Ryan Smith, Ashley Smith and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman attend a media opportunity prior to the premier game for the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center on October 08, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – When the Utah Hockey Club steps out onto the Delta Center ice against the Chicago Blackhawks, they’ll be wearing the newest sweater in the NHL. While some may scrutinize the sweater for being overly simple, owner Ryan Smith and the organization were adamant from the start that “Utah” had to be on the front.
The NHL in Utah begins now.#UtahHC #NHL pic.twitter.com/wNIg5TuDzD
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) October 8, 2024
With no official team name or mascot yet, and a short amount of time to work with given the sale of the team took place in April, the Utah Hockey Club had to work fast to put together an inaugural sweater. After selecting the color scheme and recognizing what they could accomplish, Smith shared that they were adamant that “Utah” be on the front to begin this new chapter of hockey.
“We also were very adamant that we wanted the words ‘Utah’ on our sweaters. That’s what we want to wear. Being able to do that, it’s for everyone. We don’t care what city you’re in or how it goes, this is Utah. It’s in the capital city and it’s going to be for a really long time. That’s pretty special,” Ryan Smith told KSL Sports.
While the players will take the ice in the new Rock Black, Salt White, and Mountain Blue, fans will have to wait some time before they too can get their hands on the new sweaters. However, when Smith heard that they would not be available until January, he immediately jumped on the phone with Fanatics to speed up that process.
“When I heard that we we’re scheduled for January, it just didn’t feel right,” Smith told KSL Sport. “Huge credit to Michael Rubin, I was able to jump on the phone with him…and we just explained, he saw it and he was like, ‘Alright our team has to do whatever we can to capture this moment.'”
According to Smith, the jerseys will arrive on November 1.
Related: Utah Hockey Club Hopes To Have Jerseys For Sale In November
The Utah Hockey Club will now officially transition to the regular season with their first game on October 8 against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. The game can be viewed on ESPN. 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.
