The Utah Mammoth announced Thursday that Caleb Desnoyers underwent successful wrist surgery. The 2025 fourth overall pick is expected to miss 12 weeks.
Before getting drafted by the Mammoth in June, Desnoyers played in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League with the Moncton Wildcats. The 18-year-old had a productive season — posting 84 points (35 goals, 49 assists) in 56 regular-season games and 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) in 19 playoff games en route to the QMJHL championship. But he battled through injury the majority of the time.
Desnoyers revealed that he had been playing with injuries to both wrists since November. He, however, only got surgery on one wrist.
(Damian Dovarganes | AP) Caleb Desnoyers, left, stands with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being drafted by the Utah Mammoth during the NHL hockey draft Friday, June 27, 2025, in Los Angeles.
During Mammoth development camp in July, both general manager Bill Armstrong and Desnoyers said that surgery was not necessary.
“He will just need some time to recover. That drive down the playoffs took a lot out of him. ... He can continue training and doing what he needs to do,” Armstrong said at the time.
Desnoyers participated in the practice skates but not the 4-on-4 scrimmage that week. He said he was feeling good.
“Had a good rest after the long season and taking care of some little stuff that’s going on with the body,” Desnoyers said at development camp. “Fully energized.”
Things, obviously, took a turn in the recovery process for the center, who will now miss his first NHL training camp, which is set to open in mid-September.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tij Iginla (12 ) during Utah Mammoth development camp in Park City, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
This is not the first time the Mammoth’s highest-picked prospect will be sidelined. It was a similar story for Tij Iginla (6th overall selection in 2024) last year. The forward missed most of training camp and preseason due to a lower-body injury, which resulted in double hip surgery in December and January.
Iginla was in Salt Lake City last month for development camp, too, and said he thinks he will be 100% by September. Like Desnoyers, Iginla skated in drills but not the scrimmage.
So, as the Mammoth get one top prospect back, they lose another. It was not a guarantee that Desnoyers would make the team if healthy — he likely would have gone back to Moncton — but now he does not have the chance to make a case for himself either way.