Utah Mammoth defenseman Sean Durzi has experienced difficulties in remaining healthy, and he'll be absent from the Mammoth lineup for the next several weeks following his latest ailment. Durzi was injured during his club's overtime victory over the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena, and it was soon confirmed by the team that he would miss the next several weeks with an upper-body injury.
“Durz will be out a little while,” head coach Andre Tourigny said Monday via the Salt Lake Tribune.
Durzi was leveled by Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault shortly before teammate Dylan Guenther scored the game-winning tally to secure the extra point for the Mammoth. He was seen on the bench, favoring his shoulder in obvious pain.
The good news for the Mammoth is that they added Stanley Cup champion Nate Schmidt to their blue line through free agency during the offseason, and he should be able to help offset some of the burden left behind by Durzi's absence.
So far this season for the Mammoth, Durzi had averaged just under 19 minutes of ice time per game.
Sean Durzi missed over 50 games for Utah last season with injury
It's a concerning situation for Durzi, considering that he missed over 50 games last season after having undergone shoulder surgery. He only skated in 30 games for Utah last season, missing 52.
He seemed resigned to the fact that injuries sometimes take place in the NHL and appeared to have a good attitude about what was otherwise a frustrating situation that kept him off the ice.
“You’re going through the year, you see the guys leaving it all out there and there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said via Deseret News.
His best campaign came in 2023-24, which was the final season of the Arizona Coyotes. He scored nine goals and added 32 assists in 76 games played.
A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Durzi was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round (52nd overall) in 2018. However, he would be included in a trade package to the Los Angeles Kings that saw him, Carl Grundström, and a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft head to Los Angeles for defenseman Jake Muzzin.
Following a handful of seasons in the Kings organization, he was dealt to the Coyotes in June 2023.
