NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL team owners Ryan & Ashley Smith on April 19, 2024 (Photo by Ben Anderson, KSL Sports)
(Photo by Ben Anderson, KSL Sports)
SALT LAKE CITY – Ahead of the Inaugural NHL season in Utah, the league’s newest team has been incredibly busy preparing for hockey to descend upon the Wasatch Front. Amidst all the non-stop work, the Utah Hockey Club has caught the attention of NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, who couldn’t be more impressed by what the team has done in short order.
When you stop and think about how much the Utah Hockey Club has had to do in such a short amount of time, it’s quite remarkable that they’ve not only gotten everything done but presented high quality work as well.
Since the team was sold to Smith Entertainment Group back in April, it has been nothing but 24/7, around the clock work to accomplish every task.
For starters, the organization and fanbase have completely embraced this new team from the second they were acquired. Following the initial pep-rally held at Delta Center where more than 12,000 fans packed themselves into the arena to get a first look at the team, the organization sold hundreds of thousands of season ticket deposits. They also hosted more than 3,000 fans during the rookie development game over the summer.
It’s really happening. #utahhockeyclub #utahnhl pic.twitter.com/KwWPcAohAI
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) July 5, 2024
“I think the fan base in and around Salt Lake City is energized to embrace them,” the NHL’s Deputy Commissioner, Bill Daly told NHL.com at the NHL North American Player Media Tour on Tuesday. “You saw that a few months ago with the introduction of the team. It’s going to be that times three-fold or four-fold when they actually start play. It’s exciting, exciting for them, exciting for the National Hockey League.”
Hosting an NHL team requires top of the line facilities and venues. While Utah certainly had a good start and was a step above Arizona in that area, the organization not only presented solid placeholders for this first season, but instantly materialized plans for a new practice facility and promised upgrades to the Delta Center overnight.
Rendering of the new practice facility.
The Macy’s structure will remain and the ice will be built off the south end of it. pic.twitter.com/TbY07uSGsZ
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) August 12, 2024
Before the state-of-the-art practice facility at South Towne Mall is completed next season, the Utah Olympic Oval will serve as the team’s practice facility in year one. While the facility had all the basics to house the club, they’ve added a brand-new ice sheet, several banners and updated locker rooms.
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They also recently hired their first ice crew that will assist in the maintenance of the ice during games.
As for the Delta Center, the club has a specific plan to alter the seating and raise the ice to reach that 18,000+ number in the next few years.
“They guaranteed us they could do this, and they’ve met every promise along the way. They’ve made unbelievable accomplishments this summer, gearing up, getting ready to play …
“It’s very gratifying to see. It’s exciting. I think the players are really excited, and I think the organization is over the top excited,” Daly told NHL.com.
Before anybody continues to hate on the branding, there’s a few things you have to consider here.
First off, this team moved overnight. They didn’t have years in advance to prepare like recent expansion cities Seattle and Las Vegas. One day an NHL team existed in Arizona, the next morning it called Utah home. So, there legitimately was no time to sit down and really think things out. It had to be done immediately and for the amount of time they had to work with, they’ve presented a great place to start.
🪨Rock black🪨
◽Salt white◽
🩵Mountain blue🩵#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/xQW5grjJ1i— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) June 13, 2024
The colors are simple, unique and have significance to the state that the club now calls home. The combination of rock black, salt white and mountain blue are a beautiful collection of colors that fans have resonated with and will pop on the ice.
As for the sweaters, one has to again consider the incredibly thin time window that the club had to deal with. They were already months behind apparel orders and had to think quickly in order to produce an inaugural jersey. So again, they went with simplicity, and it was a home run.
A closer look at the details. 🔎#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/a52BCx7eco
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) September 9, 2024
Without a specific mascot, the club elected to stick with state pride and put “Utah” on the front of both sweaters. They also did so in a very hockey kind of way, placing the letters diagonally similar to the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Do these uniforms compare to the iconic Kachina Coyote in Arizona? No. But as previously stated, they had almost no time to think but created something simple and beautiful that will serve as a great placeholder.
This is exactly what Daly identified as he praised the Utah Hockey Club for accomplishing more in such a short amount of time than anyone in the league has ever done before.
“They have done and accomplished more than anyone else ever has in that vein,” he said. “Obviously they had the team intact, and they brought the hockey operations department over but everything else they were doing from scratch, not knowing they would have the opportunity to for next year until kind of very late in the process.”
With all the work they’ve done, Daly is convinced that the Utah Hockey Club will be a great success. Not only are they inheriting a fantastic front office and roster, but management has done everything in their power to create the best possible atmosphere from top to bottom on day one.
“He had the people he could reposition to help accomplish it,” he said. “What’s happened in Utah is truly amazing and I know they are going to be successful.”
Fans can watch the Utah Hockey Club’s first regular season game on October 8 against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. Click here for the full schedule.
