EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is breaking, and more information will be added as it becomes available.
The Massachusetts hockey team’s Michael Hrabal signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday. Hrabal will report to the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League on a tryout agreement.
The Czech native will not play his senior season in college, becoming the first UMass goalie since Matt Murray to sign a National Hockey League contract. Hrabal was a second-round pick drafted 38th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.
Hrabal had a very strong junior season for the Minutemen, earning numerous awards along the way. He is a finalist for the Richter Award and won both the Hockey East Player of the Year and HEA Goaltender of the Year awards in 2025-26.
Of all goalies in the country with more than two games played, Hrabal’s 0.937 save percentage ranks third. In HEA, his save percentage jumps up to an impressive 0.952.
Hrabal played 94 career games with UMass, building up a 52-32-7 record. He ranks third in Minutemen history in save percentage, goals against average and shutouts. The junior also broke the school record for the longest consecutive shutout streak, with back-to-back shutouts in a sweep of Vermont during late January.
“He does exceptionally well in the spotlight,” head coach Greg Carvel said in early March. “He rises to the occasion. When he does the right things and pays the right price, all the things that we need him to do … he puts himself in a great spot and he has just this uncanny ability to not be phased, which is pretty unique and it’s going to serve him well.”
Hrabal is now the third player of the 2023 UMass recruiting class to sign an NHL contract, joining Dans Locmelis and Aydar Suniev.
Myles Donato can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @myles_donato.
