Ogden Mustangs eager for first season in new league following main camp weekend
Ogden is one of five teams joining new 'Mountain Division' of the North American Hockey League
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- The Ogden Mustangs held main camp July 16-18 at the Weber County Ice Sheet in Ogden.
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- The Ogden Mustangs held main camp July 16-18 at the Weber County Ice Sheet in Ogden.
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- The Ogden Mustangs held main camp July 16-18 at the Weber County Ice Sheet in Ogden.
OGDEN – A first look at the Ogden Mustangs wraps at the Weber County Ice Sheet this weekend, as the club pencils in summer tryouts ahead of training camp later in August. Two All-Star showcases, free to the public, are scheduled for Saturday at 4:45 and 7 p.m. at the Ice Sheet.
It’s a time of change, as the Mustangs enter their first season as a member of the North American Hockey League, or NAHL, a Tier II junior ice hockey league focused on developing players ages 15 to 20 years old, following six seasons as a member of the United States Premier Hockey League, or USPHL, and the Western States Hockey League prior to the 2020-21 season.
The Mustangs are part of the NAHL’s newest division, the Mountain Division, will include five teams across Colorado (Grand Junction River Hawks, Pueblo Peppers); Idaho (Idaho Falls Spud Kings); Montana (Billings Cattle Ranchers) and Utah (Ogden Mustangs).
Jumping up from the USPHL (specifically its National Collegiate Developmental Conference) is a box checked by seventh-year head coach Kevin Orlando, who’s delivered six winning seasons, including a division regular-season title earlier this spring, since stepping on board in 2020.
“This has been a long time coming for us,” Orlando said. “It’s been something that we wanted to do for a long time, and we’ve had players that have been capable of doing this. And now that it’s actually here, we have a platform to showcase our players properly and get them to the right spots. This place is built for this; this is exactly what it should be now between our fanbase and the quality of life that the guys have here.”
A new league means new talent. Orlando and Ogden spent much of the week evaluating potential training camp invitees from around the globe.
“Guys will come here from all different levels of the junior hockey world,” Orlando said. “We’re basically watching this camp, this weekend of games, and trying to take the pieces out of here that we need to make our best product.”
The process involves long days at the rink, and sees some positions, goalkeeper for example, shrink from 25 prospects to eight in a matter of days. A handful of familiar faces from the 2025-26 season, including returning forward and Colorado native Reuben Clark, are back in town.
The 2026-27 roster will be drawn up from scratch, Orlando said, and every position will be competitively decided amongst the group his coaching staff brings to training camp in August.
“It’s a much higher level,” Orlando said. “We’re making selections from a completely blank slate. We’ve had some players who played here last year. Some of those guys will be able to make it through and have a new opportunity with us, and then some fresh faces are gonna be here, too.”
When it comes to evaluating that many vacant positions, Orlando has plenty of help in his corner.
Orlando recently introduced Fresno, California, native Mark Shroyer as his assistant coach for the upcoming season. Shroyer, no stranger to junior hockey, enjoyed a professional career abroad in France and now embarks on his coaching career with the Mustangs in their jump to the NAHL.
Locally, Jake Meure, another California native, is stepping up as the club’s general manager while competing with Weber State ACHA Division II squad. Patrick Casper of Draper now serves as Ogden’s goaltending coach following a coaching stop with BYU’s club and a playing career in Utah; Park City native Colin Van Valkenburgh is also back on staff from last season.
From the guys on the ice to the staff behind him, Orlando said this year is about demonstrating Ogden has what it takes for high-level hockey.
“It’s an ask of just more,” Orlando said. “It’s not necessarily time, it’s just more attention to detail. When you get to these higher levels of hockey, so many teams can become similar as far as the quality of player that they have. Paying attention to the little details on how they play the game and how we carry ourselves and and what we do to better ourselves every day, those little fractions make a big difference when you get to these higher-end levels.”
Hockey is certainly on the rise in Utah, too.
The NHL landing a franchise, the Utah Mammoth, in Salt Lake City certainly helps, Orlando said, and the sport is experiencing a youth boom as the state inches closer to the 2034 Winter Olympic Games.
Every drop helps, and Orlando feels Ogden can play its own role in raising Utah’s hockey profile beginning with this new era in a new league.
“Players falling in love with (hockey) in Utah, I think, has grown a lot because of the NHL with the Utah Mammoth,” Orlando said. “Being able to have more accessibility and for all of our players, youth hockey (and) giving less-privileged families a chance to play hockey, get their kids into and see if they like it, the youth side of things is really blowing up and taking off.”
The 2026-27 Mustangs regular-season schedule is set to drop later this summer.
Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.
