The inaugural season for the Utah Hockey Club (now the Utah Mammoth) is officially over. The team finished with a 38-31-13 record while their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, finished with a 34-32-4-2 record, which was good enough for the seventh playoff spot in the Pacific Division. The Roadrunners went on to lose in the first round of the playoffs 2-1 to the Abbotsford Canucks.
With the season in the books, it’s time to look at the 48 Utah players under an NHL contract (excluding Connor Ingram for obvious reasons) and grade their 2024-25 seasons. We’ll also reflect on how they did during the 2023-24 season and see if they improved or did worse, along with what their future holds. We’re going alphabetically by first name. Next up is Montana Onyebuchi.
Last Season
Fresh from signing his first-ever NHL deal with the Arizona Coyotes, Onyebuchi was sent down to the Roadrunners to begin the 2023-24 season. He didn’t make his Roadrunners debut until Nov. 4 in a game against the Chicago Wolves.
Right off the bat, Onyebuchi made his presence known with a game misconduct in his first game. In just his first three games, he tallied 21 penalty minutes, becoming one of the most physical players in Roadrunners’ history.
In his ninth game with the team, Onyebuchi produced his first point via an assist. A couple of games later, he had his first point streak, where he produced an assist in three straight games.
Related: Utah Mammoth’s 2024-25 Report Cards: Miko Matikka
Onyebuchi’s first goal of the season came in the middle of January in a game against the Iowa Wild. Throughout the later part of the season, he became an enforcer for the young Roadrunners, fighting and racking up penalty minutes in almost every single game, even if the score didn’t favor his team.
The defenseman’s second goal of the season came in a game against the Texas Stars, which ended up being his first career game-winning goal. Onyebuchi followed it up by back-to-back games with double-digit penalty minutes, including his second fight of the season against known enforcer Scott Sabourin.
Onyebuchi finished his season with nine points in 49 games. It was his other stats that caught the eyes of most. His 145 penalty minutes were good enough for second on the Roadrunners in that category and sixth in the entire league. He was also a plus-9, which was tied for third best on the team. On top of all of that, Onyebuchi was involved in nine fights during the season, helping protect younger guys like Josh Doan and Dylan Guenther.
This Season
To start the preseason, Onyebuchi picked up right where he left off by fighting Matthew Stienburg in a game against the Colorado Avalanche. As the regular season approached, Onyebuchi was sent back down to the AHL.
It didn’t take long for Onyebuchi to bring his physicality back to the Roadrunners. In the second game of the season, he fought Keaton Middleton of the Colorado Eagles. His first point of the season came in his 10th game via an assist against the San Diego Gulls. During those 10 games, Onyebuchi recorded his second fight.
Onyebuchi started the season paired with Lleyton Moore. Eventually, Maksymilian Szuber entered the lineup, who wound up on Onyebuchi’s pairing. The two ended up being one of the better defensive pairings on a weak defensive Roadrunners team, as Szuber was protected and mentored by his partner.
Onyebuchi’s first goal of the season came in November in a game against the Calgary Wranglers. From there, he had to wait until the end of December for his next point, which came against the Eagles, where the defenseman had his first multi-point game with the Roadrunners. Strangely enough, Onyebuchi only had one fight during his stretch of games without a point.
That all changed in January when Onyebuchi had one of his biggest fights yet. In a game against the Wranglers, he laid a massive hit on William Stromgren, which left him shaken and slow to get to the bench. It left known AHL enforcer Alex Gallant angered as he came off the bench illegally to fight Onyebuchi. A great fight ensued, but it was Gallant who got suspended for the next six games due to leaving the bench for the purpose of starting an altercation.
Less than a week later, Onyebuchi fought again, this time against Riley McKay in a game against the Henderson Silver Knights.
However, it was Onyebuchi’s fight to begin February that most remember. It came against the San Jose Barracuda, where, for the fourth straight time, the Roadrunners defenseman fought Sabourin. The fight lasted nearly 40 seconds as the two gladiators eventually tired each other out. Onyebuchi recorded an assist in the next game against the Barracuda, leaving his fingerprints all over a win that ended up helping the Roadrunners make the playoffs.
In March, Onyebuchi scored his second goal of the season against the Ontario Reign. It became a critical month for the Roadrunners as they found themselves battling against the Bakersfield Condors for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. The team needed all hands on deck as the conclusion of the season neared.
Unfortunately, Onyebuchi found himself in hot water towards the end of the month. At the conclusion of the game against the Barracuda, the two teams engaged in a fight in which almost every player on the ice participated, including Matt Villalta. During the fight, Onyebuchi was pulled away by a referee, but the defenseman shoved the official. For that, he was suspended for the next three games due to abuse of an official.
