Vejmelka posted a 15-save shutout in Thursday's 6-0 win over the Blackhawks.
Vejmelka had no trouble in this contest, which the Mammoth took control of quickly. The 30-year-old had just two shutouts in all of the 2025-26 regular season, when he went 38-20-3 with a 2.75 GAA and an .896 save percentage. Utah's roster beefed up in the offseason, though that mainly was due to additions up front. In any case, Vejmelka has proven he can handle a strong workload, and he's got plenty of upside on a team poised to take a step up in 2026-27. The Mammoth have a back-to-back on the road this weekend, visiting the Blue Jackets on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday, so expect Vejmelka and Sebastian Cossa to split those contests.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Set to start Opening Night
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Vejmelka was the first goalie off the ice during Thursday's morning skate, indicating that he'll defend the home crease in Utah's Opening Night matchup against Chicago, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports.
Vejmelka will lead the Mammoth onto the ice in Thursday's home opener fresh off his breakout season in 2025-26. Across 64 regular-season appearances, the 30-year-old backstop posted a 38-20-3 record, a 2.75 GAA, an .896 save percentage and two shutouts. He trailed only Andrei Vasilevskiy in regular-season wins a year ago, giving Vejmelka a high ceiling in fantasy once again in the 2026-27 campaign. While Utah added Sebastian Cossa to hopefully provide stability as the team's backup netminder, Vejmelka will likely be called upon over 50 times once again in the 2026-27 campaign, making him a low-end No. 1 goalie option in all fantasy formats to begin the season.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Blanks Avs in preseason finale
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Vejmelka turned aside all 25 shots he faced in Saturday's 2-0 preseason win over Colorado.
It was an impressive finish to the exhibition schedule for Vejmelka, although he was facing an Avalanche lineup missing stars like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The 30-year-old netminder is coming off a breakout 2025-26 in which he went 38-20-3 over 64 regular-season appearances with a 2.75 GAA and .896 save percentage. Utah did bring in goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa this offseason to back him up, but Vejmelka figures to see a big workload once again as the team's clear No. 1.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Set to start Saturday
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Vejmelka is expected to protect the home net in Saturday's preseason game against Colorado.
Vejmelka made 19 saves in Tuesday's 6-3 exhibition win over the Kings. He posted a 38-20-3 record with two shutouts, a 2.75 GAA and an .896 save percentage over 64 regular-season appearances in 2025-26.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Gets preseason victory Tuesday
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Vejmelka kicked out 19 of 22 shots in a 6-3 exhibition win over Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Utah held a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes, and Vejmelka never allowed the Kings to even the score from there. He had a 38-20-3 record, 2.75 GAA and .896 save percentage in 64 regular-season appearances in 2025-26. Vejmelka's likely to get a heavy workload once again as Utah's No. 1 option in 2026-27.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Poised to play Tuesday
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Vejmelka is expected to start Tuesday's preseason matchup against the Kings, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports.
Vejmelka posted a 38-20-3 record with two shutouts, a 2.75 GAA and an .896 save percentage over 64 regular-season appearances in 2025-26. He should see the bulk of the starts for the Mammoth again during the 2026-27 campaign.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Excited for 2026-27 season
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Vejmelka said Wednesday that he's excited about the Mammoth's core for the 2026-27 season and feels "great energy" heading into camp.
Vejmelka made a career-high 64 regular-season appearances last year, going 38-20-3 with a 2.75 GAA and .896 save percentage. While his ratios regressed slightly from the 2024-25 campaign, Vejmelka's 38 wins represented a career-best mark. He should have plenty of opportunities to succeed once again in 2026-27 as the clear No. 1 netminder for a Utah team with ambitious expectations.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Can't shake skid in time
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Vejmelka allowed four goals on 25 shots in Friday's 5-1 loss to the Golden Knights in Game 6. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.
Vejmelka helped the Mammoth to a 2-1 series lead after Game 3, but he followed it up by allowing 14 goals over the last three contests of the series. In all, the 29-year-old netminder went 2-4 with a 3.13 GAA and an .883 save percentage over six playoff outings in his first taste of postseason action. He's under contract for four more years, so expect Vejmelka to handle a starter's workload in 2026-27, though perhaps not at the same level as 2025-26, when he led the league with 64 regular-season appearances.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Exits ice first
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Vejmelka was the first goalie to leave the ice ahead of Friday's Game 6 clash with Vegas, indicating he'll patrol the home crease, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports.
Vejmelka is coming off back-to-back losses in which he gave up a combined 10 goals on 72 shots (.861 save percentage). If the Mammoth are going to force a Game 7 on Sunday, the 29-year-old backstop will need to return to the form he displayed in the first three games of the series when he recorded a 2.36 GAA.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Expected to start in Game 5
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Vejmelka is expected to start on the road against Vegas in Game 5 on Wednesday, per Brogan Houston of the Deseret News.
Vejmelka will attempt to rebound after allowing five goals on 36 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss to Vegas on Monday. He's 2-2 with a 2.80 GAA and an .899 save percentage in four playoff outings this year. Although Vegas has some elite forwards, the Golden Knights didn't dominate offensively during the regular season, finishing 14th in goals per game with 3.22.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Beaten five times Monday
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Vejmelka stopped 31 of 36 shots in Monday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Golden Knights in Game 4 of their first-round series.
