Why The NHL Needs To Quit Sleeping On Mammoth Captain Clayton Keller

Aug 13, 2025 , 1:49 PM

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COLE BAGLEY


Utah Mammoth Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Mammoth Captain Clayton Keller may be the most overlooked star in the National Hockey League.

Yep. You read that right.

Despite a career year in Utah with 60 assists and 90 total points, Keller was left off of Team USA’s Four Nations roster in February.

While he did eventually captain the United States to their first gold medal at World Championships in nearly a century this past summer, there’s been some recent discussion that argues Keller being a healthy scratch at the Olympics in 2026.

So, lets dive in a little deeper and outline why Keller not only belongs on the Olympic roster, but why he should absolutely see minutes for the United States.

Clayton Keller continues to be overlooked around the NHL

In early July, TSN’s BarDown posed a question on X.

Posting a bar graph that illustrated way more talent than recognition, BarDown asked, “Which NHL player is this?”

I then took that graphic and retweeted it with a GIF of Utah’s captain.

But why the lack of recognition?

As previously mentioned, Keller was not selected to a Four Nation’s roster last season which was arguably the biggest snub for Team USA.

Instead, General Manager Bill Guerin went with players like Chris Kreider, Brock Nelson and Vincent Trocheck, who didn’t come anywhere near Keller in terms of points last season.

Notably, all three players also had fairly poor tournaments as Trocheck and Nelson failed to register a point in four appearances, while Kreider only played in two games.

Obvious mistakes.

Adding insult to injury, a recent video was also released by a well-known NHL analyst that predicted Keller as a healthy scratch for Team USA at the Olympics.

Instead, the bottom six consisted of Kyle Connor, Tage Thompson, Jason Robertson, Matt Boldy, Dylan Larkin and J.T. Miller.

Great players that should be on the roster, but not necessarily more deserving than Keller to be in the lineup.

Why might Clayton Keller be continuously overlooked?

In an attempt to understand the disrespect, let’s breakdown the possible reasoning as to why Keller continues to be overlooked.

First off, Keller has only played in nine playoff games during his eight seasons in the NHL.

That’s rough.

How can a player be depended on in big games when he’s played in so few in recent years?

Second, for a league that prioritizes size and physicality more and more, Keller is certainly at a disadvantage.

At just 5-foot-10, 178 pounds, Keller would’ve been the shortest player on USA’s Four Nations roster and the second lightest next to Jack Hughes.

Not exactly the mold that USA was going for at Four Nations as they bullied teams into submission and asserted their dominance.

Why Clayton Keller belongs on the ice for Team USA at the Olympics

Alright, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s counter these arguments and add a little more insight on Keller’s game.

Beginning with the lack of playoff experience, there’s little to no blame that can be placed on Keller’s shoulders in that regard.

For the most part, he’s been on poorly constructed rosters and still shined amidst a long rebuild that began in 2020.

Ever since the organization hit the reset button, the team has only improved year-over-year and the postseason will come soon enough, perhaps even this next season.

Additionally, while Keller has not played in many NHL playoff atmospheres, he has thrived at the International level with three gold medals, one silver and one bronze for the United States.

As for his size, sure, that’s not really a matter that can be argued as that’s not about to change.

He’s a smaller player that isn’t known for being very physical.

But it’s not always about the size of the dog in the fight, rather the size of the fight within, and Keller is as fierce as they come.

The perfect example of this?

Last season against the Winnipeg Jets where he took a puck above the eye, received 12 stiches inside the locker room, then returned and led Utah to victory over the President’s Trophy winners with a goal and an assist like it was nothing.

“Growing up my dad said, ‘If you’re good, you get up. If you’re hurt, then you can stay down. If you’re not hurt, then you get up,’” Keller told KSL Sports.

“That’s something that’s always been in my brain since I was a young kid. The times I’ve gotten hit, it’s right back up. You don’t sit there and take a rest or break unless you’re in some true pain.”

Keller is also as competitive as they come which not only earned him the first ever C in Mammoth history, but he also captained the United States at the World Championships.

The result?

Gold for the first time in 93 years as Keller refused to settle for anything less and led by both word and deed.

“Enjoy this for a couple more minutes and then move on. We’ve got a job to do tomorrow. That’s why you play, that’s why you come here,” Keller told his teammates following the semifinal victory over Sweden.

Finally, one simply cannot overlook how good he was for Utah last season.

A career-high in assists (60) and points (90) landed him inside the top 10 (tied for ninth) for apples and just outside the top 10 (tied for 11th) in overall points.

That’s more points than any of Team USA’s Four Nations bottom six forwards.

Keller simply belongs on the roster and in the lineup for Team USA in February.

Not as a scratch, but playing meaningful minutes to help his country bring home another gold.

Any line, either power play, Keller can provide versatility, creativity, vision, goal scoring, speed, patience, effort and consistency as one of the premier maestro’s in the league.

Any other way of thinking is simply nonsensical and would be a regrettable mistake for the United States.

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Cole Bagley is the Utah Mammoth insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.

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