Patience Will Be Key For Utah Hockey Club’s Young Roster

Oct 16, 2024, 12:36 PM

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY – It’s been a wild start to the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season. Through the first four games of the new NHL campaign, the team has picked up three wins with somewhat unexpected victories against the New York Islanders and New Yorks Rangers.

While the club has shown a ton of promise and might be better than many predicted, the loss to New Jersey was a reminder that this team is still young and may require some patience.

The Utah Hockey Club still has a lot to learn

With 16 goals in their first three games, the Utah Hockey Club boasts one of the hottest offenses in the league, including the NHL’s leading goal scorer Dylan Guenther (five goals). However, against New Jersey, Utah was shutout during a 3-0 loss to the Devils as the offensive opportunities dried up, penalties were plentiful, and the team was unable to play their style of hockey.

What a week for Dylan Guenther. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/puUF6j4oS3

— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) October 14, 2024

According to the General Manager Bill Armstrong, he worries more about the rollercoaster of emotions the team has endured to begin the season given their young age and inexperience.

“It’s not the travel sometimes, it’s the emotions,” Bill Armstrong told Hans and Scotty on the KSL Sports Zone. “We had a huge home opener. There’s a lot of emotion in that game for us. Then we had two overtime games that we win and a ton of emotion in New York. We play in Madison Square Garden and win…I worry a little bit more of our emotions being young. Being in control of our emotions, not being too high or too low.”

While this team is remarkably talented, they are also the third youngest team in the NHL and with that comes growing pains.

Logan Cooley is only 20 years old in his second NHL season, Dylan Guenther is 21 and has yet to play a full 82-game season, Barrett Hayton is only 24 and 22-year-old Josh Doan has just barely begun his rookie campaign. So, while they’re one of the most talented young teams, there’s still a lot of inexperience.

“There’s a lot of growth still ahead for us. We’re young, we waste a lot of energy at times, and don’t conserve. There are better ways for us to play and we’re learning that,” Bill Armstrong said.

“Sometimes we’re going to beat teams nine to nothing and you’re going to be like, Lord of the Rings, let’s get the parade route. Then you’re going to watch us play other nights and be like oh, they’re young. Thats a part of the process that we’re going to go through,” Armstrong added.

Mikhail Sergachev says it’s all part of the learning curve

Despite being one of the most successful NHL skaters for the Utah Hockey Club with two Stanley Cups, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is no stranger to the style of hockey and young roster in Utah.

During his first few years in Tampa Bay, the Lightning also had a lot of young players but eventually evolved into a championship team. Now in a similar situation, Sergachev is embracing his new role and excited for what the future looks like in Utah.

After a hot start it’s easy to expect the Utah Hockey Club to be excellent every night and that’s just not going to be the case. There’s A TON of potential but this team is still young and growing. Give them time.

Sergachev summed it up perfectly: “It’s a learning curve and we…

— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 14, 2024

“It’s a learning curve and we have guys that can show by example how to play hockey, how to win. The guys know we have to play a different style now to grow our game…They’ve been in the league for a long time…it’s just going to take a little bit of time,” Sergachev said.

Like Sergachev said, it’s a learning curve. This organization has now stepped into the next phase or their rebuild and will rely on their veterans to show the talented youth how to win at the highest level.

Ultimately, hockey is a very unpredictable sport. Sometimes things come together a lot quicker than expected and other times they fail to turn out the way most anticipated. For Utah, it’s likely going to be similar to the way Armstrong explained. Some nights, they’ll hang with the best and look destined to lift the cup. Other nights, fans may question if this team will ever be competitive.

But that’s hockey. It’s gloriously unpredictable and anything can happen. So, sit tight, enjoy the ups, weather the downs and remain confident that Utah is building something special.

Hans & Scotty G.

Utah Hockey Schedule

The Utah Hockey Club will wrap up their initial road trip against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday. The game can be viewed on SEG+. Fans can also tune in on air on the KSL Sports APP or on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone. Click here for the full schedule.