SALT LAKE CITY – With the first puck drop less than three weeks away, the Utah Hockey Club officially kicked off their inaugural 2024-25 season with their first-ever media day.
The following is a live blog that will provide updates from front office staff, coaches and players as they address the media.
Kicking things off on media day, President of Hockey Operations, Chris Armstrong addressed the media and right from the start was able to share an update on the team’s name. While he was unable to comment on exactly what it will be, he did share that they know what they fans want the name to be and they are exhausting every avenue to try and make that happen.
Chris Armstrong said they know what the fans want this team to be called and they are exhausting every avenue to make that happen.
Also said he is not in a place to share what that is.#UtahHockeyClub #NHL
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 18, 2024
“Through the input of our fans using the surveys we’ve conducted; we certainly have been able to take a firm understanding of what our fanbase would like us to be called. You can imagine, it is a complicated process with the league from a trademarking and intellectual property perspective so, we’re in that process now of determining what is achievable in that realm,” Armstrong said.
In terms of a streaming service, Armstrong was short but said that fans can expect an announcement on that front this coming week.
Chris Armstrong shared that they will have a streaming service announcement for the Utah Hockey Club this week.#UtahHockeyClub #NHL
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 18, 2024
A new Utah Hockey Club app is now live on IOS. It looks very similarly to the Jazz+ and currently includes news, player insights, food and beverage orders, tickets and exclusive content.#UtahHockeyClub #NHL pic.twitter.com/3pTNmKbrZn
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 18, 2024
As the club heads into their inaugural season and continues to cross off a long list of to-do items before the puck drops on October 8, Armstrong shared that they are internally discussing naming a captain, but they currently do not have a timeline.
Chris Armstrong shared that they don’t have a timeline on naming a captain, but they are discussing it internally.#UtahHockeyClub #NHL
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 18, 2024
Armstrong also addressed several other key subjects such as the future of youth hockey in the state of Utah with the NHL’s arrival and plans to host a future Rookie Faceoff Tournament.
As for youth hockey, they do have plans to launch a new initiative but are also aware of the current programs in place and look forward to lifting those rather than replacing them. Additionally, the club has interest in hosting a Rookie Tournament in the future but are unsure of when or where that might be.
The Utah Hockey club will be launching a youth hockey initiative with more updates on that soon.#UtahHockeyClub #NHL
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 18, 2024
“We absolutely are launching a robust youth hockey initiative,” Armstrong shared. “But I also want to point out that there’s a great history of hockey already in the state and in this community. The Grizzlies have led the charge as professional organization for a number of years now. There’s great history in legacy and what they’ve done at the grassroots level in this community. So, we want to work collaboratively with the other stakeholders in the community to not only enhance the programs that already exist but then create new initiatives and programs.”
The Utah Hockey Club plans to host a rookie tournament at some point. Unsure of when or exactly where they will host the tournament but that is something they’re very interested in doing.#UtahHockeyClub #NHL
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 18, 2024
After missing rookie camp and the faceoff tournament last week, Tij Iginla’s status for training camp was addressed by General Manager Bill Armstrong right from the beginning of his availability.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that Iginla will be ready for camp from day one, but he is making progress, and they anticipate that he will suit up for the club towards the tail end with an opportunity to dress for an exhibition game.
Tij Iginla is still listed as day to day but they expect him to play towards the end of camp and hopefully make an exhibition game.#UtahHockeyClub #NHL
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 18, 2024
In regard to Iginla and their other recent draft selections, the Utah Hockey Club has one of the most impressive prospect pools in the entire league. After hitting the reset button on this franchise four years ago, Armstrong and the front office have been very strategic in acquiring as much young talent as possible and building up that pool.
According to him, their pool of prospects and current roster have them in the best shape overall in the NHL.
Bill Armstrong said that this team might be in the best shape in the entire league based off of their current roster, prospects, and draft picks.
Also shared they probably have the biggest development staff in the NHL.#UtahHockeyClub #NHL
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 18, 2024
“Out of all the teams, we might be in the best shape as an organization,” Armstrong said. “We don’t really have any bad contracts, we’ve got cap room to add, we’ve got a boatload of picks, and a boatload of prospects that are knocking on the door to become NHL players.”
After a busy summer of acquisitions, the Utah Hockey Club also made an emphasis to bring in veterans to not only sure up their blue line, but to add experienced talent that knows what it takes to win.
“You like to add those guys…they really add in a layer for coaches and players of someone of a championship pedigree. They know how to carry themselves in the good times and the bad. They know how to get down to the process every single day and work hard at it. I think the guys that we’ve added, Cole, Stenlund, Bortuzzo and Sergachev, they’ve won championships before. And they want to come in here and have the same success,” Bill Armstrong said.
As the first player to address the media, forward Lawson Crouse was able to share the team’s overall goal this season as they step into a new year with a strong core and several new additions. Clearly, this team believes they can win and have their sights set on bringing the Stanley Cup playoffs to Salt Lake City as soon as possible.
“We’ve got a lot of good core players, we brought on a lot of new great additions to our team that have won in this league, and they have Stanley Cups under their belt. So, I think with the young talent we have, the core, and the new guys that we picked up, it’s definitely going to be a good team atmosphere, each guy pushing to be better, pushing each other to be better and obviously playoffs is the ultimate goal for us,” Crouse said.
Lawson Crouse: “We all want to win, why not do it here?”#UtahHockeyClub #NHL
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 18, 2024
As their most talented defenseman from last season, Sean Durzi’s job was made a lot easier this offseason after the team added Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino and Ian Cole to the blue line. With so much more solidified talent on the backend, Utah will greatly benefit from their experience on and off the ice.
“When you make these additions, right away you look at the product on the ice as expected and it’s a great product what we’re getting. As a player on this team, you start to meet these guys and realize that what they bring off the ice is just as valuable. I think having them here not only helping us, but with their experience we’ve brought in some proven winners and to have that is pretty valuable.”
As a four-time All-Star and one of the primary leaders for the team, Clayton Keller was able to participate in one of the NHL’s media day events in Las Vegas last week.
During the event he was able to not only put on the Utah sweater for the first time but received a lot of compliments from other NHL players and staff members.
“It was super cool and super exciting,” Keller said. “All the comments that I got were good comments, everyone liked the colors and just how clean the jerseys looked. I’m super excited to put it on for the first time in a game.”
Another talented forward who is one of the team’s primary sources of offense, Nick Schmaltz is not only excited for this new chapter of Utah hockey but has felt immediate stability from the Smith Entertainment Group that will help the team be more successful.
“We’re super excited. We loved our time in Arizona but we’re really looking forward to this new chapter. You can see how all in this town, state, and the ownership is for this team. I think they’re doing everything they can. They’re building practice facilities; they’re redoing the rink here in a matter of months. So, it’s pretty impressive, we really appreciate all that just to get us ready for this year,” Schmaltz said.
One of the most talented young players for the Utah Hockey Club and potentially the future face of the franchise, Logan Cooley has been busy this offseason as he looks to take a sizable step this season in terms of impact and production.
According to Cooley, this has been the most productive summer in terms of development that he’s had in his career.
“This past summer has been the best summer I’ve had,” Cooley said. “Been able to skate with a lot of great players like Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller. The training I got this year, Mark Gaydos worked with the Florida Panthers and a little bit with the Penguins. So, it’s been an unreal summer and like I said, it’s the best that I think I’ve had and I’m excited to get going here with the season.”
Fans can watch the Utah Hockey Club’s first game on October 8 against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. Click here for the full schedule.
