SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Hockey Club is another step closer to its inaugural 2024-25 season with less than a month until the puck officially drops on October 8. Ahead of the initial rookie training camp and tournament which begin on Wednesday, head coach André Tourigny shared that he is excited to establish the team’s culture with this new collection of young players.
Related: Players To Watch During Utah Hockey Club’s Rookie Camp
The rookie camp will take place from September 11-16. The club’s young players and recent draft picks will first travel to Salt Lake City to participate in two days (September 11-12) of on- and off-ice workouts under the direction of the coaching staff at the Utah Olympic Oval. The team will then travel to Los Angeles to participate in the Rookie Faceoff tournament, hosted by the Los Angeles Kings at the Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo, CA.
Unlike the NFL or NBA, development for young prospects and draft picks in the NHL is a lot different. In today’s league, most players drafted require a few more years of experience and development before they are ready to play at the highest level. Aside from the top player or two selected, rookies generally don’t make their NHL debut for one to three seasons, and in some cases even more.
However, the league does provide these young prospects a chance to demonstrate their skills on an NHL platform with rookie camps and tournaments held throughout the league. This season, 2024 first round picks Tij Iginla and Cole Beaudoin will suit up for the Utah Hockey Club to show the coaching staff and fans what they can do.
For Tourigny, or Coach Bear, as he often goes by, he appreciates the opportunity to build Utah’s culture and identity from the start with these initial camps.
“The rookie camp and development camp are a good opportunity to build our culture and identity right away with our young players. There’s not a lot of guys who will make it in the NHL from the rookie camp the first year. But they start to grow inside the organization and know what the standard, culture, and how you want to play. That is where is starts,” Coach Bear told KSL Sports.
While the club seeks to instill their culture and values within each of these young skaters, they’re also very intentional with the types of players they select in each year’s draft. As for Iginla and Beaudoin, not only did they draft them for their skills, but who they are off the ice.
“They’re talented players but they have character,” he said. “That’s a premium. If you look at the Stanley Cup Playoff, you need to have guys who are resilient, who have character, who can compete in tight areas and situations when the pressure is up. Those guys can keep their composure and play the right way.”
“Going from your draft year to make it to the NHL, it’s not a sprint it’s a marathon. So, you need to have character to do it every day, all the time, and be consistent,” Coach Bear added.
After a few days of on- and off-ice workouts in Salt Lake, the team will then travel to Los Angeles to play against some of the league’s premier young talent in the Rookie Faceoff Tournament. For both 2024 first round picks, especially Iginla who has aspirations of making the Utah Hockey Club’s roster as soon as possible, it will be important for them to just focus on their game and be their authentic self on and off the ice.
It’ll be a challenge to make the roster this year but it’s great to see that Tij has his goals set high.
He’s a special player who just gets it.#UtahHockeyClub #NHLinUtah pic.twitter.com/re67V5SNoD
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) August 27, 2024
“They have been drafted for a reason. They have been drafted because they are a talented player, and we like their skillset. We like the way they play so just be yourself. Don’t arrive here and try to be something or somebody that you are not. Sometimes guys try to impress and try to do things they’re not know for doing and not their strong suit. Make sure you bring your strong suit and play inside your skillset,” Coach Bear told KSL Sports.
Players will begin arriving in Salt Lake over the next few days before making their way to the Utah Olympic Oval on Wednesday and Thursday for camp sessions.
Fans can watch these prospects first game with the Utah Hockey Club on September 13 against Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks during the rookie tournament. All rookie tournament games will be live streamed for free on UtahHockeyClub.com.
