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ST. LOUIS — Robert Bortuzzo sat high above the ice on Thursday looking out over the crowd.
The Utah Hockey Club defenseman wasn't in the lineup for Utah's 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues, but that didn't stop his old team from giving him a warm return.
Following a tribute video — featuring shots of Bortuzzo with the Stanley Cup — he was given a standing ovation as he saluted the crowd from the press box.
"Pretty special walking in here; it was cool looking up at the banner and everything," he said. "Kind of feels like we didn't really leave, to be honest. But excited to be in Utah and keep my career going."
St. Louis was Bortuzzo's hockey home. He came to the organization as a 25-year-old and became a mainstay on the blueline for what would be cup-contending (and one cup-winning) teams.
He was a youngster learning from veterans like Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Steen, and part of a core group of players that stuck around together for many seasons.
That made the cup run in 2019 special. It was the culmination of many years of growth as a team, and he can see something similar happening in Utah.
"I spent 10 years in St Louis; the first four we were kind of knocking at the door, whether we lost in the first round or conference finals, we were always kind of getting better and progressing," he said. "And we always had a tight-knit crew, and that's definitely something you see here in Utah.
"Fortunately, they'll get the chance to kind of grow up together; a lot of guys have been here for a while together, and I think we did that in St Louis."
Players like Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton have been playing together for over half a decade, and the organization has no plans on parting with potential young stars like Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther anytime soon.
General manager Bill Armstrong, who helped build that Stanley Cup team in St. Louis, brought in players like Bortuzzo and fellow defenseman Ian Cole to help a young team and young leaders take the next step.
"He has helped our team a lot," André Tourigny said of Bortuzzo. "It doesn't always show on the highlights, but it's shown in the room, shown in the shift of mentality we need to have as a young team."
Tourigny said all young teams have to learn how to be a good team; to be able to win when you don't have "your A game" and to learn to take pride in the things that "are not as sexy, but are the difference between being a good team on a consistent base."
Bortuzzo is helping in that transition. He knows what it takes to win at the highest level, and he knows about playoff disappointment and playoff success. So even though he has only skated in six of Utah's first 14 games after being a healthy scratch in his homecoming contest Thursday, he's been leaving an impact on the squad.
"I really like the way he leads by voice," Tourigny said. "He's loud, picks his spots, talks at the right time, says the right things. He doesn't talk a lot, but it carries a lot of weight when he does."
The new role is something he's embraced, too. He remembers what it was like as a young player in the league trying to figure out how to stick and how to win, and he's happy he found a group of guys to which he can pass on that knowledge.
"There's always that youthful energy," he said. "I've always found that to be important for a locker room, and it was fun to be a part of that in St. Louis and to be on the other side of it here with Cooley and Guenther and (Jack) McBain — the list kind of goes on of young guys who are super excited to come to the rink every day to keep it light. So it's been a blast trying to embrace it and pass anything on we can."
