Via sportslogos.net

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The 32-in-32 Series is an annual event here at DobberProspects! Every day in August, we will bring you a complete breakdown of a team’s draft and insights into their off-season movements thus far. Following this up in September, we will dive into every team’s prospect depth chart with fantasy insights and implications for the upcoming seasons. Check back often because we plan to fill your hockey withdrawal needs all off-season!

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By: Keith Duggan

Well, it happened. After years of speculation, the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes are no more, and we have the Utah Hockey Club.

Here’s a quick backstory on how we got here. After owner Alex Meruelo (who could be on the list of worst owners in sports) purchased the team, they could not find a timely fix to the arena issues in Glendale. Gila River Arena soon gave the Coyotes the boot after being unwilling to sign a long-term lease extension. For two seasons, that forced them to play out of temporary facilities at the 4,600-seat Mullet Arena in Tempe, Arizona. Voters in Tempe turned down three propositions to build a $2.1 billion entertainment district that would have included a new facility for the Coyotes. That was pretty much the beginning of the end. Meruelo was trying to buy land to build a new arena, but the auction initially scheduled for April was then moved to June. At that point, Gary Bettman (who always had the Coyotes back) approached Meruelo about selling the team. Between the failed vote and delayed plans for building elsewhere, Bettman had seen enough. He could not justify the team playing at the Mullett Arena indefinitely.

Despite the speculation for what feels like forever, the news of Arizona moving came as a surprise last April. On April 10th, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was the first to announce that the team was potentially moving to Utah. It was rumored that many of the players first heard of the move through social media.

On April 18th, the NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale and relocation of Arizona to Salt Lake City. Ryan and Ashley Smith (who had been on the NHL radar for a few years as a potential expansion team in Salt Lake City), owners of Smith Entertainment Group, bought the team for $1.2 billion. The Smiths own the NBA’s Utah Jazz and MLS Real Salt Lake. Currently known as the Utah Hockey Club, it will be just during 2024-25. In 2025-26, the team’s permanent name will be chosen after a fan voting process that started with 20 and was narrowed down to six finalists. It is heavily rumored online that the team will be the Utah Yeti. They will play at the Delta Center, which can accommodate about 16,200 people for a hockey game. The arena has hosted hockey games, including the 2002 Winter Olympics and NHL preseason contests.

Despite Ryan Smith sounding like he has no problem spending money to improve Utah right now, which is welcome after years of a tight budget in Arizona, the team intends to stick with its current rebuild. Utah has several excellent young players on its squad, including Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley, and has arguably one of the best prospect systems in the league.

Utah entered the draft with 13 picks. They ended up making 11 selections after executing three big trades.

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NHL Draft Recap

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Round One, 6th Overall – Tij Iginla, LW

Breaking the hearts of Calgary fans who had hoped to grab the son of franchise legend and Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla at ninth overall, Utah bypassed several excellent defense prospects to select one of the best goal scorers in the draft. Iginla was also one of the biggest risers during his draft year.

Iginla played 2022-23 for the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds, a team that made it to the Memorial Cup Final. As the Thunderbirds loaded up their roster with older, more proven performers, Iginla saw little playing time. He finished the year with six goals and 18 points in 48 games, dressing for just three playoff contests, all in the first round. Three days after the Quebec Remparts shut out the Thunderbirds to win the Memorial Cup, Iginla was traded back home to Kelowna for a package including a couple of high draft picks. Reunited with his hockey-mad family and a chance to play top minutes in Kelowna, Iginla’s star rose. When NHL Central Scouting released its preliminary list of players to watch on October 25th, Iginla was listed as a “B” prospect. On January 12th, Central Scouting released its mid-term ranking, with Iginla rocketing to No. 11 among North American skaters. Less than two weeks later, he earned top player honors for Team White at the CHL Top Prospects Game.

With 47 goals and 84 points by season’s end, Iginla surpassed his dad’s draft year totals of 33 goals and 71 points with Kamloops in 1994-95. His 47 tallies were seventh in the WHL. He added another nine goals in 11 playoff games.

