The Utah Hockey Club has been making a lot of noise in their first offseason as an organization, with notable trades, free agent signings and entry-level contracts as the hockey club looks to improve upon their previous Arizona team.
In the biggest milestone of the offseason, Utah had an intriguing turn of events at the 2024 NHL Draft, as the new organization used their sixth overall pick to acquire Tizi Iginla, a well-known two-way center and, of course, the son of NHL Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla.
His younger brother Iginla is an offensive force on the ice, scoring 84 points in 64 games for the mid-major Kelowna Rockets, and combining his skill set with the talents of his famous father should be an appealing combination for a team looking to build from the ground up.
Utah also signed Barrie Colts center Cole Beaudoin with the 24th overall pick. Beaudoin played in 67 games and scored 62 points for the Colts, who had a losing record. Despite his scoring prowess, Beaudoin became known for his physical strength and work ethic.
At the draft combine, Beaudoin ranked in the top 10 in six different tests, his 200-foot game and dedication consistently earn him praise from scouts and coaches, and the 18-year-old could make a big impact for the Utah hockey club in the coming years.
Additionally, the hockey club signed Russian Artem Duda to an entry-level contract. The defenseman was the 36th overall pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2022. Duda is a solid defenseman who spent the second half of the year at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he recorded 13 points in 18 games and scored four goals on just eight shots.
The 20-year-old Russian is a reliable defenseman who played a lot of time at TMU. With more pro experience and the ability to work on a more physical game, Duda could be a reliable defender for the Utah Hockey Club for many years to come.
Utah also made a push to re-sign restricted free agent Barrett Hayton to a two-year, $5.3 million deal with an average annual value of $2.65 million.
“We are very pleased to sign Barrett to a contract extension,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement to NHL. “Barrett is a reliable two-way center who is strong in the faceoff circle and complements our highly skilled forwards at center. We look forward to having him back with our team.”
Hayton has been a key player for Arizona the past few years and is coming off his best year in 2022-2023, setting career highs in goals (19), assists (24) and points (43) in 82 games played in the 2022-23 season.
The team also addressed expiring contracts by signing defensemen Juuso Valimaki and Sean Darge to multi-year extensions. Darge is coming off the best season of his career and will look to extend that performance in 2024, while Valimaki, who sat out 2023, is just one year removed from a 34-point season. These deals were essential to strengthening the defense.
In addition to the jersey color change, the Utah Hockey Club will also have a different lineup this season, losing Travis Boyd, Josh Brown and JJ Moser, but adding Kevin Stenlund, Ian Cole, John Marino and Mikhail Sergachev.
It's clear that Utah is focused on building a strong defense, and they certainly look formidable in that regard.
The offense isn't looking bad either, with guys like Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley proving to be productive, scoring 34 and 44 points, respectively, in their final seasons with Arizona. They should continue to progress over the next few years and become reliable scorers for this young Utah hockey team.
Speaking of reliable scorers, Clayton Keller just finished a season in which he scored nearly every game. The young center has proven he can lead this team's offense for years to come. It will be exciting to see how this offense develops with the young talent in this early days of the Utah Hockey Club.
You may still be grieving the loss of the Arizona Coyotes, but whether you’ve always been a fan of the team or are a new Utah fan, I think you’ll agree that it’s going to be fun to watch this team continue to build their roster in the near future.
Perhaps a move to Salt Lake City was just what the organization needed to rejuvenate an otherwise lackluster franchise.
