LAS VEGAS -- Bill Daly said he’s impressed with how quickly the Utah Hockey Club is getting its affairs in order since more than 12,000 fans packed the Delta Center in Salt Lake City for their first in-person look at players and coaches on April 24.
It was a welcome-to-the-NHL moment for the team, which had been established six days earlier, and the community greeted its members with open arms as they walked onto the stage inside the rink to be introduced.
The ensuing 19 weeks have seen a flurry of activity for the new franchise, ranging from participating in its first NHL Draft, to hiring a broadcast team, to preparing a temporary practice facility, to revealing the official team colors and jerseys, to selecting an ice crew.
The citizens of Utah have noticed. And so has the League.
“I think the fan base in and around Salt Lake City is energized to embrace them,” Daly, the NHL’s Deputy Commissioner, said at the NHL North American Player Media Tour on Tuesday. “You saw that a few months ago with the introduction of the team. It’s going to be that times three-fold or four-fold when they actually start play. It’s exciting, exciting for them, exciting for the National Hockey League.
“They guaranteed us they could do this, and they’ve met every promise along the way. They’ve made unbelievable accomplishments this summer, gearing up, getting ready to play …
“It’s very gratifying to see. It’s exciting. I think the players are really excited, and I think the organization is over the top excited.”
They have reason to be.
It was the vision of local businessman Ryan Smith and wife Ashley to bring an NHL team to Utah, and the organization has been on the gas pedal since that goal became reality almost five months ago to make sure things are in order for the start of the 2024-25 season.
During the 2024 NHL Draft on June 28 at Sphere in Las Vegas, Utah made its inaugural pick a memorable one, using the No. 6 selection to take forward Tij Iginla, son of Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla. The 18-year-old was the first of 11 players selected by the team.
Since then, preparations have accelerated.
Final touches are being made on the team’s temporary practice facility at the Utah Olympic Oval, featuring refurbished locker rooms, a new ice sheet and team banners dangling from the walls. The team’s permanent state-of-the-art practice facility is expected to be completed next year.
On Saturday about 60 people tried out for 20 spots on the team’s ice crew. With just four weeks remaining until Utah’s regular-season opener against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 8, it was another box the organization could check off.
To that end, the organization last week unveiled its broadcast team led by play-by-play man Matt McConnell. Former NHLer Dominic Moore and Nick Olczyk, son of former NHLer Ed Olczyk, will serve as color commentators.
