Utah is Ready to Take the Next Steps

One year after Utah Hockey Club came to be, the organization reflected on the inaugural season and the success both on and off the ice. There was one shared theme from management, coaches, and players – this is just the beginning.

Utah was competitive throughout the season, picking up wins over top teams and fighting for a playoff spot through the final stretch of games. The entire group took a step on the ice, and the team can use this season’s experience to help them in their pursuit of a postseason berth.

“What we learned down the stretch and what they’ll continue to learn … it’s hard,” General Manager Bill Armstrong explained. “There’s not an ounce of space that’s given out there (in the playoffs). It’s hard, physical, competitive hockey.”

“I talked about this when we came in a year ago,” Armstrong continued. “Just about seeing if we could put our group in a situation where we could play a little bit of that hockey down the stretch and we were able to. All the games were meaningful, we were under tremendous pressure … It’s a battle and I like what we went through. I think it prepared us for next season.”

“It is (a long season) and every game matters,” Dylan Guenther said about the season and fighting for the playoffs. “I think the position that we’re in, fighting down the stretch, the games in October and November, they all matter. I think it was good to go through that and understand and have that feeling so when we come into it next year we’re prepared.”

Not making the playoffs is motivation for the group after being so close and ending the season only seven points out.

“Having the push and being in those tight games down the stretch, I know we didn’t get the job done, but at the same time, that learning experience is so important for every single guy in the room,” Sean Durzi shared. “We’re in that situation, we know what it’s like to be in those high-pressure moments. We all wanted to win more than you can even think about. But at the same time, you got to sit back now, and we’re all thinking, ‘okay where’s the growth from that? How do we learn from that and how can we be better.’”

Off the ice, Utah connected with its community, grew support, and motivated the Beehive state.

“I think the thing we’re all most proud of is the way that we connected with the community here this year,” Team President Chris Armstrong explained. “I think it was an extraordinary thing to be a part of and to experience and to feel. The best example, the energy in the building every night, was extraordinary and exceptional. Opening Night, even if you go back to the welcome event with the players. Very few of us have had the opportunity in careers and professional sports, regardless of the sport, to be in an environment like that where you felt that pride for the team, the pride for Utah.

“It translated throughout the season as a real rallying point for our team,” Chris Armstrong continued. “The gravitas, the magnitude of what we were creating for the people of Utah, it’s a great responsibility that we take very seriously, and I think that’s probably the thing I’m most proud of, to see how we’ve connected in the community. When you’re out and about, people tell you how much the team means to them or how they’ve connected with one of their kids by going to Utah Hockey Club games, and that’s transformed the relationship they have in their household. Those are the things that we do it for.”

The players felt the community’s support throughout the season. Sold-out games lead to Delta Center becoming one of the loudest arenas in the NHL. Supporters showed up to events and wore their team gear proudly. This dedication was a key part to Utah’s success on the ice.

“We are hockey players, but we can’t do it without the community,” Lawson Crouse explained. “The fans all-season have been tremendous. Every time we step on to the ice, it’s the loudest rink in the league when we play. I have friends throughout the league that say when they play here, it’s a lot of fun to play here”

“For us players here, we don’t take it for granted,” Crouse continued. “I think that energy that they bring really pushed us forward. The love and support that we got from them all season, I can’t wait to see where that goes in the future.”

Over the off-season, management will work on strengthening the roster and evaluating the talent throughout the organization's depth chart. Players will train and prepare to come back stronger next season. Utah Hockey Club is on the rise, and everyone involved in the organization is bought in.

“How we are improving as a group, how our fans are improving, how management is improving, it’s exciting for me,” Mikhail Sergachev shared. “We’re not standing still; we’re moving forward and that’s very exciting. I love it here, Utah’s my home now. I think I could live here after, when I’m retired. I love this place. People are very nice, it’s great.”

“I’m super excited about our group,” Captain Clayton Keller shared. “I’m so confident in our guys, our prospects, we just have a great mix of guys who all love being around each other and everyone’s a family on our team.”

“I think we have a really talented, unique young core that not a lot of teams in the NHL have,” Keller continued. “I think it’s awesome. It’s super motivating. We all want to win and that’s most exciting about next year for sure.”