Utah Hockey Club Selects Nine Players on Second Day of 2024 NHL Draft
On the second day of its first draft as a franchise, Utah Hockey Club selected nine players during the 2024 NHL Draft at Sphere in Las Vegas. The picks on Saturday came between the second and sixth rounds of the draft. Including its two first-round picks on Friday, Utah Hockey Club made 11 total selections in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Round 2
With their first selection of day two and the final pick of the second round of the Draft, Utah took defenseman Will Skahan of the U.S. National Development Team with the 65th overall pick. The 6-foot-4, 211-pound Skahan appeared in 24 games during the 2023-24 season and registered 4-2-6 and 51 penalty minutes (PIM) and was a plus-17 for third-best on the team. Skahan also won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2022 U17 World Hockey Challenge and a silver medal with Team USA at the IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship. Skahan is committed to play at Boston College in 2024-25.
Round 3
With their first of two third-round picks, Utah selected defenseman Tomas Lavoie from Cape Breton (QMJHL) with the 89th overall selection. The 6-foot-4, 225 pound Lavoie appeared in 65 games during the 2023-24 season for Cape Breton and registered 3-21-24 in the regular season and one goal and two assists in 14 playoff games. During the 2022-23 season, his first with Cape Breton, Lavoie recorded 2-14-16 in 59 games.
Utah used their second third-round pick—96th overall—on Finnish defenseman Veeti Väisänen from Kookoo (SM-liiga). Väisänen, a 6-foot-1, 187-pound native of Hamina, Finland, posted 2-8-10 during the 2023-24 season in 50 games and was ranked 21st by NHL Central Scouting among European skaters.
Round 4
Two picks later, at 98th overall, and with the opening pick of the fourth round, Utah selected defenseman Gregor Biber from Rogel Jr. (Sweden Jr.). The 6-foot-3, 187-pound Biber scored two goals and had four assists in 40 games for Rogel Jr. during the 2023-24 season and recorded 88 PIM. He won a bronze medal with Austria at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship, recording 1-4-5 in five games.
With their second selection of the fourth round, Utah selected forward Gabe Smith 103rd overall from Moncton (QMJHL). Smith registered 9-14-23 and 72 penalty minutes in 54 games for Moncton during the 2023-24 season. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound Smith also appeared in 66 regular season games for Moncton in 2022-23, recording 4-16-20 and 49 penalty minutes, as well as scoring one goal over the course of 12 playoff games.
Round 5
At 135th overall in the fifth round, Utah selected Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) forward Owen Allard. During the 2023-24 season, Allard registered 18-26-44, 39 PIM and was plus-18 in 55 games. The 6-foot-2, 201-pound Renfrew, Canada, native also played in 10 playoff games, where he posted 4-1-5. In three seasons total with Sault Ste. Marie, Allard appeared in 135 total games and recorded 35-40-75. At the 2024 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, Allard appeared in five games for Team Canada and recorded 2-1-3.
Utah made their second selection of the fifth round at 153rd overall, taking defenseman Ales Cech from Mlada Boleslav (Czechia). Cech recorded seven assists and 20 PIM in 40 games with Mlada Boleslav during the 2023-24 season. The 6-foot-3, 198-pound Cech also represented the Czech Republic in the IIHF U20 World Junior Championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024—helping lead his home country to a silver medal finish in 2023 and a bronze medal in 2024. Across three U20 WJC appearances, Cech recorded 2-2-4 in 21 games.
Round 6
Utah’s sixth-round selection came in the 167th overall slot, when the club selected forward Vojtech Hradec, a teammate of Cech at Mlada Boleslav (Czechia). The 6-foot-4, 201-pound Hradec appeared in 25 games and recorded one goal during the 2023-24 season.
Utah’s final selection of the draft came in the sixth round, 190th overall, as the club selected defenseman Ludvig Lafton from Farjestads Jr. (Sweden Jr.). Lafton, standing at 6-foot-2 and 183 pounds, recorded four assists in 16 games during the 2023-24 season. Lafton also represented Norway in the 2024 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, appearing in five games.
Round 1 (Friday, June 28)
On Friday, during the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft, Utah selected forward Tij Iginla from Kelowna (WHL) sixth overall and forward Cole Beaudoin from Barrie (OHL) at 24th overall.
