Chris Mast
Interviews, U.S. Division

Mutala primed for a big season with Tri-City

Written by Brandon Rivers on

It is hard to a better start to a season than Tri-City Americans, 2001-born forward Sasha Mutala did on Friday. Facing the defending U.S. Division champions, Mutala was all over the ice, creating scoring opportunities constantly in a four-point performance in a 4-2 win over the Everett Silvertips.

Compiled with six points in two preseason games, Mutala clearly worked hard in the offseason and is ready to lead the way offensively for Tri-City.

“He got off to a great start in Everett. He is a mature and humble athlete and is focused,” Tri-City general manager and governor Bob Tory said of Mutala.

Americans head coach Kelly Buchberger continued the praise for the Vancouver, B.C., native.

“He came into camp in unreal shape. Right from day one, he has been working extremely hard. He went to development camp and probably got some feedback from different players in different leagues . For us, we need him to be at the top of his game.”

Sasha Mutala
Sasha Mutala (photo by Doug Love)

Mutala was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He went into development camp ready to prove the Avalanche were right to take him and just might have a steal.

“It was exciting to go back and play against those guys. Anytime you are competing against the best, it is an honor. I get excited for that kind of stuff,” Mutala said.

He then went back to the Avalanche for main camp and impressed.

“Sasha is one of our leaders. He had a very good summer training which consequently led to a good training camp. The Colorado Avalanche experience has helped him set goals for training and development which has only increased his focus and determination,” Tory said.

Now that he is back with the Americans, Mutala is excited to lead what he sees as a talented team ready to make some noise.

“It’s early right now, but we have a lot of young guys with good skill and potential. We have good top-end talent. I think we have one of the best goalies in the league in Beck. He will give us a chance to win every night,” Mutala said.

“I think we are a good team and ready for a run.”

Notes…

-Tri-City fell on Saturday 6-1 on the road to Portland. After going 2-for-4 on the power play in Friday’s win, they went 0-for-5 on Saturday.

“Weekend was good, as any time you can split on the road in the U.S. Division, the result is good. Friday, we played a very good structured game. Saturday in Portland, we did not handle their speed well, and our power play was ineffective,” Tory said.
Robbie Fromm-Delorme-Beck Warm (photo-Matt Wolfe)
-Two notable absences from the lineup over the weekend were team captain Kyle Olson and import forward Krystof Hrabik. They are two of the four overagers remaining on the team’s roster.
-Olson had 70 points and Hrabik had 51 for Tri-City last season. Olson is in camp with thee Rochester Americans of the AHL — the Buffalo Sabres affiliate. Hrabik, meanwhile, is with the San Jose Barracuda — the San Jose Sharks AHL affiliate. Both have good chances to earn AHL contracts.
Krystof Hrabik (Photo-Chris Mast)
“It is not a surprise when our players do well in pro camps,” Tory said. “We do not speculate or talk about the players when they are gone. That is not our place. It is up to the pro team to comment on player status when the player is with the pro club.”
-Tory and the Americans are no strangers to having players they might have expected to come back stay in the pro ranks, as Tory points out.
“We have gone through these situations many times. Last year, we lost (Morgan) Geekie, (Dylan) Coghlan, and (Michael) Rasmussen, who could all have very well been returned. The WHL is a development league, and when our players turn pro, we are happy for them, and that is why we are in this game — to help them achieve their goals,” Tory concluded.
-Nikita Krivokrasov had two goals on Friday but had an awkward fall to the ice in Portland on Saturday. He was on the ice without his helmet with Portland’s Mason Mannek and Tri-City’s Dom Schmiemann engaged physically. The trainer was called out by a linesman and Krivokrasov was attended to and helped off the ice. He is listed as out “TBD” with an upper body injury.
-Import forward Jan Cikhart had the Americans’ lone goal on Saturday after having two assists on Friday. The rookie is off to a fine start with three points in two games.
-Tri-City now heads to Kent for a battle with the Seattle Thunderbirds on Friday. They then play in Spokane against the Chiefs on Saturday. Their first five games of the season are on the road, before they finally head home for their home opener Saturday, October 5th.