Author: Jesse

While Utah Hockey Club fans continue to fill Delta Center during the team’s inaugural season, they’ll soon have to button up to enjoy the game in the elements.

Speaking on the NashCast during Utah’s game Thursday night, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed the team will host one of the league’s popular outdoor games.

“Utah is going to get an outdoor game and it’s going to be great because I know that the reaction from the community is going to be as good as we’ve ever seen,” the commissioner said.

Bettman added that the league has already scouted Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah campus where the game will likely take place.

“This is just an ideal situation for us,” Bettman said. “So yes, an outdoor game is in Utah’s future.”

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At 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 22, Nikita Kucherov and Clayton Keller will go toe-to-toe in a contest between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center.

You can tune in to ESPN+ to catch the action as the Utah Hockey Club try to take down the Lightning.

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How to Watch Lightning vs. Utah Hockey Club

Watch 1,000+ out-of-market NHL games, ESPN+ Hockey Night & more streaming all season on ESPN+.

Lightning vs. Utah Hockey Club Stat Rankings

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Lightning’s Top Scorers

• Jake Guentzel: 33 goals and 31 assists
• Brandon Hagel: 32 goals and 43 assists
• Brayden Point: 32 goals and 34 assists
• Andrei Vasilevskiy: 33-18-3 record, .919 save percentage, 119 goals allowed

Utah Hockey Club’s Top Scorers

• Dylan Guenther: 25 goals and 24 assists
• Keller: 24 goals and 52 assists
• Logan Cooley: 19 goals and 32 assists
• Karel Vejmelka: 20-18-6 record, .908 save percentage, 111 goals conceded

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Upcoming Lightning Games

• March 22 at Utah Hockey Club: 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (Watch on Fubo)
• March 23 at Golden Knights: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (Watch on Fubo)
• March 25 vs. Penguins: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (Watch on Fubo)
• March 27 vs. Utah Hockey Club: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (Watch on Fubo)
• March 29 vs. Islanders: 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 1 at Islanders: 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 3 at Senators: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 5 at Sabres: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 7 at Rangers: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 9 vs. Maple Leafs: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 11 vs. Red Wings: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 13 vs. Sabres: 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 15 vs. Panthers: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 17 at Rangers: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Upcoming Utah Hockey Club Games

• March 22 vs. Lightning: 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (Watch on Fubo)
• March 24 vs. Red Wings: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (Watch on Fubo)
• March 27 at Lightning: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ (Watch on Fubo)
• March 28 at Panthers: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• March 30 at Blackhawks: 4 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 1 vs. Flames: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 3 vs. Kings: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 5 vs. Jets: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 8 vs. Kraken: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 10 vs. Predators: 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 12 at Stars: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 14 at Predators: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+
• April 15 at Blues: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+

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On Monday, March 17, James Mirtle of the Athletic put out an article ranking every NHL owner from 1-32, based on surveyed responses from over 4000 readers, including fans of every NHL team.

With the rankings being based on four categories—”willingness to spend, organizational stability, treatment of the fan base, and franchise vision”—combined with Mirtle’s own analysis of various factors for each team, it was determined that Utah Hockey Club owner Ryan Smith was rated eighth best in the league, scoring a B+.

When asked about the high ranking and the team’s own experience with the ownership, head coach André Tourigny said: “In reality, I’m sure he [Ryan Smith] was top three, but they just put him top ten.”

Simply put, Tourigny agrees with the positive sentiment, but thinks that the newness of Utah Hockey Club still has put Smith too low with the grading.

“For our experience, I think the proximité, that we treat the player, the human values of SEG, you know, our entire organization, is unreal,” said Tourigny. “So we’re super grateful for Ryan and Ashley and the ownership group, I think that it’s an honor and privilege to play for them.

With it not being a year removed from the official relocation of the formerly known Arizona Coyotes, it’s got to be an encouraging sight to see such raving sentiments offered from the head coach who started his career in Arizona.

And if the coach of the team you own likes you, that’s going to significantly help with developing relationships with the actual players on the roster.

“Even when you talk to the players they feel great about this organization, about living in Salt Lake City… their relationship with the fans,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Utah HC’s latest NashCast broadcast. “But it all starts again, not to repeat myself, it starts with ownership and to have this good of a situation is because of ownership. “

Smith’s positive relationships with the team itself are probably one of the most important things he needed to do to integrate the team into its new reality in Utah.

Being part of a newly purchased team that still lacks an official name is certainly interesting from a business perspective in the NHL. However, the move itself lacks a sense of community and fan engagement, and it fails to consider the feelings of the people on the team.

