SALT LAKE CITY – After signing an eight-year contract with the Utah Hockey Club during training camp, forward Dylan Guenther has already begun earning every penny. With a team-high four goals in the preseason and two in the regular season home opener, including the first goal in franchise history, Guenther is proving that he is a rising NHL star.
It didn’t take long for the Utah Hockey Club to recognize Guenther’s remarkable talent. After recording 35 points in just 45 appearances a season ago, the front office quickly realized they had struck gold and wasted no time in locking Guenther up long-term.
Here for the long haul. 👊
We’ve signed Dylan Guenther to an eight-year contract. pic.twitter.com/7MQxkG8N0s
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) September 20, 2024
While he’s more than just a pure goal scorer, lighting the lamp is arguably what he does best. With a deadly accurate shot from anywhere inside the zone, he poses as a constant threat. He also has a high-level of awareness and elite positioning which allows him to consistently find open areas of the ice to shoot from. Simply put, Guenther is about as dangerous as they come.
Additionally, Guenther is a talented creator as he is able to utilize the attention he draws to create opportunities for his teammates. He also has great hands, is a solid contributor to special teams and plays hard on both ends of the ice.
“He’s a heck of a player,” Head coach André Tourigny said. “People see him just as a goal-scorer and he’s way more than that. He handles the puck well, he defends well, he works hard, he’s a good forechecker, he’s got a great stick, he’s good on the PK, he does way more than shooting…he’s way more than just a shooter.”
Ahead of the Utah Hockey Club’s home opener, newly appointed captain Clayton Keller gazed into his Crystal Ball and saw the future as he correctly predicted that Guenther would score the first goal in franchise history.
@utahhockeyclub Cap called it 🤙 #Goal #NHL #Hockey #Calledit ♬ original sound – Utah Hockey Club
Early on in the first period, Utah fans witnessed what Keller predicted as Guenther called for the puck, smashed a one-timer from above the face-off circles and sent the Delta Center into a frenzy after lighting the lamp for the first time in Utah’s history.
Well-orchestrated breakout, great crash by Cooley, and Guenther one-times it to score the first goal in Utah Hockey Club history. Poetry in motion. https://t.co/ZTCZ34DQjQ
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 9, 2024
“He’s a special player. He works super hard. He’s so talented and a guy that I loved playing with the last year and a half or so. He’s going to be a huge part of our team and he’s a star for sure,” Keller said.
As the game continued, Guenther and his linemates were a problem all night for Chicago as they created a plethora of opportunities, maintained suffocating possession in the offensive zone, rang a few off the post and eventually, Guenther doubled his goal total with a second late in the third period on an open net.
Guenther, AGAIN!
4-2, #UtahHC. pic.twitter.com/ZsENZ6msmb
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) October 9, 2024
Sure, there was no goaltender as the Blackhawks elected to go with an extra attacker, but Guenther still hustled in after a shot went wide and he cleaned it up into the open net to secure the victory.
What fans are seeing from Guenther is just a taste of what the next near decade is going to look like from No. 11. He’s remarkably gifted in so many ways and will have the opportunity to be a primary points leader for Utah for many years to come.
The Utah Hockey Club will now head to New York to take on the New York Islanders on Thursday night. 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.
