2025-26 Season: Two-Way Tracker & More
Leading into Training Camp, this article will be updated with the latest signings of recent Roadrunners and other familiar AHL players who have signed NHL/AHL two-way contracts and, if assigned to the AHL, are expected to suit up for Tucson. In addition, several players from the 2024-25 Roadrunners roster have received qualifying offers, which are also noted below.
June 11
Ben McCartney: Signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Utah Mammoth. The deal carries an NHL salary of $775,000 for each of the next two seasons.
McCartney, 23, recorded 33 points (16 goals, 17 assists) in a career-high 63 games with the Roadrunners during the 2024–25 season. He also set a career high with 86 penalty minutes and matched his previous best for assists in a season. The 6-foot, 199-pound forward led Tucson with three shorthanded goals and nine special-teams goals, and ranked third on the team with six power-play goals.
The Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, native led the Roadrunners in playoff goals (2) and tied for the team lead in points (3) during the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. He recorded two goals and an assist in Tucson’s 4-1 Game 2 win over the Abbotsford Canucks on April 24, marking his first career postseason goal and first multi-goal, multi-point playoff performance. McCartney was one of only three skaters across the AHL to register a three-point outing in the opening round, joining teammate Travis Barron and Rochester Americans defenseman Kale Clague.
McCartney recently completed his fifth professional season—all with Tucson—and has served as an alternate captain for the past two campaigns. Since making his pro debut in 2020–21, he has tallied 110 points (48 goals, 62 assists) and 280 penalty minutes in 215 AHL games.
April 29
Jaxson Stauber: Signed a two-year, two-way contract with Utah. Stauber, 26, originally joined Utah as a free agent last July on a one-year, two-way deal ahead of the 2024-25 season. The Wayzata, Minnesota native spent his first two professional seasons in the Chicago Blackhawks organization, playing for both Chicago and their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.
Last season, Stauber split time between Utah and Tucson. In 21 starts with the Roadrunners, the 6-foot-3, 175-pound netminder posted a 12-7-2 record, along with a 3.14 goals-against average (GAA) and a .897 save percentage (SV%). He also shined in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs, starting two games for Tucson in their first-round series against the Abbotsford Canucks. He recorded a playoff career-high 38 saves in Game 2 for his first postseason win, which was also the most saves by a Roadrunners goalie in a playoff game in franchise history.
At the NHL level, Stauber appeared in six games for Utah during the 2024-25 season, posting a 2-1-1 record with a 3.26 GAA and a .892 SV%. His Utah debut was a historic one—he stopped all 29 shots he faced in a 6-0 road win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 30, earning the first shutout in both his NHL career and Utah’s franchise history.
In 12 career NHL appearances with Utah and Chicago, Stauber holds a 7-2-1 record with a 3.01 GAA, .903 SV%, and one shutout. In the AHL, Stauber has compiled a 36-23-5 record, 3.05 GAA, .899 SV%, and two shutouts in 69 career games with Tucson and Rockford and has made 34 saves or more in all three of his career playoff starts.
April 24
Michal Kunc: Signed a one-year, two-way contract with Utah. The 24-year-old native of Brno, Czechia, tallied career highs across the board with 35 points (13g, 22a) and 12 penalty minutes in 49 games for HC Olomouc of the Czech Extraliga in 2024-25. He led his team in both assists and points, while his +22 rating ranked fourth among all skaters in the league.
Kunc recorded seven multi-point performances, including a career-best four-point night (2g, 2a) against HC Vítkovice on Oct. 29. Over six Extraliga seasons with HC Olomouc and HC Kometa Brno, Kunc has registered 89 points (34g, 55a) and 66 penalty minutes in 222 career games. He’s also added three points (2g, 1a) in 11 playoff appearances, all with HC Olomouc.
WHAT TO KNOW?
Two-Way Contract: A two-way contract is a contract that stipulates that an athlete’s salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play (NHL or AHL).
