In Ryan Smith’s NHL dream, the puck stops in Salt Lake City

Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith on the sidelines of his teams NBA basketball game in Salt Lake City Monday, Dec. 18, 2023.at the Delta Center, Smith is inside the team’s practice facility wearing a turquoise hoodie, white pants and white sneakers — without socks. He completes his signature, laid-back ensemble by placing a backwards black ballcap on his head.

“I was one of the younger ones, so I could go faster than everybody else,” Smith says with a laugh. “It was so much fun, but I also got hurt.” But if you poke deep enough, you will also discover Smith’s genuine affection for hockey. In addition to his brief roller hockey career, Smith grew up going to IHL games with his family featuring theSmith even has some of the biggest names in hockey in his phone.bench boss’s approach to coaching that he connected him directly to 36-year-old Jazz head coach Will Hardy for some advice on how to motivate NBA athletes.

One of the most unique hockey souvenirs in Salt Lake City is hidden behind a Shop Vac hanging on the wall inside a utility room in the Maverik Center. The Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL play their home games in this facility, which was originally built to host the men’s hockey tournament for the 2002 Olympic Games. Attendance has soared in recent weeks, as theThere is certainly a buzz around hockey in this city, but the Grizzlies are not concerned with Smith’s aggressive pursuit to bring an NHL team into the market.

Adds Nate Barton, who worked as an usher at the Salt Palace in 1980, “When I ushered to the Jazz, we could go sit in the first couple of rows. The hockey team easily outdrew the Jazz.”What doomed the Golden Eagles, ironically, was a shift to the Delta Center in 1991. That venue was built as a basketball-specific arena, which created poor sight lines for hockey.

When and where that first NHL game takes place in Salt Lake City is up for debate. But since the Maverik Center was built with hockey in mind and can comfortably seat about 10,000 fans, Bruder says they would be eager to host NHL games as a short-term solution. Smith does not want his pursuit of an NHL team to come off as though he’s poaching the Coyotes from afar.

“I don’t want to get involved with how they deliver a team. We’re showing that we’re ready and that’s what we’re putting forward,” says Smith. “We talk to them frequently. They know our interest. They see what’s going on. They see the value, and they’re intrigued.”

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