A highly competitive goal scorer with a ton of skill, Iginla skates well and displays a good effort away from the puck. His playmaking does not stand out, but he projects as a solid top-six wing who will score many goals.

Later in the first round, Utah HC made its first trade, receiving the No. 24 pick from Colorado in exchange for picks No. 38 and No. 71 and a second-round pick in 2025.

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Round One, 24th Overall – Cole Beaudoin, C

A tremendously hard-working center, many considered Beaudoin to be the fittest and strongest player in the draft. According to The Athletics’ Scott Wheeler, earlier this season, when the Barrie Colts posted a video of him lifting in the gym, some NHL teams reached out to the organization to ask if the video was fake.

Beaudoin is constantly noticeable throughout the game in terms of how many pucks he wins and the number of plays he makes. He is pretty physical and does not shy away from getting to the challenging areas of the ice. He can create offense in the OHL, with 28 goals and 62 points in 67 games last year, but with a somewhat heavy skating stride, the debate is in how his game will translate to the pros.

An extremely competitive, big center (6-2) with enough talent, Beaudoin looks like a third-line center in the NHL that coaches will love.

Going into the second round, Utah owned three picks. They traded one away to Colorado to select Beaudoin. Then, the club traded the No. 49 pick to New Jersey in exchange for John Marino.

Then, in potentially the move of the draft, Utah traded away Conor Geekie, J.J. Moser, the 199th overall pick, and a 2025 second-round pick to Tampa Bay for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.

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Round Two, 65th Overall – Will Skahan, LD

Utah closed out the second round by drafting Will Skahan. A big (6-4 216 lbs), mobile, and highly physical defenseman, Skahan played last season for the US National Development Program. He can potentially be a shutdown defenseman in the pros due to his hard play. Despite being mobile, Skahan does not bring a lot of offense; his first pass and decision-making with the puck leave a lot to be desired. He had five goals and 14 points in 60 games for NTDP but did lead the squad in PIMs with 73. Skahan will play for Boston College this year.

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Round Three, 89th Overall – Tomas Lavoie, RD

Utah selected Lavoie as the first of two third-round picks. Another big (6-4, 223 lbs) mobile defenseman, Lavoie was the No. 1 pick in his QMJHL Draft. He’s a tall, right-shot defenseman who skates well for a big man. He plays hard and is an excellent defender overall. Offensive play is a question with Lavoie; he scored three goals and 24 points in 65 games for Cape Breton last year. He has good hands and a strong shot, but his sense/decisions are sometimes lacking. Right now, he projects as a possible third-pair defenseman.

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Round Three, 72nd Overall – Veeti Väisänen, LD

Vaisanen played a limited role in the Liiga last season for KooKoo. A well-rounded defender who skates well, he was Finland’s last cut for their 2024 World Junior Team. While Vaisanen has offense to his game, he is not a dynamic puck-mover. The debate on him is what exactly his NHL role is. He’s a 6-0 defenseman who is good at a lot but not great at anything. The selection seemed out of character for GM Bill Armstrong, who loves his big, mobile defenseman.

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Round Four, 98th Overall – Gregor Biber, LD

All right, back to the big (6-3), physical, mobile defenseman that Armstrong loves. Much like Skahan, Biber plays hard but has limited offensive capabilities. Playing most of the year with the Rogle BK U20 squad in Sweden, Biber had two goals and five points, but his 88 PIMs finished fourth in the league. Fun fact: Biber is Austrian.

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Round Four, 103rd Overall – Gabe Smith, C

Another big (6-4, 207 lbs) player, Smith, has limited offense to his game but plays a hard two-way game. Very physically and effective at being a net-front presence, playing for Moncton in the QMJHL, Smith had nine goals and 23 points in 54 games. He also had 72 PIMs. He moves decently for a big man, and if his offense can improve, he could be a sleeper pick.

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Round Five, 135th Overall – Owen Allard, C

Allard’s game showed massive development last year, as he was an essential part of the Soo Greyhounds game. His most significant moment of the season was making Team Canada’s World Junior Team. A never-ending motor, Allard is big (6-2) and plays physical with a strong skating stride. Offense is his most significant question mark; he scored 18 goals and 44 points in 55 games. His two-way potential could make him a bottom-six wing if he can score a little as a pro. This was the third year Allard was draft-eligible.

