Kailer Yamamoto signs PTO with Utah HC

The Utah Hockey Club announced Wednesday they’ve signed forward Kailer Yamamoto to a professional tryout (PTO).

Yamamoto spent the 2023-24 season with the Seattle Kraken, scoring eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 59 regular-season games. Through seven NHL seasons with the Kraken and Edmonton Oilers, the 25-year-old has 58 goals and 76 assists for 134 points in 303 regular-season games.

Yamamoto has also played 34 Stanley Cup Playoff games, scoring three goals and nine assists for 12 points.

A native of Spokane, Wash., Yamamoto was taken 22nd overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He spent four seasons with the Spokane Chiefs, scoring 105 goals and 186 assists for 291 points in 230 regular-season games. His best season was his draft year in 2016-17, scoring 42 goals and 57 assists for 99 points in 65 regular-season games.

Some of Yamamoto’s best production as a professional came in 2019-20, where in 27 NHL games, he had 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points, including 16 points in 23 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.

He would hit the 20-goal mark with the Oilers in 2021-22, adding 21 assists for a career-high 41 points.

Internationally, Yamamoto has represented the United States several times. He won silver with the Under-17 team in 2014, bronze at the U-18 tournament in 2016 and another bronze at the 2018 World Junior Championships.

Before relocating to Salt Lake City, Utah HC, formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes, went 36-41-5 with 77 points in 2023-24, seventh in the Central Division and 27th in the league-wide standings.

Forward Clayton Keller led the team in scoring with 33 goals and 43 assists for 76 points. Despite missing four games, he had 15 more points than the second-leading scorer on the team, Nick Schmaltz, who had 61 points (22 goals and 39 assists).