“I mean, this is a little bit crazy,” Smith said on Utah HC’s recent NashCast during Utah’s bizarre 5-2 win against Buffalo. “I try not to have pictures in my head of what it all is supposed to look like because a lot of the times you undershoot it. I mean, it hasn’t been 12 months… and [we] said, hey, you’re all coming to Utah. I don’t care how many years you’re in business or in leadership or how many teams you’ve been on, there’s nothing that prepares you for that.”

But Smith’s care for this team truly is a sight that should give hope to the team and any future players, coaches, and staff that may join the organization in years to come.

But it’s not just his care for people like Tourigny that has given Smith his early popularity, it’s also his care for the community.

He had already made a big impact on the Utah Jazz fans, who had already “taken note” of the new hockey team. Simply seeing a team owned by the same people as its NBA brothers in the Utah Jazz was already going to serve as a major selling point and entice people to root for this new NHL team.

“Legitimately, I turn the corner and I start seeing people four blocks away coming and I was like those people would not have been downtown tonight…,” said Smith. “I think we said that the impact of the NHL was going to be big, I don’t think we’ve still anticipated, like, what happens [with this still.]”

Utah HC Drops UtahHC+ Service To $1 For Rest Of The Season Utah Hockey Club owner Ryan Smith loves his fans, and it shows after the announcement made today.

With Smith already popular in Utah as the successor to a beloved Utah Jazz team and for guaranteeing that the team would remain in the state, his success in bringing an NHL team to Utah has likely only further boosted his popularity.

While Smith’s positive image was already going to get Utahns curious about this team, having himself engaged with the team early on was very important, especially if it was going to directly help the community.

After all, when Smith introduced the friendly menu used at Jazz and Utah HC games, it was a hit and well-liked by the community.

Recently, Smith has committed to helping the community in new ways by pushing the price of Utah HC+ to just $1 per month for Utah’s remaining games or explaining what he envisions Utah HC’s “summer project” to look like on X/Twitter:

“Ryan’s articulation of what Utah means, what hockey means, what the Hockey Club means, the relationship with the community, his vision, and the organizations ability to execute took his situation, that we [already] thought would be good, and took it to a whole nother level and made it great,” said Bettman. “And I only see great things for this team and this city…”

Smith showing that he really cares about Utah by finding various ways to continue helping the community will end up leading to fans connecting with both the team and its ownership.

Plus, it always helps when the team itself is in a position as interesting as Utah, who is currently vying for a playoff spot.

But considering Utah was struggling to win at home, going 5-8-4 in its first 17 home games before its recent home success, going 9-5-3 in its next 17 home games, it wasn’t Utah’s success at home that was inspiring fans to invest in this team, but rather the exciting new team that Smith had brought to Utah.

But while it’s the players and coaches job to generate the most excitement for the team, there have been ways that Smith has kept things exciting for Utahns too.

Utah Hockey Club Files Trademark Hinting At Possible Team Name According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Uyte LLC—the same company that filed previous trademarks for the Utah Hockey Club—has now filed a trademark for the nickname “Mammoth.”

Delivering on bringing an NHL team to Utah already offered its fair share of buzz and excitement not just locally, but nationally as well. But Smith finding ways to really lean into the excitement has been another reason why Smith is well-liked.

One way Smith has done this is by holding multiple fan votes for the team’s name. This has given fans a way to stay engaged with Utah HC while also allowing them to feel personally involved in the naming process of the team.

Another way Smith has built excitement is by stating that he is looking to bring an NHL outdoor series game to Utah.

But now, instead of it being a tease and something hockey fans hope will happen some day, now there is virtually no doubt that it will happen after Bettman with the NHL said the outdoor game would “absolutely” happen during his NashCast broadcast appearance.

“Utah’s going to get an outdoor game,” said Bettman. “We’re not going to break news because I don’t have a date yet, but we’re working on it.”

With Bettman also stating that the NHL has looked the University of Utah as the site for the game, there is sure to be plenty of buzz among both Utah HC fans and Utahns alike once the game is officially set.

Ryan Smith Teases Outdoor NHL Game in Utah In a recent tweet, Utah Hockey Club owner Ryan Smith teased that an outdoor NHL is coming to Utah in response to a question posed by Utah Jazz analyst Holly Rowe.  

With everything Smith has done, it’s clear why he has gotten so much support from people like Tourigny, Utah HC fans and even the NHL commissioner himself.

What will continue to cement Smith as a “B+” graded owner, if not higher, is his commitment to making his contributions to the team part of a long-term plan.

