Instant Takeaways From Utah Hockey Club’s Training Camp: Day One

Sep 19, 2024 , 1:57 PM | Updated: Sep 20, 2024, 11:11 am
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COLE BAGLEY


Utah Hockey Club Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural training camp is now officially underway, providing a first look at the team as they make their final preparations for the 2024-25 season.

Here are the instant takeaways from day one of camp.

Young Players Josh Doan and Cole Beaudoin Getting After It

With one of the deepest prospect pools in the entire league, several of Utah’s most talented young players were full participants with the NHL skaters. Looking to make his first opening day roster, Josh Doan joined recent 2024 First round draft selection Cole Beaudoin on the ice and the two made a strong first impression.

During several drills, Doan was getting after it offensively as he not fought hard in the corners against the likes of Logan Cooley, but he also had some nice shots, including a quick snipe over the shoulder on Connor Ingram. He also won a collection of faceoffs against Cooley during a specific drill.

“What I saw from Doan today was a great stick, stripped a few pucks, took a few good shots,” Head Coach Andre Tourigny said. “What he can do, he’s a smart hockey player, he has a great hockey sense and good position. He goes at the net; he goes in the dirty area. He has an unbelievable feel for the game…he just knows the right thing to do.”

As for Beaudoin, the young draft pick was fearless throughout practice, attacking the net hard, parking on the doorstep and was even battling with Liam O’Brien repeatedly during a short-ice three-on-three drill. However, Beaudoin received no warm welcomes as teammate Dylan Guenther put him down on the ice when the two were fighting for positioning in front of the net.

“He was good. like expected, he was very heavy on pucks. Really, competitive, skated well, and paid attention. You could see that he was focused and urgent…I think he did a really good job,” Tourigny said.

Overall, a strong showing for some of the club’s premier young talent.

Mikhail Sergachev is as Advertised, Kailer Yamamoto Impresses After Day One

The Utah Hockey Club added a strong collection of new faces this past offseason as they attempt to strengthen their blue line unit. The biggest name they brought in was two-time Stanley Cup Champion and former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.

In day one, Sergachev demonstrated just about every reason the club went after him this summer.

After testing out his legs for a few minutes to begin, Sergachev got right after it as he was paired with Juuso Valimaki for most of the day. Together, the pair played incredibly fast, physical and Sergachev’s offensive talent was on full display.

Whether it was slapshots, snapshots, or wristers, Sergachev let the puck fly throughout training and even lit the lamp a few times. In addition to his defense, Sergachev’s skillset is going to raise the ceiling for this team and what they can accomplish.

As for Kailer Yamamoto, he too was impressive and has every reason to compete hard as he is currently on a PTO contract. During training, Yamamoto was scrappy, physical, fast and scored on multiple occasions. If he can continue to bring that same level of energy and production, he has a great chance of making Utah’s roster.

Utah Hockey Club’s Offensive and Defensive Lines

While the lines from the first day are certainly subject to change, day one of training camp provided a first look at how the opening day lines may look for the Utah Hockey Club.

Unsurprisingly, Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton ran the first line and they were productive as usual. However, several of the other lines looked a bit different than what has been projected.

On the second line, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther were joined by Jack McBain while Lawson Crouse moved to the third with Matias Maccelli and Alexander Kerfoot. The final two lines were Liam O’Brien, Kevin Stenlund and Kailer Yamamoto while Josh Doan, Michael Carcone, Andrew Agozzino and Cole Beaudoin took reps on the final line.

“Cooley will play center, McBain will play on the wing…he’ll bring the physicality and the net presence and speed. He plays with a lot of pace so I think he can be a good compliment to Cooley and Guenther. We’ll try different stuff so don’t fall in love with anything yet,” Tourigny said.

Again, these lines might change but for now that’s how the forwards are shaping up. Notably the second line update with McBain provides a big body who can create space for Cooley and Guenther to score. As for the third line, pairing Maccelli and Crouse might make it a bit more productive as Maccelli is simply a maestro with the puck.

Defensively, Sergachev joined Valimaki while Sean Durzi was with Ian Cole and Robert Bortuzzo was paired with Patrik Coch. However, the lines changed quite a bit and likely will continue to do so throughout camp.

“On our pairings we have puck movement and guys who defend hard and are heavy. I think we have a good balance in each of our pairings,” Tourigny said.

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Utah Hockey Schedule

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. 

Cole Bagley is the Utah Hockey Club insider for KSL Sports. Keep up with him on X here. You can hear Cole break down the team on KSL Sports Zone and KSL 5 TV.

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