Utah Hockey Club prepares for preseason debut amid ‘great excitement’

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Hockey Club is ready for another first.

Fans will see Utah play for the first time when the team opens its preseason against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday (7 p.m. ET) at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.

“I think there's a lot of excitement all over the city, you can feel it right now,” said forward Josh Doan, who is hoping to make the opening night roster for the first time in his NHL career.

“I think (Sunday) will feel the most realistic because there's a game going on and you can look at the stats and see for the first time how your team is doing, which is always exciting.”

While there is excitement ahead of the first preseason game in franchise history, it is also an opportunity for players to continue preparing for the upcoming season. The first regular season game in Utah history will be on October 8 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I think we just need to get back on our feet and get up to game speed as quickly as possible,” forward Logan Cooley said. “It's just about avoiding as many mistakes as possible. You need to know what everybody's doing out there, you need to communicate, and when you do that, you make the game easier for your teammates and yourself.”