This is how fans of the Utah Hockey Club celebrated the NHL Draft and the selection of Tij Iginla

With his hands in his pockets and hundreds of new Utah Hockey Club fans cheering behind him at the Delta Center, forward Dylan Guenther couldn’t help but smile.

For many Utah residents, Friday night was an opportunity to watch their first NHL Draft, bringing them one step closer to their goal of falling in love with the NHL’s newest franchise. Even more notable, Utah drafted a player for the first time in franchise history.

As tension rose in the arena, fans watched as owners Ryan and Ashley Smith and Blll Armstrong, the club’s general manager, slowly trudged to the podium at the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas to announce the No. 6 pick.

“Utah will be selecting for the 2024 draft,” said Ryan, governor of the Utah Hockey Club, before waving his wife to the microphone.

“Tij Iginla,” Ashley concluded as the Salt Lake City crowd erupted in cheers.

Shortly afterward, fans in Salt Lake City began hugging, high-fiving, and even raising their fists a few times. What was once a first was no longer so, but the moment left an even more important message for Utah:

The NHL is officially here.

“I didn’t expect an event like this to be this busy and exciting. It’s pretty cool,” Guenther said during a media scrum at the Delta Center, minutes before Iginla was drafted.

Guenther is not used to so much fanfare. Before moving to Salt Lake City, the Arizona Coyotes – the franchise’s former team – could only accommodate about 5,000 fans at Mullet Arena.

As Utah residents adjust to professional hockey, that dynamic could change. A new city offers the possibility of a different fan culture, new expectations and long-term stability.

However, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t take some getting used to.

“This new beginning, a new city and new fans,” said Guenther, “brings a new kind of enthusiasm and excitement to the team. That will only help us.”

The fans who filled the stands during the Utah Hockey Club’s first draft party certainly shared that sentiment.

“Almost too good to be true”

Dylan Malstrom took five hours to create his signature mountain blue hand-tufted rug featuring the Utah Hockey Club logo.

Malstrom is a diehard Pittsburgh Penguins fan and has lived in Utah since birth. He wants to make room for the NHL’s newest franchise. When the Utah Hockey Club’s colors and tentative logo were announced by the team on social media, the 22-year-old grabbed his carpet tufting gun and immediately got to work.

“I watched videos about rug tufting on Tik-Tok during COVID-19 and enjoyed it,” Malstrom told The Salt Lake Tribune.

When Malstrom attended the Utah Hockey Club’s draft party on Friday, he wore a Coyotes jersey, carried the rug on his shoulder and posed for photos with other fans. His enthusiasm and dedication – enough to create a handmade rug – is just one example of the growing hockey fan base in Salt Lake City.

“This one took a long time because I wanted all the lines to be straight,” Malstrom said as he held up the rug. “I’ll definitely make another one when the new mascot is announced.”

Sitting across the Delta Center from the crowd were Darrin and Tanner Jensen, who were enjoying the festivities and pointing to the arena’s big screen, as the draft was just minutes away. Darrin is Tanner’s father and grew up in Utah as a lifelong hockey fan.

He never thought a team would move to Salt Lake City.

“It was one of those deals where once the rumor came out, it felt like it was almost too good to be true,” Darrin said. “The way it all happened was unbelievable. I’m extremely excited. I’m a Montreal Canadiens fan and now I have a season ticket, so I can’t wait for the game.”

Tanner, a former soccer player, began pursuing his father’s love of hockey at the age of 12. From the moment he hit the puck, he, just like his father, couldn’t get enough of the sport.

Tanner and Darrin weren’t the only Jensens in attendance at the draft party. They brought Owen, Tanner’s toddler, with them in hopes of passing on their NHL enthusiasm to him.

“I can’t guarantee he’ll be a Utah fan,” Darrin said. “I’ll let him pick his own team.”

Tanner also agrees with this idea, but only if he doesn’t become a fan of the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

“I’m a hockey fan in general,” Tanner said. “I like to collect jerseys, but I’ll never own a Vegas Golden Knights jersey. I can’t stand them.”

It’s these kinds of traditions – the rivalries, the joy and the determination of hockey – that the trio and hundreds of fans can’t wait to continue with the Utah Hockey Club in SLC.

“The people reading this,” Darrin said, “don’t know what an NHL game is like until they’ve been to one. It’s one thing on TV, but seeing it live… it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.”

“I know there are a lot of fans here who have never played hockey before, but I think they will be amazed at what they will see in the future.”

“A milestone”

Ryan Smith would have thought you were crazy if you had told him a few months ago that he would one day own an NHL franchise.

But as the professional sports magnate walked among the various officials and owners of the other 31 NHL teams in Las Vegas on Friday, this reality slowly dawned on him.

The NHL has arrived in Utah.

“This is a big day for the state of Utah,” Smith told a group of reporters before the draft. “This is a big day for this new franchise. Someone is going to be drafted here and be the first pick of this franchise. This is a milestone for all of us in our state and I think for the sport of hockey.”

In the run-up to the 2024 NHL Draft, it was unclear who Smith and Armstrong would select with their first pick in franchise history.

Guenther and teammate Josh Doan did not make any predictions when asked by the media, but they clapped and grinned when Iginla was officially selected, a sign that they were happy with the move.

“It’s pretty cool,” Guenther told The Salt Lake Tribune of his reaction to Iginla’s selection. “I played with Tij (growing up). He’s a great kid, so I’m super excited.”

Utah later added a second draft pick when the club traded back to the first round to get center Cole Beaudoin with pick No. 24.

While the selection of Beaudoin and Iginla whets the appetite in Salt Lake City, fans will have to wait until September 22nd when the Utah Hockey Club faces the St. Louis Blues on the road.

And finally, the club’s first home game against the Los Angeles Kings at the Delta Center will take place on September 23. Still, there is still a lot of work to be done before Utah’s inaugural season in Salt Lake City.

SEG and the city are awaiting a potential vote on an entertainment district that would transform downtown and renovate the 33-year-old Delta Center. In addition, the Utah Hockey Club has yet to select an official mascot and name, which are expected to be announced during the team’s first season following the results of a fan vote.

In time, these questions will be answered, but Ryan Smith and all of the team’s fans are focused on enjoying the present.

“It’s been a whirlwind two months,” Smith said. “…It feels very much like a tech startup, where everyone is constantly pitching in. That’s the world I come from. It’s been incredible.”

“It was inspiring to watch, not only from the people’s perspective, but from the perspective of our state and our community.”