Throughout the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season, I’ve had the chance to ask a plethora of visiting players for their thoughts on the NHL’s newest city.
The feedback has been almost entirely positive. Here’s what they said.
What do NHL players think of Salt Lake City?
Everyone — especially those who grew up in the eastern part of the continent — seems to love the mountains surrounding Salt Lake City.
“Opening up my blinds this morning, you’ve got quite a view with the mountains,” said Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal. “It’s a beautiful city.”
New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat echoed a similar sentiment.
“It’s beautiful,” he said. “Anytime you’re in the mountains or around the mountains, it’s gorgeous.”
“We don’t get, too often, to do that stuff,” added Marcus Foligno of the Minnesota Wild.
Seth Jones, who played two games at the Delta Center with the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to the Florida Panthers in early March, mentioned the downtown area as a highlight, specifically shouting out Matteo Ristorante Italiano.
Players have found no shortage of activities to fill their down time in Utah. The Wild spent some time in Park City during their December trip, while a group of Hurricanes players explored Utah’s Hogle Zoo.
Is the Delta Center good for hockey?
The viewing experience at the Delta Center isn’t perfect, but the building gets loud — and that hasn’t been lost on the visiting players.
“It was great,” said Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby. “(The) atmosphere was great. It was a lot of fun to play here and you can tell that the people are excited here to have a team and came out to support them.”
Foligno agreed.
“It gets your adrenaline going pretty quick,” he said.
Tyler Bertuzzi, who participated in Utah HC’s inaugural game as a member of the Blackhawks, says the fans have proven this year that Salt Lake City is a “hockey city.”
How are Utah HC’s visiting facilities?
In a recent poll conducted by The Athletic, 110 players voted for the best visiting facilities in the league. Despite the fact that nine teams had never been to the Delta Center when the poll concluded, Utah came in sixth place with 7.27% of the votes.
“The facilities are awesome,” Foligno said. “This is probably nicer than what we have in Minnesota for our home rink. We have no complaints there.”
Jones agreed.
“(It’s) one of the best — definitely one of the best," he said “I would give this top five for sure, in the league. (It’s) spacious, but not too big. I think it can be a little crazy when it gets too big. Nice amenities.”
Jones mentioned the Edmonton Oilers, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kraken as other teams off the top of his head that were in the top five. All of those teams finished ahead of UHC in the players' poll.
Most of the visiting teams have not practiced at the Utah Olympic Oval, which UHC is using as a temporary practice facility until its permanent rink is built. But one player who has is New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes, who was willing to look past the rink’s downsides because of its history.
“Pretty cool, definitely different,” he said. “Obviously, the Olympics were here, right? So, kind of cool, just a little bit of a piece of history and cool that they have a hockey team now.”
That being said, he wasn’t a big fan of the walk down the long hallway and up the staircase to get from the visitors' locker room to the ice.
“That was a long walk, for sure,” he laughed.
The Athletic’s article included one anonymous player’s thoughts on the amenities in Utah.
“They had a full-on gym for us,” the player said. “Ice cold tubs, hot tubs that were like $10,000 each. We shared with the basketball guys. Our (visitors') room is huge. Medical room is bigger than our medical room here.”
UHC captain Clayton Keller raved about the home facilities, too.
“We have everything we need here — all the resources," he said. “Literally every recovery thing, the locker room, the lounges, the food. Everything’s top-notch. The best in the NHL.”
He mentioned the hot tubs as one of his favorite parts, and he even said they’re installing a sauna at the Delta Center.
Will free agents want to sign in Utah?
This is a difficult question to answer because everyone’s preferences are different.
Salt Lake City doesn’t have the night life of New York City, the weather of Los Angeles or the fiercely passionate (some might say crazy) fan base of Vancouver, but it does offer a convenient lifestyle, outdoor adventures and a family-focused environment.
“I think 100%, for sure,” said Wild forward Frederick Gaudreau when asked if he thinks players would want to sign in Utah. “What I heard is the guys are being treated really well and, like I said, the mountains, for me, sells everything.”
“Nothing but good things to say about this place so far,” Foligno said.
