Early reaction to Utah Hockey Club strong as it enters crowded Salt Lake market

Utah Hockey Club jersey is shown during a tour of the new temporary practice facility locker room at the Olympic Oval Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Kearns, Utah. They became a Salt Lake City institution, continuing to draw sellout crowds long after Stockton-to-Malone eventually turned into a rebuilding team that very well could be going on year three of missing the playoffs.

The Jazz, who moved to Salt Lake in 1979 after five years in New Orleans, created fans for the future by developing them when they were young through Junior Jazz. Barney said it's the nation's largest youth basketball program, and the idea is to create a similar legacy in hockey. "I think once the team starts, you're going see a lot of interest, and kids are going to start choosing the hockey stick over a basketball or soccer ball or football," Taylor said.. "... It just builds their dreams when the best players in the world come into your backyard and they're part of your community fabric as your home team."

"But we also know there's hockey people here," said Travis Henderson, senior vice president for broadcasting for the UHC and Jazz. "So just striking that balance of teaching and elevating the game but not talking down to the hockey fans we know are here and have watched their whole lives. So it's an interesting balance, but we're aware of it."

"I think the reaction has been about as good as anyone could expect," longtime Salt Lake sports talk radio co-host Patrick Kinahan said. "This town is ready to explode to be a big-time sports town, and hockey gets them one step closer to that. I went to the first preseason game just to get a feel.Utah has a young corps of players led by Clayton Keller and a defense upgraded with some offseason moves that included trading for Mikhail Sergachev.

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