Utah Hockey Club Recalls Goaltender Matthew Villalta from Tucson Roadrunners

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Tucson, AZ – The Utah Hockey Club announced Wednesday that goaltender Matthew Villalta has been recalled from the Tucson Roadrunners, the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. Villalta becomes the eighth Roadrunners player and second netminder to earn an NHL call-up this season. In a corresponding move, Utah has reassigned goaltender Jaxson Stauber to Tucson.

Ontario, CA – Mar. 26, 2025: Tucson Roadrunners goaltender Matthew Villalta turned aside all 24 shots he faced, earning his career-high fourth shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over the Ontario Reign at Toyota Arena. (photo: Ontario Reign)

This marks Villalta’s first NHL call-up of the season and second of his career. He earned his first NHL call-up last season when he was recalled to the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 16, 2024.

The six-year pro has been a cornerstone in net for Tucson this season, posting a 17-21-3 record with a 3.01 goals-against average (GAA) and a .906 save percentage (SV%) in 41 appearances. Villalta leads all AHL goaltenders in minutes played (2,413:57) and shots faced (1,288) and is tied with Calgary’s Devin Cooley for the most games played.

The 25-year-old Godfrey, Ontario native recently recorded his career-high fourth shutout of the season, stopping all 24 shots in Tucson’s 3-0 win over the Ontario Reign on Wednesday. He is one shutout shy of tying the franchise’s single-season record, set by former Roadrunner and current Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (five in 2017-18). Two of Villalta’s shutouts this season came in back-to-back games in December, blanking the Henderson Silver Knights 3-0 on Dec. 14 and shutting out the San Diego Gulls 2-0 on Dec. 16.

Villalta’s seven shutouts with Tucson rank second in franchise history behind Hill’s 10. He also sits at 48 career wins with the Roadrunners, just six shy of Ivan Prosvetov’s 54, which ranks second all-time.

Over his AHL career, Villalta has played in 200 games, compiling a 106-70-17 record, a 2.90 GAA, a .905 SV%, and nine shutouts across six seasons.

Originally selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound netminder spent four seasons with the Ontario Reign before signing with the Arizona Coyotes as a free agent on July 2, 2023. In his first season with Tucson in 2022-23, Villalta set franchise records for wins (31), games played (51), minutes (3,048), and saves (1,328), earning his first career AHL All-Star selection.

His strong play with Tucson led to his NHL debut with the Coyotes on Feb. 16, 2024, against the Carolina Hurricanes. He made his first career NHL start three days later against the Edmonton Oilers. In two NHL appearances, Villalta holds an 0-1 record with a 4.17 GAA and .828 SV%.

Stauber returns to Tucson after being recalled by Utah on March 9. The 25-year-old has appeared in 17 games for the Roadrunners this season, posting a 10-5-2 record with a 3.11 GAA and .898 SV%. He has also played six NHL games with Utah, recording a 2-1-1 record with a 3.26 GAA and .892 SV%.

Stauber is expected to rejoin the Roadrunners ahead of Friday’s matchup against San Diego, the fourth game of Tucson’s five-game road trip. Tonight’s puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MST at Pechanga Arena. Fans can catch the action live on AHLTV on FloHockey.