Kevin Stenlund #82 of the Florida Panthers celebrates with the Stanley Cup following a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game Seven of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on June 24, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – On June 24, 2024, the Florida Panthers led the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals and when the final buzzer sounded, Kevin Stenlund was a Stanely Cup Champion. Now months later and as a member of the Utah Hockey Club, Stenlund finally received his championship ring and has been making an impact on a young team with his invaluable experience.
Gave a ring to our friend last night!
Congrats, Stenny 👏 pic.twitter.com/z2IEyUliDP
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) January 8, 2025
Generally, after a franchise wins the Stanely Cup, its fairly common for their roster to look a little different the following season.
Championship teams will usually invest more in key players while letting others walk who may have captured the interest of opposing teams based on their successful playoff performance.
After signing with Utah during the offseason, Stenlund has been a true veteran with a plethora of experience on a developing team.
“He is a big part of what we’ve done since the start of the season…He’s a good model for our team. He’s been a productive player in the minors, a really offensive player, a power play guy. He found his way through Winnipeg and then went to Florida in that role and won a Stanley Cup,” Head coach Andre Tourigny said.
“It’s a good model for our guys. It’s a good example and you can really see he’s embraced that role. That’s the player he is and that’s the player he wants to be…he brings a lot to our team.”
Stenlund in not a flashy player that will lead an NHL team in assists or scoring, but he’s a very important skater who plays to his strengths and fulfills a necessary role.
Whether it’s locking things down on the PK, dominating the face-off circle, or making an impact on the fourth line, specialists like Stenlund are critical to any NHL roster.
“Stenny is the best, I miss him a ton.” Florida Panthers star, Matthew Tkachuk said. “He was such a crucial part for our team…he was so important for us and kind of silent in how important he was. What a great guy. We miss him a lot and he’s doing great this year in Utah.”
Since joining the Utah Hockey Club, Stenlund has been having a career-year as he’s registered seven goals and four assists in just 39 games.
He also leads the team in the face-off circle at 59.9 percent and has played a huge role on the fourth line.
“He really built his game over the course of the year. From style of play to finding that role that’s valued in the room so that we get into the playoffs last year,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said.
“He’s just as important as everybody else because he had such an important role for us, and he found his place, he found his way, and he was a great player for us.”
This past offseason, the Utah Hockey Club made an effort to bring in a collection of championship experience.
In addition to Stenlund, Utah also acquired former champions Mikhail Sergachev, Ian Cole and Robert Bortuzzo.
The reason? In order to build a championship culture, you need to surround yourself with those who know what it takes to reach the top.
Kevin Stenlund on his Championship experience & Utah’s potential: “It’s a culture thing. We’re trying to build something up here. Step by step we’re trying to be a better team, a better organization…We have a lot of talent..we’ve just got to focus on the small things…” pic.twitter.com/CKMB1ixI1l
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) January 8, 2025
“It’s a culture thing,” Stenlund said. “We’re trying to build something up here. Step by step we’re trying to be a better team, a better organization…We have a lot of talent…We’ve just got to focus on the small things…”
So, while Stenlund’s numbers aren’t going to jump off the scoring sheet, he’s still a very important piece for the Utah Hockey Club.
He’s been critical to their power kill, won big face-offs and is helping Utah begin to establish a championship culture as they pursue the next level of their rebuild in pursuit of the playoffs.
The Utah Hockey Club will now return home to face the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. The game can be viewed on TNT. 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.