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Round Five, 153rd Overall – Ales Cech, LD

Stop me if you have heard this before, but Cech is a big (6-3) mobile defenseman. At 20 years old, Cech is a re-entry player who was not picked in the past due to questions about how well he moves the puck. He plays well in his zone and is known as a good checker and a bit of a pest/shift disturber. Cech played for BK Mlada Boleslav in Czechia and had seven assists in 40 games. He also suited up for Czechia during the 2024 World Juniors, finishing with a goal and an assist. So basically, Cech, a Czech, throws a good check.

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Round Six, 167th Overall – Vojtech Hradec, C

Playing for the same squad as Cech, Hradec played limited minutes for BK Mlada Boleslav. A big-bodied (6-4) center who skates well, Hradec is known as a solid two-way center. He has some skill in his game, as he played well at the junior level, with seven goals and 13 points in 12 games. Much like a few other centers Utah selected, due to his size, Hradec can be an imposing net-front presence.

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Round Six, 190th Overall – Ludvig Lafton, LD

An off-the-board selection, Lafton spent last year in his home country of Norway. He played most of the year with Frisk Asker, putting up two assists in 21 games. Lafton also suited up for Norway at the 2024 World Juniors. Maybe Utah scouts saw something in Lafton while watching Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Stian Solberg. I could not find much information on him, so I’m just guessing here, but he is a big (6-2) mobile defenseman with limited offense to his game.

Draft Recap

It was somewhat of a weird draft for Utah. Outside of Iginla and Vaisanen, every other pick was either a big, hard-working two-way center with limited offense or a big, mobile defenseman with limited offense. The highlight of the draft, though, was acquiring Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino. Mainly, Sergachev solidifies their defense corps. Adding him to a blueline that will soon see Dmitri Simashev and Maveric Lamoureux, this could be a terrifying group, considering all the size and mobility they will have. Fantasy-wise, Iginla is a player who can draft quickly in your dynasty leagues. He looks to be a potential stud for Utah. Beaudoin is an NHL player all day; I’m just not sure how much offense he brings. Skahan, Lavoie, and Allard have potential, too, but I am not sure how much offense they have at the NHL level.

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Off-Season Moves

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Incoming

Mikhail Sergachev, trade with Tampa Bay

John Marino, trade with New Jersey

Kevin Stenlund signed a two-year contract

Ian Cole signed a one-year contract

Yegor Sokolov, trade with Ottawa, signed a one-year, two-way contract

Kevin Connauton signed a two-year, two-way contract

Andrew Agozzino signed a two-year, two-way contract

Jaxson Stauber signed a one-year, two-way contract

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Outgoing

J.J. Moser, trade with Tampa Bay

Conor Geekie, trade with Tampa Bay

• Seeing Geekie go was tough; he looked like a solid prospect. Once again, though, trading him to acquire Sergachev was worth it to improve their defense.

Josh Brown signed with Edmonton

Nathan Smith signed with Vancouver

Jan Jenik, trade with Ottawa

Steve Kampfer, signed with Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)

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Re-Signed

Sean Durzi, four-year contract

Juuso Valimaki, two-year contract

Barrett Hayton, two-year contract

Liam O’Brien, three-year contract

Michael Kesselring, two-year contract

Matt Villalta, two-year, two-way contract

Ben McCartney, one-year, two-way contract

Vladislav Kolyachonok, two-year, two-way contract

Milos Kelemen, one-year, two-way contract

Curtis Douglas, two-year, two-way contract

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Development Camp

Utah held its first development camp July 1-5, 2024. All 11 of their 2024 draft picks were there. Also attending were 2023 first-round selections Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But. Development camp is just orientation for rookies, and the main camps, but Simashev was a massive standout in the on-ice sessions. He looks ready to patrol an NHL blueline. Also, other first-round picks, But and Iginla, were impressive. During a scrimmage to cap off the last day of camp, But had four goals, including a first-period hat trick.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on X/Twitter @KDuggan92