Utah drafts Muskegon goalie Carl Axelsson 115th overall in NHL Draft

Utah used the fourth round of the 2026 NHL Draft to take one of the USHL’s steadiest goaltenders, selecting Muskegon Lumberjacks netminder Carl Axelsson at No. 115. The pick gave the Utah Mammoth a polished goalie prospect, and it made Axelsson the club’s lone goaltender in a Day 2 class that included five players, three forwards, one defenseman and one goalie.

Axelsson spent the 2025-26 season with Muskegon and delivered the kind of numbers NHL teams trust: 29 wins in 44 games, a 2.48 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. Other draft profiles listed him at 28-14-1 with a 2.41 GAA, a .917 save percentage and two shutouts. Either way, the footprint was the same. The 6-foot-4, 183-pound goalie from Danderyd, Sweden handled a heavy workload and still gave Muskegon reliable results night after night.

That consistency mattered because Axelsson was not just riding a strong team. Muskegon said he backstopped the Lumberjacks to the Clark Cup Final, a run that added playoff weight to a season already built on calm positioning, clean rebound control and timely saves in pressure moments. That profile fits what Utah wanted in the fourth round: a goalie with technical polish and enough track record to project beyond a depth-chart placeholder.

The selection also tied into a broader development story. University of Minnesota Duluth confirmed Axelsson is committed there, that his father, Niklas Axelsson, played goalie for the Bulldogs from 1993-95, and that Carl will be just the third Swedish player in program history. UMD also said he is a member of Sweden’s Under-20 national team. Independent draft coverage identified Axelsson as the only Swedish goaltender chosen in the 2026 NHL Draft, a distinction that underscores how unusual his path has been for a junior goalie who spent one USHL season turning dependable play into real NHL value.