SALT LAKE CITY – With the inaugural Utah Hockey Club season just two months away, many staff and front office members are preparing to make the move from Arizona to Utah in the next week or so.
But before making the trip to Salt Lake City, General Manager Bill Armstrong joined the NHL Network to discuss the team’s relocation and all that entails.
In its current state, the Delta Center is not set up to accommodate a clear view of the ice rink for all of its 18,000+ seats. This is due to the length, shape, and structure of the ice which eliminates a good portion of the lower bowl seating and obstructs sections of the upper bowl.
However, according to Armstrong, the franchise has a specific plan to alter the seating and raise the ice to reach that 18,000+ number in the next few years.
“What they have come up with is an ingenious plan,” Armstrong told the NHL Network. “Each summer they are going to carve out one end and rebuild. It’s just going to be a steeper section. Then they will do the same thing the following year. It’s really going to be a unique setting. They’re going to raise the floor of the rink which will help out taking the obstructed seating from up top.”
While the move to Utah has been much faster than most anticipated, and it will be a season or two before the team has all its permanent facilities available, the relocation has been a refreshing rebirth in support and motivation.
Four seasons into the franchise’s official rebuild, Armstrong expects a bump in their ability to compete this year.
“Our goal is to play meaningful games. I think we’re going to get a little bit of a bump here because of the fanbase and the excitement for our team. I think just signing Sergachev and Marino, and bringing in Cole and Stenlund, you’re going to see some excitement just from our group coming together,” he said.
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“They realize this is a good point to be in, some good players coming in, and we’re building something special here,” he continued. “We’re one of the few teams that have salary cap room, we’ve got a good team on the ice, we’ve probably got the most prospects in the NHL, and still a boatload of picks to come. So, we’re in really, really healthy shape as an organization.”
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Of course, no front office member can escape an interview these days without being questioned about the team’s name. As it currently stands, the franchise is still somewhere in the process of the fan vote and releasing the next steps, but Armstrong thinks he knows what it’s going to be.
“I don’t really want to push it any way. I said the word ‘Yetis,’ and it went viral. Listen, the kids are going to vote, whether it’s Outlaws, the Mammoths, or whatever it is, and they’re going to run away with this and have a huge impact here,” Armstrong explained.
“I kind of think in my mind from listening to the kid’s chant at the hangar, I think I know what it is, but I don’t want to sway anybody. I think I swayed enough people at the draft when I had my opinion of what it was,” he added.
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Fans can watch the Utah Hockey Club’s first game on October 8 against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. You can find the team’s complete schedule and ticketing information here.
