Will Josh Doan or Kailer Yamamoto make the NHL roster?

Utah Hockey Club faces a difficult decision.

The team closed out the preseason Saturday night with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Maverik Center. Dylan Guenther and Nick Schmaltz both scored, and Connor Ingram had 30 saves en route to the victory. Now it's time to finalize the selection for opening night.

Utah Hockey Club has until 3:00 PM MT on Monday to submit its official 23-man roster for the 2024-2025 season. The key players in question? Josh Doan and Kailer Yamamoto.

The battle for the bottom six forwards has been on display throughout training camp. While Utah's top six remain somewhat locked down, Doan and Yamamoto and Michael Carcone have done their best to prove to management that they are necessary roster pieces for a successful season.

The thing is, they've all made a pretty good case for themselves.

I think all the guys we have now are NHL players, that's how I see it, said head coach Andr Tourigny. We don't have guys who don't deserve to be on an NHL roster. They all deserve it. I really believe that.

But that leaves three players fighting for two spots.

Yamamoto has a professional tryout agreement with Utah. A PTO allows a player to try out for the team during training camp and potentially earn a contract before the start of the regular season.

The 25-year-old spent the 2023-24 season with the Seattle Kraken, scoring 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 59 games. If Utah doesn't decide to sign Yamamoto, he can explore options with other teams that may have been impressed with him during the preseason.

Yamamoto has done everything he can to claim a spot at Utah. He played first line, fourth line, power play, penalty kill and had a certain sloppiness that all good teams need.

He can play any role. We put him in every situation during camp. He can feel very good about himself, Tourigny said. What I liked most about him was the number of battles he won.

Yamamoto played on the first line with Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton on Saturday evening. He finished the preseason with three goals in six games.

Doan also made a push in training camp. The 22-year-old forward skated in 62 games last season with the AHL team, the Tucson Roadrunners, before being called up by the Arizona Coyotes for the final eleven games of the NHL regular season. Doan scored two goals in his debut and finished the period with nine points (five goals, four assists).

Through six preseason games with Utah, Doan scored four points (one goal, three assists). If all goes according to plan, Doan will be a name fans will know for a long time. He is one of Utah's top players and has proven he can play and contribute at the NHL level.

At the end of it, a lot of long days and long games, Doan said of training camp. Just focus on your game, play your game. Getting to know the guys as best as possible, feeling comfortable in the room and working with the coaches. It's all you can control. Control the controllable.

Doan has one slight drawback when it comes to his chances of making the opening night roster: He's the only player who doesn't have to clear waivers to go to the Tucson Roadrunners. He signed his entry-level contract with Arizona in March 2023 and has played just 11 total NHL games.

That is not the case for someone like Carcone. If Utah decided to send Carcone to the AHL, he would have to be placed on waivers, meaning any other team in the league could claim his contract and rights within 24 hours. That's a big risk to take for a player who scored 21 goals in a character role for Arizona last season.

Utah also has to consider forward Nick Bjugstad, who missed training camp due to an injury. He won't be ready on opening night, but will likely return within the first two months of the regular season.

Injuries will occur throughout the year, lineups will mix up, and these guys, if still in the Utah system, will get some time in the NHL via call-ups. But until then, a good, deserving player will be on the outside looking in.

I expect them to get frustrated. That would be me. I think they are NHL players and you should expect them to play. I know they are all competitors and they all want to play, Tourigny said. It's a very good problem to have. We'll have a really good player who won't play on opening night, and that's good for the organization.

Tourigny is right. Utah having to make tough decisions at the end of training camp shows the progress the teams are making in rebuilding. They are reaping the benefits of the players and picks they have collected and therefore have legitimate depth. Sometimes that means saying goodbye to someone who could have been a difference maker.