The puck drops for the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday night.
After the NHL board of governors unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Arizona Coyotes to Salt Lake City this past spring, Utah will make its debut against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.
“When this kind of happened, we were super excited to move to Utah,” said Clayton Keller, the leading scorer for the Coyotes last season. “New franchise, new ownership, and ownership that wants to win.”
The Coyotes were forced to play their final two seasons inside the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State, but Utah will compete inside the 20,000-seat Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz.
“Everywhere I go, people come to us and say they’re really happy to have us, and they’re excited about the season,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “You have to feel special, and you have to feel all-in and committed to deliver for those people.”
Arizona went 36-41-5 last season, its most points (77) since the 2018-19 campaign (86). Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said there are expectations for this season’s team, but they’re reasonable.
“It’s a very young group,” Armstrong said. “We’re in the fourth year of the rebuild … but what I can tell you is it’s an exciting team.”
Tourigny named Keller as team captain last week. The Coyotes drafted Keller seventh overall in 2016, and the 26-year-old has strung together two excellent seasons. He totaled 86 points (37 goals, 49 assists) in 82 games in 2022-23 before scoring 76 points (33 goals, 43 assists) in 78 games last season.
“He’s an elite player and competes with intensity and intention every day,” Tourigny said of Keller. “He is a high character person, has a deep, genuine care for his teammates and has the respect of everyone in the organization. He’ll be a great captain for us and I’m very happy to count on Clayton as our captain.”
The Blackhawks are ready for some improvement after failing to finish higher than sixth in the Central Division in each of the past seven seasons, including back-to-back eighth-place finishes the past two years.
“We have to change. I want to change,” Chicago forward Nick Foligno said at the end of last season. “We can’t go through this again, and I certainly won’t allow it. Either the mindset changes from the group or personnel changes.”
The Blackhawks will still revolve around center Connor Bedard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft who led Chicago with 61 points (22 goals, 39 assists) in 68 games as a rookie last season.
“He’s a dynamic player,” Chicago coach Luke Richardson said of Bedard. “He loves to have the puck.”
Richardson said Bedard reported to camp in excellent physical shape after management challenged him to make that a priority over the summer.
“He wants to be the best player, so he needs to be in the best shape, and he did that,” Richardson said. “Now, it’s just repetitions. He had a good experience in his first year. I think he’s going to get stronger and know when he needs to hold onto the puck and when he needs to get it off his stick earlier. Those things are going to come in time.”
–Field Level Media
