Mammoth’s Artem Duda Feeling the Strongest He’s Ever Been Ahead of Big 2026-27 Season

The 2025-26 season was supposed to be the one where Artem Duda finally proved he is the future NHL defenseman many believe he is. As one of the main pillars of the Tucson Roadrunners’ blueline, Duda was expected to help them get into the playoffs and get an NHL call-up here and there. It started off looking that way too, with the defenseman producing 13 points in 27 games.

Unfortunately, it didn’t end the way he expected it to. Duda ran into a knee injury that eventually required him to get surgery, which ended his season. The Roadrunners finished just outside of the playoffs, missing the postseason due to a tiebreaker with the San Diego Gulls. It was a heartbreaking conclusion to what looked like a promising season.

Nearly half a season later, Duda finds himself in San Jose, playing for the first time since January. With three points across two games, the defenseman is feeling himself more than he ever has across his career.

Overcoming Surgery

Duda was drafted in the second round back in 2022 ahead of guys like Fraser Minten and Lane Hutson. The NHL dream has been a long time coming for the Russian defenseman, yet it hasn’t worked out that way yet.

He was injured in late January in a game against the Henderson Silver Knights. However, the injury would force him to undergo surgery, effectively ending his season. It was unfortunate, considering Duda was on pace to pass the 29 points he had produced the season prior. 

The surgery also left Duda in a weird state. Knee surgery can take between six months and a year to recover from. The injury being the first major one of his career, it was a challenge the defenseman had never faced before.

“After surgery, I felt really weak, especially on my left leg,” Duda said. “But I got a little bit lucky that I had a full summer to prepare, and I took that opportunity for 100%.”

Being injured in the middle of the season was perhaps a good thing for Duda. If that injury had come later in the season, odds are that he wouldn’t have been ready for rookie camp. The defenseman had to regain all of the muscle in his leg. Yet the hardest part for him was sitting in the press box for three months, watching his team fall out of the playoffs.

“Gaining the muscle and just building strength in my left leg was hard,” Duda said. “It was hard mentally because I couldn’t play. The biggest challenge was not playing for me.”

This season’s training camp will be a big one for Duda. The Roadrunners had many departures on their blueline, like Kevin Connauton, Max Szuber, and Scott Perunovich. It opens up a bigger role for Duda on the team with more ice time.

This season is also Duda’s last year under contract before becoming a restricted free agent (RFA). Obviously, the goal is to get a multi-year contract that becomes a one-way contract. However, without ever getting an NHL call-up, that becomes harder to do.

Yet, with guys like Szuber gone, who received most of the NHL call-ups on the Roadrunners’ blueline, Duda becomes the next man up for the Mammoth. That’s a role he has to earn, though, by having a strong start to the season and proving the injury isn’t affecting him anymore. 

A Strong Early Start

That starts at the rookie faceoff. With the preseason shortened to four games, the three-game showcase in San Jose becomes one of Duda’s biggest opportunities to try to impress coaches and the front office. It’s a chance that he doesn’t take for granted.

“Every game is important, and we got this opportunity to have a little bit more games than other guys,” Duda said. “We have to show everything we can on the ice.”

Two games in and he’s already impressed. Across the weekend, Duda produced three points, including a goal on Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights. He’s played in the top four during both games, including Sunday when he was on the top pairing with Dmitri Simashev. Duda has also been a key part of the Mammoth’s penalty kill and power play, both of which have been dominating in the rookie faceoff.

Roadrunners head coach Steve Potvin has coached Duda for two seasons now and every rookie showcase in between. This weekend alone, Potvin has been impressed with how good Duda has looked, especially after not playing for so long. The coach especially liked the defenseman’s play in the first game against the Golden Knights.

“He looks bigger, he looks stronger, and he was also able to keep up a good gap in the third period,” Potvin said. “He stepped up with a big check, and then followed it up with another one right in the D zone. I thought he played a strong game, and especially not having played in as long as he had, I think he had an excellent game.”

No matter what happens in the third and final game of the tournament against the Los Angeles Kings, Duda will finish as a point-per-game player. He’ll also likely finish as one of the biggest standouts for the Mammoth during the rookie faceoff. It’s a great start to the season for the defenseman.

While he’ll more than likely end up in the AHL to start the season, it’s undeniable that there is a swagger that Duda has that wasn’t there in years past. He’s even more confident and looks better than he has in years past. It’s not just something you can see, though; it’s something he feels.

“I feel like I’m the strongest person I’ve ever been,” Duda said. “Everything is good. The knee is good. I’m skating and playing physically. I just have to keep going like that.”

As long as Duda can keep up his great play, a future in the NHL is closer every day for him. With the toughest challenge of his career so far now behind him, that’s what the defenseman can focus on now. Feeling like the strongest person he’s ever been, it’s exactly what you want to hear from Duda, one of the Mammoth’s overlooked prospects, heading into a big season for him and the Roadrunners.