A peek into the Utah Mammoth’s best Christmases — past and ‘present’

Here’s what a number of Utah Mammoth are doing for Christmas this year, in addition to some of their favorite memories growing up …

Like most companies (but unlike some pro sports leagues), the NHL takes a few days off surrounding Christmas. In the Utah Mammoth’s case, they have a couple of extra days, too, thanks to the way things are scheduled.

We asked the players what they’re doing over the break, in addition to some other holiday questions. Here’s what they said.

What are you doing over the break?

Nate Schmidt is going back home to Minnesota, where he usually spends 24 hours at his parents’ house and another 24 at his wife’s parents’ house before heading back to his in-season home.

On his side of the family, some 30 cousins gather. If you know anything about Schmidt, you know he’s a fun, energetic guy — yet he says he’s the second-quietest in his immediate family.

It’s sure to be a fun but chaotic weekend in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Alexander Kerfoot’s family is visiting him in Utah. The group is going up to Park City to enjoy the holidays, and Barrett Hayton’s family is coming out, too.

Kevin Stenlund is from Sweden so traveling all the way there and back over the course of a few days wouldn’t be practical, but he still has plans.

“Mostly, I spend it with teammates that don’t have family here,” he said. “Just convenient where I don’t have my family here.”

They usually do a home-cooked meal, but “nothing fancy,” he says.

Vítek Vaněček and his wife are looking forward to their first Christmas with their baby, Tobias. When asked what he wants for Christmas, Vaněček gave a gracious answer.

“Absolutely nothing,” he said. “I’m happy with my life, so I don’t think I need (anything).”

We asked head coach André Tourigny about his holiday plans ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, but he was still in game mode.

“I’m not there yet. I’m on December 23. It’s a pretty important day,” he said.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?

The most popular answer to this question was hockey sticks — which may seem funny to the guys now, considering that the team pays for as many top-of-the-line sticks as they can possibly need (Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon once estimated that he uses about 400 per season).

Hayton remembers one Christmas when he received a Bauer Supreme NXG and went to the outdoor rink and used it all day long. Stenlund also fondly remembered getting sticks, but there wasn’t one that particularly stood out.

Schmidt gave two answers: one for his childhood and the other as an adult. When he was young, it was a yellow GameBoy color with Pokemon Blue to go with it. Two years ago, he asked his wife for a Dyson vacuum — and he now uses it every day.

Kerfoot’s favorite gifts were usually sporting equipment. The one he recalled was a ping-pong table, shared amongst the four children in his family.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?

Kerfoot and his wife got a puppy while they were living in Toronto a number of years back. They named her Coconut, and she has accompanied them to both Arizona and Utah.

He and his siblings usually get each other board games, which they then play during their time together at Christmas.

Hayton’s gift to his dad one year was a golf trip for the two of them.

“It was just him and I, which was nice, just to kind of get away,” he said. “I feel like we’re so busy and stuff that we don’t get a lot of time together, one on one, so that was special. A nice little getaway.”

Schmidt has yet to give his best gift ever: It’s coming this year.

Of course, he didn’t want to divulge exactly what it was in case the person sees this article before opening the present, but he did say it’s a particular piece of hunting equipment for an uncle of his.

“I’m excited — really excited,” he said of the gift.

Source: Utah News