President Chris Armstrong, general manager Bill Armstrong, and head coach Andre Tourigny spoke about the new faces on the training camp roster at Utah HC media day at Delta Center.
Utah Hockey Club president Chris Armstrong teased the first snowfall of the season would arrive on October 8, but Christmas morning was on the opening day of rookie camp, according to general manager Bill Armstrong.
And now, some of those rookies are getting their shot in training camp.
Of the 64 players on the training camp roster, 20 of them are rookies, including 2024 first-round picks Cole Beaudoin and Tij Iginla, and 2022 first-round pick Maveric Lamoreaux.
They also have inaugural signing Julian Lutz and forward Miko Matikka, who both had standout performances during camp, among others.
It's what head coach Andre Tourigny said will make his job "miserable" -- and he welcomes it.
"It gets you excited when you go through the process and see how committed they are to you," Bill Armstrong said. "It gives us an advantage, especially through trades."
Bill Armstrong proved that point in trading for Mikhail Sergachev in exchange for J.J. Moser this past off-season, which bolstered Utah's back line and was a primary subject of media day.
However, Tourigny said Wednesday that more than anything, he wants to put the best team out on the ice, and not dominate the conversations or be "GM of the day", as he called it.
"A lot of work has been done for a lot of years to build this organization," Chris Armstrong said. "One of the things that got us excited was the depth of talent in the prospect pipeline. More than anything, to see the pride they played with gave us great optimism."