Vejmelka was coming off back-to-back wins in which he had given up exactly two goals each time, but he wasn't able to do so again here. It was an unfortunate game for Vejmelka, as the Mammoth had a 4-3 lead in the third period, but he couldn't hold on and allowed two unanswered goals -- including the decisive one with less than a minute to go in overtime. Through four playoff starts, Vejmelka has gone 2-2-0 with a 2.80 GAA and an .899 save percentage. The 29-year-old should remain the starter for Game 5 on the road Wednesday.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Tending twine in Game 4
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Vejmelka will patrol the home crease in Monday's Game 4 versus the Golden Knights, per Steve Carp of The Sporting Tribune.
Vejmelka will look to stay hot Monday after recording back-to-back wins in Game 2 and Game 3, respectively. He has now been called upon to start in all four games of Utah's first-round matchup. Vejmelka has fared well in the series with a 2-1-0 record, a 2.36 GAA and a .916 save percentage. With his 40th win between the regular season and playoffs behind him, the 29-year-old netminder will aim to win his ninth game over his last 12 outings dating back to March 28.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Secures win in Game 3
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Vejmelka stopped 30 of 32 shots in Friday's 4-2 win over the Golden Knights in Game 3.
The Mammoth didn't generate a lot of chances at the other end, but they scored on four of their 12 shots on net. That gave Vejmelka enough support to work with even as the Golden Knights got a couple of goals back to make things close. Vejmelka has stopped 76 of 83 shots over the first three games of this series, which the Mammoth now lead 2-1. He's likely to get the nod again after two days of rest when the puck drops Monday for Game 4.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Guarding cage in Game 3
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Vejmelka will protect the home goal in Game 3 on Friday versus the Golden Knights, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports.
Vejmelka helped the Mammoth tie the series in Game 2, stopping19 of 21 shots. He's given up five goals on 51 shots over the first two contests of the playoffs. As long as he can keep things close, Vejmelka is likely to get the vast majority of the starts in goal after leading the NHL in appearances in the regular season with 64.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Looking to even series Tuesday
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Vejmelka will defend the road cage in Game 2 against the Golden Knights on Tuesday, according to Brogan Houston of the Deseret News.
Vejmelka allowed three goals on 30 shots in Sunday's 4-2 loss in Game 1. It marked the fourth straight game in which the Czech netminder has conceded exactly three goals. Furthermore, Vejmelka has been beaten for at least three goals in six of his last seven outings. There will be a change for the home team in Game 2, as Vegas is splitting up its top line -- Mitch Marner is shifting to the second-line center, while Ivan Barbashev will slot in with Jack Eichel and Mark Stone.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Loses playoff debut
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Vejmelka stopped 27 of 30 shots in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Golden Knights in Game 1. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.
Vejmelka worked hard to get the Mammoth to the playoffs, but there will be no easy matchups the rest of the way. This was the 29-year-old's first taste of postseason action. He went 38-20-3 with a 2.75 GAA and an .896 save percentage over 64 regular-season outings. Vejmelka was also on Czechia's Olympic roster, though he didn't get to play a game during that tournament. Barring a truly awful performance, Vejmelka should be expected to see the vast majority of the starts during Utah's first playoff run as a franchise.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Gets hook Thursday
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Vejmelka gave up three goals on 18 shots before being replaced by Vitek Vanecek to begin the third period of Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Blues.
The switch didn't seem to be prompted by the score or by Vejmelka's play -- the score was tied 3-3 after 40 minutes -- but with the Mammoth locked into a wild-card spot, coach Andre Tourigny elected to give his No. 1 netminder a little bit of extra rest ahead of the playoffs. Vejmelka finishes the regular season with a career-high 38 wins, one short of NHL leader Andrei Vasilevskiy, along with a 2.75 GAA, an .896 save percentage and a league-leading 64 outings and 3,692:45 in ice time.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Won't dress against Calgary
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Vejmelka won't dress for Sunday's road game against Calgary for an undisclosed reason.
While the exact reason for Vejmelka's absence isn't yet clear, he's likely getting a night off since the Mammoth have clinched a playoff spot. Vitek Vanecek will draw the start against Calgary, while Matt Villalta was called up from AHL Tucson to serve as the No. 2 option. It's not yet clear whether Vejmelka will start in either of Utah's final two regular-season games, which are Tuesday at home against Winnipeg and Thursday at home against the Blues.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Tending twine Tuesday
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Vejmelka will guard the home goal versus the Oilers on Tuesday.
Vejmelka has won three outings in a row, a span in which the Mammoth have outscored opponents 19-8. The 29-year-old netminder will look to keep things rolling in a tougher matchup, which could end up being a playoff preview as well. Vejmelka continues to lead the NHL in appearances -- this will be his 60th of the campaign.
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Mammoth's Karel Vejmelka: Extends winning streak
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Vejmelka stopped 19 of 23 shots in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Canucks.
Vejmelka didn't have his best performance against one of the worst offenses in the NHL, but the offense provided him enough support to extend his winning streak to three games. Even though this was a down performance for the 29-year-old goaltender, he had posted a save percentage of at least . 915 in three of his previous four starts, so he remains a player worth trusting in all formats down the stretch of the regular season. Vejmelka has made six appearances in a row, going 4-1-0 with a 3.12 GAA and an .887 save percentage over that stretch.
