Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Kailer Yamamoto made a strong case for a spot on the Utah Hockey Club roster by scoring two goals in a 3-1 preseason victory over the San Jose Sharks.
- Yamamoto, who is on a professional tryout deal, showcased his chemistry with top-liners Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton, impressing head coach Andre Tourigny with his tenacity and battle-winning abilities.
- Coach Tourigny praised Yamamoto's professionalism and resilience, highlighting the difficult decision ahead as final roster cuts approach.
SAN JOSE — These days have been pretty nerve-wracking for Kailer Yamamoto.
That's just life for any player on a professional tryout, or PTO, deal. Yamamoto has spent six seasons in the NHL after being a first-round pick in 2017; he's hoping to make it seven with the Utah Hockey Club.
Tuesday's performance certainly won't hurt his case.
The 26-year-old winger scored twice in the third period to push Utah to a 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks. The Utahns are now 4-1 in preseason play with two warm-up games remaining.
"When you are playing with two skilled players like that and you try to get to the back door, they are going to find you," Yamamoto said. "So they found me twice."
Those two players? Utah's regular top-liners Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton. Yamamoto proved he fit right in with that duo, crashing the net and digging for pucks — oh, and scorings a couple of goals.
His two goals were near carbon copies, with Yamamoto being the beneficiary of some great passes from Hayton and Keller in front of the net.
The second one was especially impressive with Hayton spinning into the offensive zone before finding Keller on a cross-ice pass. Keller then quickly zipped the puck in front of the net, and Yamamoto deflected it across the goal line.
not one, but two beautiful goals from Kailer Yamamoto tonight 🤌 pic.twitter.com/bt5hjCzfdH
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) October 2, 2024
"Anytime you play with skilled players like that it's pretty easy," Yamamoto said, mentioning his job was simply to make sure the puck didn't jump over his stick.
Mission accomplished.
It was a breakthrough performance for the 5-foot-8 forward who has earned rave reviews since camp opened.
"He's a good NHL player," head coach Andre Tourigny said. "You get caught looking at the (roster) and looking at his size. If you look at what's going on in the ice, he wins a lot of battles when he goes in the corner. He's way bigger than his size, and he competes, he wins those battles to recover a lot of pucks, gets possession for your team.
"He's a great guy. You can see he's a pro," Tourigny continued. "He's an NHL veteran. If there's adjustment or changing momentum in the game, it doesn't faze him. He stays level. He's even-keeled, he's on the job on every shift. I really like what he brings."
Enough to keep him around?
That's the question the Utah Hockey Club will face as it makes the final cuts.
"It's terrible," Tourigny said about making those decisions. "The gap between the last player being on the team and the last player you cut is always thin. You can coach Pee Wee, or you can coach the national team, it's always the same: the end gap is small. You always wonder if you made the right decision."
