anything, but he shouldn’t be producing at such a low rate and shouldn’t be a healthy scratch on some nights. The former second-round pick did improve himself as an overall player this past season, but not enough to warrant a promotion in the lineup.

Next season will be the biggest season in Lutz’s pro career to date. If he has a great season, a future in the Mammoth’s lineup and a new contract could be waiting for him. If it’s another disappointing season, Lutz and the Mammoth could part ways. Especially with more and more prospects filtering into the organization, the forward could dive deeper down the depth chart to the point where he’s pushed out as soon as next summer.