Category: NHL

The Utah Hockey Club goal horn has been unveiled and it’s fantastic

It’s loud, it’s wonderful and it’s finally here, Utah fans.

Hockey fans around the world turned their eyes to Salt Lake City, Utah on Tuesday night as the Utah Hockey Club took the ice for the first regular season game in franchise history. Many tuned in hoping for a chance to learn the answer to one of the sport’s biggest mysteries…

What’s that Utah goal horn sound like?

No, seriously, this is a big point of contention for hockey fans. Goal horns are iconic. They are meant to shock fans out of their seats and make the pit in the stomaches of their opponents even deeper after letting up a goal. It’s one of the key elements of every team’s game presentation. And on Tuesday we finally got our answer as Utah scored five times in a 5-2 rout of the Chicago Blackhawks on Opening Night.

Volume up. Here it is:

WHEW.

Utah crushed it. It’s not just a wall of sound. It’s a wall of sound that grows more intense at the end of each honk. It almost wraps you in a bear hug before fading off.

The best part is Utah fans didn’t even have to wait long to hear it in action. UHC’s Dylan Guenther got the scoring started five minutes into the first period, giving hockey fans everywhere a chance to listen to the goal horn in all of it’s brass glory.

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Jessica Campbell got the biggest ovation of any Kraken coach on her historic night

What a moment.

Jessica Campbell couldn’t help it.

There she was on the opening night of the Seattle Kraken’s 2024-25 season with a game against the St. Louis Blues, and the coach making history as the first woman as a full time assistant or associate was introduced.

PHOTOS: Jessica Campbell makes NHL history

The ovation from the crowd was so loud, and Campbell cracked a bit of a smile. How could you not when that happens? Sure, you want to stay stoic as a coach, but that was just awesome.

What’s more, it was the loudest ovation any coach received, and that might include head coach Dan Bylsma.

What a moment:

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Bruins’ Max Jones accidentally slashed a referee while scuffling with Panthers’ Evan Rodrigues

You can’t do that, even on accident!

Boston Bruins forward Max Jones got off on the wrong foot to start the new NHL season on Tuesday night.

While engaged in a scuffle with Florida Panthers winger Evan Rodrigues, Jones accidentally slashed his hockey stick at a referee’s arm.

You could see the look on both of the players’ faces after Jones made accidental contact with the official instead of Rodrigues’ stick. Another referee quickly called a foul on Jones for the incident.

Jones immediately went to check on the referee after the hit and looked sorry for the mix-up, as this was an honest mistake in a rough-and-tumble game.

However, accidentally slashing a referee will typically get you sent to the box.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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The Kraken honored Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau with a wonderful 13-second moment of silence

This was so sweet from Seattle.

The Seattle Kraken held a beautiful moment of silence to honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau ahead of their season opener.

On Tuesday, the NHL kicked off its regular season in North America with a slate of three games throughout the day. Ahead of the Kraken’s home opener against the St. Louis Blues, the team held a 13-second moment of silence to honor the Gaudreaus after the pair were tragically killed in a car accident that should never have happened the night before their sister’s wedding in August.

Before the start of the NHL regular season in Europe over the weekend, the league released a wonderful tribute video to honor the two brothers who meant so much to the hockey world. And on Tuesday, the Kraken continued the memorial with a 13-second moment of silence, in honor of Johnny Gaudreau’s number he wore.

The Utah Hockey Club, the NHL’s newest franchise for the 2024-25 season, explained

Who are the Utah Hockey Club, the NHL’s newest franchise for the 2024-25 season?

The NHL has a new franchise for the 2024-25 season. Yet, you may have noticed, the NHL still has 32 teams. So, what gives?

Enter the Utah Hockey Club.

Back in April, the Arizona Coyotes played their last game as a franchise as we knew them. After a long, messy stay in Arizona that lasted 28 years, the Coyotes were relocated to Utah at the end of the 2023-24 NHL season.

And thus, Utah Hockey Club was born! The team is officially set up in Salt Lake City after being bought by Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and the Smith Entertainment Group. Utah Hockey Club will also play games at the Delta Center alongside the Jazz, with the arena set to be updated to accommodate both clubs better.

Utah is still a young, burgeoning franchise, but here’s everything we know about the team so far.

Is Utah Hockey Club the final team name?

It is not! Because Utah had such a short time between its inception as a franchise and the start of the 2024-25 season, the team chose not to rush the decision and go with Utah Hockey Club for its inaugural season.

Fans, however, did get to vote on the final name, which will be revealed before the 2025-26 season. The team’s colors — black, blue and white — will be the same going forward though.

