Head coach Andre Tourigny of the yet to be named NHL Utah hockey team speaks during a news conference at the Delta Center on April 24, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The NHL has allowed the sale of the Arizona Coyotes and the team will relocate to Salt Lake City, Utah.(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Ahead of the Utah Hockey Club’s preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, head coach André Tourigny shared his thoughts and several updates from training camp.
Here are three things we learned from Tourigny’s press conference.
After sustaining an upper body injury, Utah Hockey Club forward Nick Bjugstad has been a scratch during camp. While he did take the ice this morning alongside Nick Schmaltz before the official morning skate took place, it will still be some time before Bjugstad is ready to return to the roster.
Schmaltz and Bjugstad getting in some work before everyone else this morning. #UtahHockeyClub #NHL pic.twitter.com/SAe5jwsyEC
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 27, 2024
“He’s quite far away, weeks still.” Tourigny said.
However, for Nick Schmaltz who has been sidelined since Monday for “maintenance,” he is good to go and should return to practice tomorrow.
“Schmaltz is good to go, probably tomorrow for practice. If it would have been in the season, he would’ve missed a practice, not a game. Just want to make sure…just maintenance, nothing major.” Tourigny said.
While Schmaltz is set to return, Bjugstad will likely miss some time at the beginning of the regular season. With him sidelined, that will obviously impact the opening night roster and provide an opportunity for several forwards to continue fighting for a spot.
Speaking of the forwards, the Utah Hockey Club has their work cut out for them as they have a collection of talented wings but only so many spots on the roster.
Not only will the club have to pivot once Bjugstad returns, but currently Josh Doan, Michael Carcone, Liam O’Brien and Kailer Yamamoto are battling for what should be only two open spots.
That complicates things but is certainly a problem you want to have as a head coach.
“It will be tough at the end. Every day you are starting to look at the numbers, you look at how much we have to cut, and it will be a tough decision. It’s a great problem to have, that’s perfect. We’ll have a good player who unfortunately will not be able to find a spot so it’s their job to keep making our job as miserable as possible,” Tourigny said.
Like he said, it’s up to the players to continue making the coaching staff’s job difficult and tonight nearly all of them can as Carcone, Doan and Yamamoto will take the ice against Vegas.
The buzz around camp this week has been the return of 2024 No. 6 overall pick Tij Iginla who recently returned to the roster after being sidelined due to a lower body injury.
Following a solid week of camp, including a day of practice with group A, Iginla is looking good and will have an opportunity to dress on Sunday as long as he continues to progress.
Coach Bear on whether or not Tij Iginla will play during the preseason: “If everything goes well, practice tomorrow, we can hope for him to be in on Sunday.”#UtahHockeyClub #NHL pic.twitter.com/lZnqJdnqex
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 27, 2024
“He will play on the third squad today,” Tourigny said. “If everything goes well, practice tomorrow, we can hope for him to be in on Sunday.”
In his first week back, Iginla has looked really good. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by injury and has been excellent offensively per usual. Based on how he’s looked, barring something unusual, he should dress for Utah on Sunday.
The Utah Hockey Club will continue their preseason against the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night at T-Mobile Arena. The game can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on air on the KSL Sports APP or on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.
