Utah HC's president of hockey operations and alternate governor discussed his first few months with the organization and their shared vision in his first formal press conference Friday.
It's no secret Chris Armstrong and Ryan Smith have known each other for a long time.
So when Smith broached the idea of a possible NHL team in Utah to him, he became intrigued.
Now, speaking to reporters for the first time Friday at Delta Center, the newly named president of hockey operations and alternate governor of the Utah Hockey Club is helping bring that vision to fruition.
"They (NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly) saw the potential in Ryan and what he could bring to the league," Armstrong said. "It gave me great enthusiasm for what he was going to turn that meeting into one day."
For Armstrong, though, it's bigger than hockey; he now gets to work side-by-side with Ryan and Ashley Smith and an organization in the Smith Entertainment Group that is committed to excellence.
"There's no job too big or too small for anybody in this organization. If it helps us take a step forward, then the expectation is we'll do it," he said. "If we're all aligned with the same objective, we're partners."
Armstrong added to reach their goals, it will take some difficult conversations and hard decisions, but having a mindset like owner Ryan Smith possesses is contagious.
And that, he said, is what will set the club apart from other teams in North America and will set a precedent for the future.
"We're not trying to re-invent the wheel," Armstrong explained. "We're trying to set things up the way that we think it can be successful, and do that from day one."