What conference and division does the Utah Hockey Club play in?

Even though the franchise relocated, Utah Hockey Club will remain in the Western Conference and in the Central Division.

Who are the general manager and head coach of Utah Hockey Club?

Bill Armstrong is the general manager for Utah coming into the 2024-25 season. Armstrong was previously the general manager for Arizona. As for Utah’s head coach, André Tourigny returns to be the bench boss, as he also was the Coyotes’ head coach before the relocation.

Most importantly, does Utah have a mascot?

Technically no, but Jazz Bear will be pulling double duty as the Utah Hockey Club’s unofficial mascot for the 2024-25 season!

What is the helmet decal NHL players are wearing to honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau?

Team USA Hockey and the NHL are beautifully honoring the Gaudreau brothers.

It’s been just over a month since former Columbus Blue Jackets winger Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed in a tragic accident in a situation that should have never happened. With the 2024 NHL season now here, Team USA hockey has decided to honor the two brothers in a beautiful way.

According to a Team USA hockey press release, NHL players who are part of the U.S. National Team will wear a special “Gaudreau” helmet decal with both of the brothers’ jersey numbers and dueling hockey sticks this season.

Here is USA Hockey’s executive director Pat Kelleher on the move:

“Johnny and Matthew [Gaudreau], along with their families, will forever be a part of the USA Hockey family. This is a small way to not only honor their memory, but help keep their wonderful spirit for our great game and life in general in the forefront.”

Not only that, the NHL will also have their own decal honoring the Gaudreau brothers through October 24.

Kudos to everyone involved in this wonderful tribute.

Who is the Utah Hockey Club mascot? Meet the one it’s borrowing from another team.

The Utah Hockey Club is using a mascot that already exists.

Professional hockey is here in Utah thanks to the Arizona Coyotes moving to Salt Lake City.

But it doesn’t have an official new moniker yet as we wait for the NHL franchise to figure out its branding, so it’s the Utah Hockey Club for now.

Which brings us to the question you want an answer to: Who is the mascot for the new team? And how do you come up with a mascot for a team named like that?

The answer is… it’s using another team’s mascot. Jazz Bear from the Utah Jazz will be serving as the furry critter for this season.

https://twitter.com/utahhockeyclub/status/1843295770675658944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1843295770675658944%7Ctwgr%5E119a323af624e247428caae7f2904d4830525802%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fkslsports.com%2F527607%2Futah-hockey-club-mascot-jazz-bear%2F

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The NHL’s digital board ads and why hockey fans hate them, explained

The NHL’s digital board ads are back for the 2024-25 season, but not everyone is happy.

Editor’s note: This post has been updated for the 2024-25 season. It was originally published in 2023.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you wondering why the advertisements on the boards during NHL games keep distracting you? If so, we’re here to help.

Fall is here and that means hockey season is officially back in full swing. The 2024-25 NHL season promises to be filled with exciting games, captivating stories, and some darn good hockey to boot.

While a lot of the talk this season will be centered on the action on the ice, you can be sure that NHL fans will once again be complaining about one thing in particular: the league’s digital board advertisements. So, what are these digital board ads and why do hockey fans hate them with a fiery passion? Let’s dive in.

Who is Jessica Campbell? Meet the Seattle Kraken’s new assistant coach making NHL history

Meet Jessica Campbell, the Seattle Kraken’s new assistant coach.

The 2024 NHL season is here, and when the Seattle Kraken take the ice, there will be a new face on the bench — assistant coach Jessica Campell.

Campbell is a first-year coach for Seattle and the first woman to be an assistant or associate coach in NHL history. The Kraken hired Campbell in July after she spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, gaining experience with Seatte’s new head coach, Dan Bylsma.

Campbell has a rich background in hockey, including a career that spanned college, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and even Canada’s women’s national team, where she earned a silver medal at the 2015 world championship. She also spent time as a skating coach in the Swedish Hockey League and Germany with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers, and, in 2022, she was the first woman to serve as an assistant coach on the German national team for the men’s world championships.

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The NHL’s Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau tribute video and 13-second moment of silence was so sweet

This is the right way to open the NHL season.

It’s still unbelievable that Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau are no longer here with us.

The Gaudreau brothers died in a car accident that should never have happened the night before their sister’s wedding. NHL fans mourned them after learning about the loss.

To open the NHL Global Series in Europe on Friday, the league paid its respects to the Gaudreau brothers. The NHL put together what is likely the first of many tribute videos to the brothers that we’ll see this season and played it ahead of the game. There was also a 13-second moment of silence to go along with it. Johnny’s number was 13.

What a sweet gesture from the league.