Enthusiasm bubbles from ice rinks across the NHL at the opening of training camp, the hope of every team to raise the Stanley Cup next spring.
The Utah Mammoth kicked off their third training camp with a bit of extra juice.
Buoyed by a playoff appearance and their young core in tact, the Mammoth are eyeing a deeper run into the postseason this year.
“Each year we’ve gotten better," Mammoth captain Clayton Keller said. "We’ve had higher expectations for our group and obviously we do this year as well. We know how good our team is, how much talent we have.”
The Mammoth set the talent foundation when the franchise was still in Arizona.
General manager Bill Armstrong rebuilt the roster by accruing a bevy of a draft picks that were used on talented young players who developed in their system. As those players matured, so did the Mammoth's standing in the NHL, culminating in last year's playoff run in the franchise's second season since moving to Utah.
Most of the core from that team is back after the Mammoth matched New Jersey’s offer sheet to restricted free agent Barrett Hayton, signing the 26-year-old center to a $4.775 million contract.
Utah also added a couple of key veterans, acquiring two-way center Vincent Trocheck in a trade with the New York Rangers and signing former Islanders captain Anders Lee to a three-year, $16.2 million contract.
The Mammoth's leadership group is on firm ground as well, with coach André Tourigny signing a multiyear contract during the offseason. Two-time Stanley Cup champion Adam Foote also joined the coaching staff.
“We’re still a pretty young team but there’s a lot of talent in our locker room and it’s time to show it up and just make another step," Mammoth goalie Karel Vejmelka said. "Obviously, we want to make the playoffs again and just be even better as a team. I think we’re ready to have a great run to the Stanley Cup final.”
The Mammoth have been built with sustained success in mind, not the occasional playoff appearance.
They have recent examples to pull from.
Pittsburgh underwent an overhaul and won the Stanley Cup three times with Sidney Crosby leading the way. The Chicago Blackhawks had similar success with a rebuild centered around Jonathan Toews, though now are in another overhaul with Conner Bedard as the focal point.
The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022 after a rebuild and the Tampa Bay Lightning tore it down to build it up again, winning the Cup in consecutive seasons from 2020-21.
The Mammoth don't have a singular star like Crosby, Toews or Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon, but had a talented core of young players that includes Keller, Hayton, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther.
The reconstructed roster took a first step with last year's playoff run, leaving the Mammoth wanting more.
“Our expectations inside the dressing room are to exceed what we did last year,” Mammoth defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said. “It was a great year, but I think that’s in the past.”
That past built what could be a better future in Utah.
See AP’s full NHL coverage here
FILE - Utah Mammoth head coach André Tourigny watches the game from the bench during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Winnipeg Jets, April 14, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak, File)
FILE - Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) skates with the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, April 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate, File)
CAIRO (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied Friday in a government-organized show of defiance after months of war, pledging their readiness to take up arms in the biggest such demonstration since the United States and Israel attacked in February.
Iran's government has sought to rally the people and stress national unity, even as the economy worsens under a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and new U.S. sanctions. On Friday, it claimed another attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway it has sought to control since the start of the war.
Estimates varied of the number of people volunteering to receive limited military training and defend the country in an effort described as “Janfaday-e Iran,” or the “ones who sacrifice their lives for Iran.” They marched through downtown Tehran in combat uniform, carrying flags, as onlookers cheered.
For days, state media have encouraged Iranians to join the campaign, saying training with assault rifles would begin soon. The volunteers would be an additional layer of security to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and the Basij militia, which has played a key role in quashing anti-government protests.
Tehran’s Guard chief, Gen. Hassan Hassanzadeh, told the state broadcaster that over 600,000 people had registered to participate, with over 1 million expected to take part in the training. On Friday morning, the broadcaster estimated over 300,000 people were on the streets.
The new head of the Basij, Hossein Taeb, declared in a speech as the rally began that the volunteers will be ready for “full-fledged defense” and similar rallies will take place in other cities soon.
The new trainees will make a “nightmare” for Iran's enemies, Taeb added, as President Masoud Pezeshkian, military commanders and other senior officials watched the march.
Some participants trampled flags of the U.S. and Israel. Others chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
“I am here to tell (U.S. President Donald) Trump that we Iranians have no fear about his threats against our homeland,” said Marzieh Afaghi, 24, who attended the rally with her toddler and husband. “No one in history could invade Iran and remain there.”
The rally was also a chance for Iran to show off military hardware. Anti-aircraft batteries were on display, while female Guard members in black headscarves sat with truck-mounted machine guns.
The Guard displayed drones that have been used against ships in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran's attacks and threats have severely affected the Gulf region’s shipments of oil and natural gas to the rest of the world.
Iran said it had attacked a Togo-flagged oil tanker, the Trend, for what it called an “illegal attempt” to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the state broadcaster reported. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker was hit by a projectile, sparking a fire on board that was extinguished.
The UKMTO in a separate update said ship transits facilitated by the U.S. military off Oman have averaged 24 a day over the past week but overall traffic remains about 90% lower than before the war.
Friday's events also suggested that hard-liners like Taeb among Iran's leadership will be more prepared to suppress any future demonstration against the theocracy.
In January, shortly before the war, Iran saw some of its largest nationwide protests in history, which began over the struggling economy and turned to wider grievances. Activists have said a crackdown killed over 7,000 people and saw tens of thousands detained.
In May, government officials said more than 30 million people in Iran — which has a total population of some 90 million — had volunteered via an online form or at public gatherings to lay down their lives for the theocracy. The Associated Press could not independently confirm that.
Karimi reported from Tehran, Iran, and Anna from Jerusalem.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center left, and other officials watch as a woman waves an Iranian flag during the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
An armed Shiite cleric rides aboard a military vehicle past a billboard depicting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, during the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man holding an Iranian flag peers through an opening in a curtain during the state-organized “Janfada,” or “Sacrifice for Iran,” military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Women affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard carry rifles as they stand during the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Armed personnel affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard take part in the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military exercise in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman holds a caricature of U.S. President Donald Trump as she attends the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man holding an Iranian flag peers through an opening in a curtain during the state-organized “Janfada,” or “Sacrifice for Iran,” military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Women affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard carry rifles as they march during the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military exercise in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard salutes while riding on a float displaying drones during the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