If the effort he’s putting in only lasts for a year, people will start to lose interest in Utah HC, even with a new name and potential playoff berths on the horizon.

If Smith can find ways to keep promoting Utah HC while using it to directly benefit the community, then maybe he really will be on track to becoming a “top 3” owner in the league.

Back in 2022 when Will Hardy was making the decision on whether he would remain with the Boston Celtics as an assistant coach or take the job as the new head coach of the Utah Jazz, there were a lot of things to consider.

Obviously the opportunity to be a head coach in the NBA is one that is hard to pass on, but there was a lot of unknown in Utah. The Jazz were looking at what a tear down and rebuild might look like, they were under new ownership and in general, the future of the team was uncertain.

In Boston, Hardy wouldn’t be running the show, but the team had just been to the NBA Finals. The Celtics were a team on the rise, one that looked destined to win a title, which they did in 2024.

But there were a number of ways the Jazz appealed to Hardy, despite some of the unknowns, and one of the reasons was Danny Ainge.

“I didn’t know Danny before,” Hardy said, “but his reputation speaks for itself. His level of success and the work that he’s done speaks for itself.

“It gave me a lot of comfort that he’s seen the league from 360 degrees — player, coach, GM, media — and so there’s not a lot that surprises D.A.”

There has to be a level of buy in from a new head coach. They have to believe in the vision of those that are making decisions on players and contracts and strategy, and Ainge has a wealth of knowledge to pull from when it comes to making basketball decisions.

Ainge was a player for 14 years and worked as an assistant coach and head coach before becoming the long time front office guru in Boston.

He was the person who created the Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen team that won the 2008 NBA title and was the person responsible for drafting a number of players on the Celtics roster who went on to win the 2022 title.

Many of the same players from that 2022 team whom Ainge drafted — Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard — have helped the Celtics to a 50+ win record this season, including a 121-99 win over the Jazz on Friday night, and they look poised to once again compete for a title.

Ainge stepped away from his position with the Celtics in 2021 before eventually taking a job with the Jazz.

The situations that led up to Boston’s two recent titles and the current rebuild in Utah are massively different in a number of ways — market, assets, draft capital, coaching, conference, roster makeup, types of players available etc. — and there are certainly those who would disagree with the way the Jazz have approached the last couple of years.

But there are many who believe in how the Jazz are attempting to create a team that can be successful long term, and one of those people is Will Hardy, though it’s not just the presence of Ainge that has Hardy bought in.

“It’s the totality of Danny, (team owner) Ryan (Smith), (general manager) Justin (Zanik), like that gave me all the comfort in the world that I was going to go work with three people who were not only intelligent and successful, but are driven to try to make this place a championship level organization…and they also let me do my thing,” Hardy said.

“They let me coach. They’ve let me hire a staff. They’ve let me have a lot of discussions with them as it relates to draft, free agents, all those types of things. They keep me very included in all the conversations.”

Buy in, of course, does not guarantee success. There is no guarantee in professional sports, but when Hardy surveyed the landscape and saw that Ainge was going to be a part of executing the vision that all of the Jazz decision makers had, it made for an easy decision.

“It was daunting in that moment,” Hardy said of the interview and decision process of becoming the Jazz head coach. “Like, that’s where you’re forming those relationships and you’re interviewing, and it’s just uncomfortable in general, but Danny was, for sure, a big part of being comfortable.”

The Boston Celtics kicked off their six-game road trip with an emphatic win over the Utah Jazz, sweeping the series against a rebuilding team out of the Western conference. With Jaylen Brown sidelined for Friday and Sunday’s game at minimum, the Celtics needed their other top stars to step up and they did just that in the 121-99 win where Kristaps Porzingis (27 points, 10 rebounds) and Jayson Tatum (26 points, 6 rebounds) paved the way for victory.

Boston’s win was their fourth straight overall, and their ninth win in the past 10 games, only losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this month. Showing their true championship form, Boston got ahead and never looked back against a team they were supposed to beat, and look to keep their momentum going during the late stretch of the season.

After one day of spring camp, there were a lot of things to be said about Utah’s new offense.

“I think it’s going to be electric,” junior defensive end Logan Fano said.

“I like this offense,” junior cornerback Smith Snowden added. “That’s what I want to say. This offense is really good. We have a lot of crafty players. Obviously, having [Devon Dampier] out there controlling the O is going to be a great thing. I love it.”

For now, newly-hired offensive coordinator Jason Beck has passed his first test.

So has quarterback Devon Dampier, who transferred from New Mexico to Utah this offseason. He’ll bring a dynamic new direction under center. The junior is a dual-threat quarterback, passing for 2,798 yards and running for another 1,166 in 2024 with the Lobos.

