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‘Brother. We’re on the same team.’ Lutz recounts the moment childhood friend Peterka was traded to Utah

One summer evening in late June, Utah Mammoth prospect Julian Lutz was enjoying dinner during a golf trip in Spain with his longtime friend, JJ Peterka — a young, budding NHL star who then belonged to the Buffalo Sabres.

During the meal, Peterka got up to answer an urgent phone call. When he came back, he’d utter an unforgettable phrase.

“Brother,” he said to Lutz. “We’re on the same team.”

He’d been traded in a late-night blockbuster, which sent him to Utah in exchange for Josh Doan and Michael Kesselring. He promptly signed a five-year deal which guarantees him longevity and $38.5 million.

“We just gave each other a big hug and we were just happy,” Lutz recalled.

“We were pretty happy,” Peterka agreed.

Lutz spent the rest of the night answering Peterka’s questions about the team — between the frequent interruptions, of course, as Peterka’s phone blew up with texts and calls. Although Lutz has yet to play in the NHL, he has participated in several development camps and rookie camps and he’d just finished his first AHL season with the Tucson Roadrunners, so he knows the organization well.

Julian Lutz and JJ Peterka

The two have known each other since they started attending Red Bull’s hockey academy in Salzburg, Austria together nine years ago. Both of them excelled at that level, resulting in many appearances with the German national team and both of them becoming second-round NHL draft picks (Peterka in 2020 and Lutz in 2022).

They’d like to play together in the NHL, though Lutz has some work to do before that can happen. The left winger tallied two goals and 13 points in 47 AHL games in an injury-shortened season last year.

The formula to get to the NHL is simple, he says.

“Just play good,” he said. “Maybe get a chance (to play) exhibition games and prove myself.”

“It would definitely be really funny because we would definitely chirp each other and have a lot of fun, too,” he said of the prospect of playing in the NHL with his good friend.

Lutz also has his sights set on Germany’s Olympic team, where he’d almost certainly have the chance to play with Peterka. Between the NHL, AHL, KHL and SHL, widely considered the top four leagues in the world, there are just 12 German players — so it’s likely that Lutz is heavily considered to make the team.

“That’s definitely the goal,” he said. “I’m going to try and do my best. I know I have it in me. It’s not in my power, but it’s in my power to play good hockey.

When asked for cool stories about Peterka, he mentioned two things: That he’s a talented piano player and that he’s building a hockey rink in his backyard in Germany.

And when he says he’s building a rink, he’s not talking about the type of ice that every Canadian dad builds for his kids with a flooded grass field and two-foot-high boards. It’s a small indoor rink with everything needed to train in the offseason.

My understanding is that it will also be available for local youth hockey players to use.

Peterka, 23, is expected to fill a major offensive role for the Mammoth this season. He scored 27 goals and 68 points in 77 games for the Buffalo Sabres last season.

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