Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Utah Hockey Club players express strong affection for Utah and the team.
- Czech goalie Karel Vejmelka and Russian Mikhail Sergachev praise Utah as home.
- Team aims for playoffs next season, buoyed by fan support and new facilities.
SALT LAKE CITY — Scarred Jazz fans stretching across different decades have good reason for wondering if some players share their intense commitment to the franchise.
In recent times, they have watched Gordon Hayward forsake the team for the glitz of the more glamorous Boston Celtics. The hometown loyalists serenaded Hayward with chants of his name in his last game in Utah, but ultimately it fell on deaf ears.
Donovan Mitchell quickly replaced Hayward as a fan favorite and a fellow All Star in the ensuing seasons. But Mitchell, too, wanted out, basically forcing the Jazz to trade him years ahead of his contract expiring.
The familiar refrain also played out with Deron Williams, another All Star the Jazz essentially had to trade. Going back to the zenith of the John Stockton and Karl Malone era, the immortal legends (insert sarcasm here) Rony Seikaly and Derek Harper had no interest in playing on Utah's championship-contending team.
For the most aggrieved vulnerable, we're not advocating trading in or shelving your basketball allegiance, but maybe take note of the Utah Hockey Club. The current crop of hockey players sing a collective different tune when it comes to loving up the team and Wasatch Front.
Virtually every player said as much during exit interviews this week to conclude the team's first season in Utah. Recognizing the instability over the last several years in Phoenix, no doubt the team is still in the honeymoon stage, but the players seem sincere.
"I just love to play here. It's literally like my home," said Czech Republic goalie Karel Vejmelka, who added "we couldn't ask for a better organization as a brand-new team."
Russian born Mikhail Sergachev took it a step further: The 26-year-old defenseman, who won two Stanley Cup championships with the Tampa Bay Lightning, has seen enough of Utah after only one year to become permanently comfortable.
"Utah is my home now," he said. "I could live here after I'm retired. I love this place."
The team's primary goal was to make the playoffs, which didn't happen; but second was to play meaningful games late in the season instead of playing out the string. Utah remained the postseason hunt almost until the end.
Fielding one of the youngest teams in the NHL, led by 26-year-old captain Clayton Keller, the Hockey Club made significant progress this season in finishing at 38-31-13 for a total of 89 points. The Arizona Coyotes last season ending with 77 points.
Consistently playing to sell-out crowds in the Delta Center, the players greatly appreciated the raucous environment. Merchandise sales also were tremendous.
"I've been on a lot of different teams," said impending free agent Nick Bjugstad. "Have seen different markets and different owners. This is the best I've been treated as a player, as a whole."
A 12-year veteran, Bjugstad was floored at the reception his family got after moving into a house in the area. Neighbors flooded his family with assorted goodies.
"The welcoming factor in the neighborhood and city was there," the center said. "Our neighbor threw a welcome party for us, and I expected there to be 20 people, maybe, and there were like 70, 80 people. It just kind of showed how tight knit the neighborhood was."
To continue the love affair, the playoffs are the expectation next season and beyond. Accounting for incremental improvement from all the younger players, the team might even play for more than the last wildcard berth.
General manager Bill Armstrong also has significant cap space to attract free agents. With all the momentum, combined with a new practice facility on schedule to open in the coming months, Armstrong might have plenty of takers.
"There's only one goal in that locker room," said center Jack McBain. "The rebuild is over. We know what we have to do now."
