Utah Hockey Club preps for preseason debut amid 'huge excitement'

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Hockey Club is ready for yet another first.

Fans will get to see Utah play for the first time when the team opens its preseason against the St. Louis Blues at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday (7 p.m. ET).

“I think there's huge excitement around the city, you can kind of feel it now,” said forward Josh Doan, who is looking to make the opening-night roster for the first time in his NHL career.

“I think [Sunday] is when it'll feel the most real as there's going to be a game being played and you're going to be able to check in on stats and see how your team's doing for the first time which is always exciting.”

While the excitement is there for the first preseason game in franchise history, it’s also an opportunity for the players to continue preparing for the upcoming season. The first regular-season game in Utah history is Oct. 8 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I think it's just trying to get our feet back underneath us and try to get up to game speed as quick as possible,” said forward Logan Cooley. “It's just to limit as many mistakes as possible. Know what everyone's doing out there, communicate, and when you're doing that it makes the game easier for your teammates and yourself.”

The neutral-site game is at the home to the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League. Utah defenseman Michael Kesselring is entering his second full season with the organization and spent time in Iowa during his junior career with the Des Moines Buccaneers.

“I played in Des Moines for half a season, my billets are coming to the game … I haven't seen them in a long time, so that'll be good,” said Kesselring. “It'll be good to get our legs under us and keep building throughout the preseason.”

The Utah franchise was established by the NHL Board of Governors on April 18, with all assets from the Arizona Coyotes transferring to Utah. Utah is looking to take the next step in its rebuild, coming into the season with one of the youngest rosters in the NHL.

“I think it's huge for us and the new guys as well, just learning the systems, learning how we play,” said forward Clayton Keller. “I think preseason is huge, it's a time where you come together as a team, and you want to have a good start in this league.”

Doan said, “It's just going to be an enjoyable couple games here on Sunday and Monday and hopefully we can get a couple wins and get the first couple wins for Utah Hockey and just have fun out there. I think we've got a good group of guys. We're all looking forward to playing games together for the first time again, so it's definitely exciting.”