After 14 years with the Islanders, Anders Lee begins a new chapter Thursday as he prepares for his first opening night with the Utah Mammoth.
For the first time in 14 years, Anders Lee will walk into an NHL opening night without the New York Islanders.
At 36, after spending his entire career in the same organization — including six seasons as its captain — Lee is starting over in a new city, with a new team and a new chapter in his career.
And he’s ready for it.
The Utah Mammoth will open their home schedule Thursday night at Delta Center against the Chicago Blackhawks, giving Lee his first official game in front of a Utah crowd since signing with the Mammoth in the offseason.
“It’s been a wonderful month here for me and my family, getting to Salt Lake and for me to be here with the team,” Lee told a group of reporters Thursday morning. “Kids are doing well, family’s settling in, and I think we’re just all really excited.”
Lee has spent the past three practices preparing for the moment. While the preseason gave the Mammoth a chance to get comfortable with one another, Thursday marks the first time the games truly count.
For Lee, the message is simple: don’t overcomplicate it.
“I think we start off simple tonight,” he said. “We had a really good preseason, a great camp. But now that it’s live, I think we just keep it simple early and build our game.”
That means relying on the players around him, staying connected and settling into the pace of a regular-season game.
There will be plenty of energy inside Delta Center, especially with Utah hosting its first home game of the season. Lee knows the atmosphere will be different from anything he experienced in New York, but he also sees it as part of the excitement.
“There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of energy in the building,” Lee said. “You just kind of got to settle in and play your game.”
The Mammoth have spent the past few days fine-tuning their chemistry, using three consecutive practices to clean up details before the opener.
Lee said the group has responded well.
“I think it’s been really good,” he said. “We were able to close things up last weekend, have three strong days of practice, just to kind of work out even more of the kinks.”
There is another wrinkle for Utah on Thursday. Chicago already has a game under its belt, meaning the Blackhawks have had a chance to experience the speed and intensity of a regular-season game before arriving in Salt Lake City.
The Mammoth, meanwhile, have been watching the rest of the league get started and waiting for their turn.
“The last couple days we’ve been sitting at home and we see everyone else starting up, so we’re excited to get things going,” Lee said. “It’s finally our turn.”
For Lee, that moment carries a little more weight.
After more than a decade in one place, Thursday represents his first opening night somewhere else. But after a month of getting settled in Utah, meeting his new teammates and adjusting to a new city with his family, Lee said the transition has been a good one.
Now he gets to put on the jersey for the first time when it matters.
“I love to put on the jersey tonight and have our first official one,” Lee said.
A new city. A new team. A new opening night.
For Lee, it’s a beginning he’s been looking forward to.
