Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) celebrates his game winning goal during the overtime period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) collides with Ottawa Senators defenceman Nick Jensen (3) along the boards during first period NHL action, in Ottawa, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)1 / 2Mammoth Sabres Hockey
Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) celebrates his game winning goal during the overtime period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)1 / 2Mammoth Sabres Hockey
Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) celebrates his game winning goal during the overtime period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)2 / 2Senators Mammoth Hockey
Utah Mammoth right wing Clayton Keller (9) collides with Ottawa Senators defenceman Nick Jensen (3) along the boards during first period NHL action, in Ottawa, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Associated PressFri, November 28, 2025 at 9:06 PM UTC·1 min readDALLAS (AP) — Utah Mammoth captain Clayton Keller will play in Friday night’s game against the Dallas Stars in the wake of his father’s unexpected death the night before.
“Clayton wants to play and be with the team,” Mammoth coach Andre Tournigny said early Friday. “We want to express our condolences to the family, Clayton, his mom (Kelley), his brother (Jake). It’s a tough time for the family, and we will support him in any way we can. We and the family ask everyone to respect their privacy.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 27-year-old Keller has played all 10 of his NHL seasons with the Arizona-Utah franchise and was named captain before last season, when the club moved to Salt Lake City. The seventh overall pick in the 2016 draft and four-time All-Star was a 30-goal scorer each of the past three seasons, including career highs last season with 60 assists and 90 points. He went into Friday’s game second on the club with 21 points, including eight goals.
“There’s nothing really you can say or do in that moment but be there,” Tourigny said. “Big thing for us is to be there to support him. Loyalty is when people need you to be there, it’s not when you pick and choose. In this tough time, we want to make sure we show up for (Keller) and his family.”
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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