Dampier is likely to be the face of Utah’s new offense. But some of the other pieces are starting to come together, as well.

“He put up some pretty good numbers, throwing the football, rushing the football last year,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said of Dampier. “So, it was a very prolific offense. Wayshawn Parker, he’s a dynamic running back. We’ve got a very good offensive line, at least we think we do.

“Obviously you want to play to the quarterback’s strengths, which is what we’ll do, and we know exactly what those are based on his production last year.”

With an influx of new talent, the Utes have renewed energy as well.

It comes at a critical time after their disappointing 5-7 campaign.

“There’s a lot of energy on this football team right now,” Whittingham said. “That was evident all throughout the winter conditioning. This team really has a lot of positive energy. That’s a good thing.

“The guys that are new to the program and the new coaching staff [are infusing] a lot of energy, and so I think that is very apparent. That’s a big difference.”

The jury will still be out until the Utes hit the field this fall, but early impressions are positive.

Utah needs that, especially after its offensive unit finished third to last in the Big 12 in 2024.

“Coach Beck and the staff did a great job of moving things around,” Fano said.

Utah’s new-look defensive line

After an offseason of turnover, the Utes will have a new-look defensive line in 2025.

Former defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa — who was one of the best defensive tackles in the Big 12 last season — went portaling before joining forces with BYU. Junior Tafuna is going to the 2025 NFL Draft.

Defensive ends Van Fillinger and Connor O’Toole are testing their draft luck, too.

The Utes will now shift their focus to new defensive end transfers Lance Holtzclaw (Washington) and Jaxson Jones (Oregon), who were both reserves at their previous schools. Logan Fano is also returning, and he finished with 35 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2024.

He was complimentary of Utah’s new transfers.

“They are ballers,” Fano said “It’s always been like that here in Utah. Ever since my first season here, just from top to bottom. There’s so much talent here, and Jackson and Lance fit right into that.”

With the loss of Tafuna and Tanuvasa, the Utes will hand the keys to defensive tackles Aliki Vimahi and Dallas Vakalahi, who combined to have four tackles for a loss last season.

Whittingham is confident in the depth at the position.

“The D-tackle room is solid, we’ve got Aliki Vimahi, who is the real veteran in the room, and then Dallas Vakalahi played a lot of snaps for us last year,” Whittingham said. “But beyond that, we’re going to have to have a couple of young guys step up as contributors this year.”

Last season, the defensive line was one of the Utes’ biggest strengths. Their defense finished third in the Big 12, behind Houston and BYU.

They’ll hope to have that carry over through the spring and, ultimately, the 2025 season.

“Say what you want to about it,” Fano said. “That’s why you play for Utah football, and you don’t just come play defensive line here unless you’re really good at it. So that’s kind of how we’re pushing it.”

Smith Snowden focused on leadership

With the losses of cornerbacks Zemaiah Vaughn, Cam Calhoun and Kenan Johnson this offseason, Smith Snowden is ready to step up as a leader.

The now-junior cornerback played in all 12 games for the Utes last season, starting in 11 of those contests at nickel. He quickly established himself as one of the best corners in the conference, racking up two interceptions, eight pass breakups and 48 total tackles last season.

Snowden plans to use 2024’s performance as something to build off of.

“Having a full year of starting, obviously, I was able to make mistakes and learn from them,” Snowden said. “I feel like going into this season, I want to learn from what happened last year and build off of it.”

He also knows that passing down Utah’s culture to the new transfer and freshman players matters.

“We’re just building on our culture, that’s a big thing here,” he added. “The culture of Utah in general, is about putting your head down and going to work every single day. … I feel like those guys are really starting to take that in.”

Another player looking to take the next step is Elijah “Scooby” Davis, who is entering his sophomore year. Not only has he seen growth in himself but also new transfer corners like Blake Cotton and Don Saunders.

“A lot of new guys are coming in,” said Davis, who finished with 29 tackles and two interceptions a season ago. “They are learning the playbook fast. And right now, we are not really judging them too much because they are still learning, but I feel like it’s gonna be a good cornerback room. I like the new guys we brought in.

“I feel like we have a lot of length, but we haven’t been able to see a lot right now, so we’ll see what happens in 15 days.”

Both Davis and Snowden, and Utah’s bevy of new cornerback transfers, will be integral to carrying over Utah’s defensive success from last season.

“We are competing every day,” Davis said. “We’ve been competing all winter. So, I’m excited to see what’s up in the spring.”