The Utah Hockey Club will play its first regular-season game on Oct. 8 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Delta Center in Salt Lake City (10 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+). NHL.com is counting down to the first game with a five-part series about hockey in Utah. Today, in Part 5, columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika looks at how Utah has welcomed the NHL:
SALT LAKE CITY -- When Mikhail Sergachev moved to Utah, he settled in a family neighborhood. People came over to the house to introduce themselves. They brought bread and jam.
“They saw a lot of boxes in my garage, and they’re like, ‘We’ll unpack it for you,’” the defenseman said. “I’m like, ‘No, come on. Relax.’ It feels like they’re too nice. Whatever I need, they’re here to help. I’ve never had neighbors that are that into it. Everything here and everybody is super nice.”
The community has welcomed the Utah Hockey Club with open arms since the NHL established the new franchise April 18, so imagine the scene when Utah opens its inaugural season against the Chicago Blackhawks at Delta Center on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS).
“My neighbors are all fired up, everyone you talk to,” forward Lawson Crouse said. “I think word travels pretty quick that hockey players are in town, and everyone’s so excited, so it’s cool to be a part of that, the buzz.”
Little more than 24 hours after the NHL Board of Governors voted to bring the NHL to Utah, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman sat on stage with owners Ryan and Ashley Smith at Delta Center for a press conference.
The audience included Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, Utah Jazz executive Danny Ainge and several other dignitaries.
Utah acquired the hockey assets of the Arizona Coyotes franchise, which became inactive due to its arena situation. The team flew executives, coaches, players and staff members to their new home April 24.
When they stepped off the plane in the morning, they were greeted by hundreds of youth hockey parents, coaches and players in a hangar holding homemade signs. “WELCOME TO UTAH!” “UTAH [HEARTS] HOCKEY!” “WELCOME HOME!” One sign had a map of Utah, a star for Salt Lake City and directions: “You are here.” With music rocking in the background, the kids chanted: “Let’s go, Utah! Let’s go!”
That night, they were greeted by a huge, loud crowd for a celebration at Delta Center. Lights low, spotlights shining, music pumping, they walked into the arena dressed in suits, feeling like rock stars, failing to hide their smiles. Forward Alex Kerfoot told the crowd it was one of the coolest experiences they’d all had as hockey players.
Coach Andre Tourigny met players for meals leading up to training camp. Each time, they got recognized. He told a story about dining outdoors with defensemen Robert Bortuzzo, Ian Cole and John Marino. The people at the next table knew all of them and talked to Cole about his time with the Colorado Avalanche from 2018-21.
“Thank God we didn’t say anything wrong,” Tourigny said with a laugh, “because we would have got caught there.”
Players told similar stories. Sergachev was in his car near Park City, Utah, when a fan spotted him. Forward Liam O'Brien was grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s when people came up and asked for pictures.
“It’s pretty cool that you can tell there’s an excitement here,” O’Brien said. “People are starting to know who we are. It’s been a fun experience so far.”
Utah played one preseason game at Delta Center, which is being renovated for hockey over the next three years. The official attendance was 11,131, a sellout counting only unobstructed seats, but the building was full. The fans chanted and roared throughout a 3-2 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings.
“Obviously, we saw what happened in the first preseason game,” Sergachev said. “I think it was a success for the organization, and people were excited, and it was actually very loud. I did not expect this rink to be that loud.
“At the beginning, it felt like a playoff when they started announcing our names. When we got on the ice for the first time, it was unbelievable, honestly. Yeah, we have a great opportunity here to grow the game in Utah.”
Utah will hold an Inaugural Game Celebration at Delta Center on Tuesday.
ESPN will have a set outside and go live at 4 p.m. ET. DJs, free games and hockey activities for fans will start at 6 p.m. ET, and the players will walk in on a Mountain Blue carpet and be welcomed by youth hockey players at 7 p.m. ET.
At 7:30 p.m. ET, there will be a concert featuring country artist Shaboozey, and at 8:30 p.m. ET, there will be a flyover of four F-35A jets based at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Fans without tickets to the game can stay for a watch party.
“I think it could be a very exciting year,” Cole said. “I think the population here in Salt Lake is very willing to give hockey a try, and it’s our job as the team to put a product out there that excites them and make them want to come watch.”