When he came back in a game against the Reign, Onyebuchi showed just how important he could be for the Roadrunners. To open up the game, he scored the first goal for the Roadrunners. After scoring, the defenseman fought long-time rival Jacob Doty, which sparked some energy into his team as they scored two more goals for a big 3-0 win. It was Onyebuchi’s first game-winning goal of the season, and it was a massive one.
😮 YEAH, HI
— FloHockey (@FloHockey) March 6, 2025
This Montana Onyebuchi goal had a lil bit of EVERYTHING!@TheAHL | @RoadrunnersAHL #AHL #LetsGoTucson pic.twitter.com/4sJNyibhAn
Onyebuchi produced one more assist as the Roadrunners clinched a playoff spot in their final game of the season. In 64 games, which was a career high for him, Onyebuchi had 10 points. All of his offensive stats were tied with his career highs. He also had a career best 88 shots.
It was once again his penalty minutes that caught attention. His 112 penalty minutes were third best on the Roadrunners. Those penalty minutes led to a combined 257 penalty minutes in his Roadrunners career, which passed Dakota Mermis for the most in franchise history.
Onyebuchi got his first taste of playoff hockey as the Roadrunners faced off against the Canucks. In Game 1, he assisted on Hunter Drew’s goal for his first-ever postseason point. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, as the Roadrunners lost that game and Game 3 to be eliminated from the postseason.
In the offseason as a pending restricted free agent, Onyebuchi signed a two-year, two-way extension with the Mammoth.
The Future
Now that it’s confirmed that Onyebuchi’s next two years will be spent within the Mammoth organization, there aren’t many more questions that surround the defenseman. Similar to this past season, he’ll most likely play a bottom-pairing role alongside Szuber to begin the upcoming season.
Many will look at Onyebuchi’s stats and question why the Mammoth re-signed him. He’s a much more important player than what’s on the stat line. As mentioned, he and Szuber formed one of the best defensive pairings on the Roadrunners in 2024-25, despite being on a team that didn’t really thrive defensively. His plus-6 rating was the second-best among Roadrunners defensemen, only behind Artem Duda.
Of course, Onyebuchi’s main attribute is his physicality, but it was something the Roadrunners have needed over the past two years. While players like Doan, Guenther, and Maveric Lamouruex came through the AHL, they needed protection in order to score and develop. Even established guys like Kailer Yamamoto, who is shorter and not as physically strong, needed someone to help him produce. That’s where Onyebuchi stepped in and became an integral part of the Roadrunners’ present and potentially the Mammoth’s future.
With guys like Curtis Douglas and Onyebuchi locked in for the next season, the Mammoth can feel better about sending guys like Dmitriy Simashev and Daniil But to the AHL, where they’ll be protected so they can focus on developing. Especially in the extremely physical Pacific Division, it’s why guys like Onyebuchi are needed.
Onyebuchi’s role in the AHL is very similar to Liam O’Brien’s role in the NHL. They’re there to protect the team and spark some energy into the players while occasionally chipping in offensively. It’s highly unlikely Onyebuchi will see any NHL time in the next two years (barring injuries) thanks to the defensive depth the Mammoth have. However, his importance with the Roadrunners will continue to increase as more prospects come through the system.
Final Grade
Guys like Onyebuchi are hard to judge. Yes, they didn’t produce a lot, but the game of hockey is more than just points. Onyebuchi was one of the best defensemen on the Roadrunners this past season. He defended well and effectively defended his team.
He also helped mentor and protect Szuber during the season. Szuber, alongside Duda, is looking like an underrated defenseman within the Mammoth’s system, and part of that needs to be credited to Onyebuchi. While a lot didn’t work on the blueline this season for the Roadrunners, it is a pairing that head coach Steve Potvin should consider bringing back for 2025-26.
Overall, Onyebuchi is getting a B-plus for his season. It was a solid sophomore season with the Roadrunners for him as he offensively improved on his 2023-24 season. He was a big part of the team’s late postseason push thanks to his unforgettable game against the Reign and his solid defensive play as well.
Going into 2025-26, getting a goal or two more would be a nice improvement for Onyebuchi. However, the main thing will be continuing his consistent defensive play, along with continuing his physicality to protect his teammates. While we’re still a little bit away from it happening, big-name prospects like Tij Iginla, Cole Beaudoin, and Caleb Desnoyers might spend some time in the AHL. It’s up to Onyebuchi to stand up and help the future top Mammoth players thrive and develop.
