I truly believe, I’m a firm believer that if you’re a good person in your life, if you’re a good person out in the community, good things happen to you on the ice. – Tim Branham
WEST VALLEY CITY — After making the playoffs for the tenth straight season last year, but losing in the first-round playoff series to the Allen Americans, 4-1, the Utah Grizzlies — celebrating 20 years of hockey in the Maverik Center (formerly known as the E Center) — have their eyes set on one prize: the Kelly Cup.
“With the talent we have, guys like Peter Sivak, Greger Hanson, Kevin Carr, anything less than, in my opinion, winning and an appearance in the Kelly Cup finals, anything less than that would be a disappointment because we have the facilities, we have the players, we have the staff that we need. If we wouldn’t, it just means that us as players didn’t do our jobs. I think we have all the right pieces,” Grizzlies captain C.J. Eick said.
From the 2016-17 season, the Grizzlies return Eick, along with forwards Brad Navin, Michael Pelech, Travis Howe and Erik Higby, and defensemen Garrett Haar, Taylor Richart, Rob Mann and Sam Windle.
“When you get that kind of familiarity, it’s a good thing. They know we operate, They know how we want to do things, they know how we are in the community,” Grizzlies head coach and general manager Tim Branham said.
Eick said his biggest takeaway from last season is the importance of a heathy team.
“The biggest thing I learned from last year is the amount of turnover, with injuries and guys getting called up, it puts our coach in a tough spot. There will be times where San Diego (Anaheim’s AHL affiliate) sends us down a bunch of players and we have a lot of good players that aren’t in the lineup, and then there’s times where, on our trip to Alaska last year, four defensemen get hurt and we have to find guys to come in and fill that void,” Eick said. “Just taking care of yourself and having everybody on the same page, so, when new guys do come in, it’s not a big transition.”
Branham reinforced the importance of community involvement over the course of his remarks on Tuesday afternoon.
“I truly believe, I’m a firm believer that if you’re a good person in your life, if you’re a good person out in the community, good things happen to you on the ice,” Branham said.
Community involvement was also a theme that Eick touched on when talking about what being named captain means to him.
“It’s an honor to be named captain, especially an organization like this. You see, like coach Branham said, all the great things we do in the community and being a part of the community. Just to be a part of an organization like this is great, and to be looked at as a leader, I feel very privileged for that opportunity,” Eick said. “We have such a good group of guys, we have a lot of leadership coming from a lot of different players, so it meant a lot and I’ll definitely embrace the role and do best I can at the job.”
For the Grizzlies, the quest for their first Kelly Cup starts on Friday night at Colorado. Utah plays its first home game of the 2017-18 season at the Maverik Center on Saturday.
“I’m really excited about this group, I’m really excited to get out in the community and keep doing things that we’re doing out there, I’m excited to win for our fans here at home and see if we can’t bring home a Kelly Cup,” Branham said.