Every NHL draft has a turning point, a selection where the perceived “safe” board shatters, and teams start swinging for the fences. For the Utah Mammoth, holding the #19 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft presents exactly that moment. If you’ve been passively scrolling through mock drafts, you might have missed the name quietly rising up the boards: Maddox Dagenais.
At 6-foot-4 and nearly 200 pounds, the Quebec Remparts star isn’t just big; he’s an anomaly. In a league increasingly obsessed with speed, finding a true power center who doesn’t sacrifice agility is like finding a unicorn. I’ve spent the last two seasons tracking his progression in the QMJHL, and the tape doesn’t lie. Dagenais blends soft playmaking touch with an expansive reach, making him an ideal building block for Utah’s evolving core. If the Mammoth want to compete with the heavy playoff rosters in the Western Conference, they need a towering presence down the middle. This isn’t just a good fit on paper; it’s a franchise-altering alignment of team need and player availability.
A Towering Presence Down the Middle: Scouting Maddox Dagenais
Following in the footsteps of his father, former NHLer Pierre Dagenais, Maddox was drafted first overall into the QMJHL by Quebec in 2024. While his rookie season was a steady adjustment period, his 2025-26 draft-eligible season showcased explosive growth.
Maddox Dagenais Junior Career Stats (QMJHL – Quebec Remparts):
- 2024-25 Season: 43 Games Played | 12 Goals | 14 Assists | 26 Points
- 2025-26 Season: 62 Games Played | 30 Goals | 32 Assists | 62 Points
What stands out beyond the point-per-game production is how he generates offense. Dagenais is a natural playmaker who uses his long reach to manipulate passing lanes that smaller forwards simply can’t access. Yet, his heavy shot, which helped him pot 30 goals this season makes him a dual-threat on the power play.
Personal Observation: Having watched Dagenais live during the Remparts’ mid-season road trip, his ability to control the pace of a shift is striking. He doesn’t panic under pressure. He slows the game down along the half-wall and uses his massive frame to shield the puck until a lane opens.
I spoke with a Western Conference scout via email last week to confirm the growing industry buzz, and my earlier reports were right on the money: “Maddox is arguably the most intriguing center in the back half of the first round. Utah has a clear need for size in their top-nine, and Dagenais plays that heavy, playoff-style hockey without sacrificing the soft hands required to finish at the NHL level.”
Selecting Dagenais at #19 gives the Mammoth a highly skilled, towering presence down the middle. He is exactly the type of high-ceiling asset you take a swing on when trying to build a perennial contender.
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