NHL Star Has High Praise For Utah

The defending champion Florida Panthers wander into Salt Lake City for the first ever meeting between themselves and the Utah Hockey Club.

The puck drops at 8:00 mountain time and will introduce the newest NHL team to the NHL’s newest recipient of the Stanley Cup.

As the old adage goes “you only get one chance to make a first impression” and many are eager to know how Utah holds up when a new team comes into town.

Panthers right winger, Matthew Tkachuk, was asked all about Utah and the roster, and he had a thing or two to say about the beehive state.

The 2023 All-Star MVP said that Utah is “a nice spot” and that they've done a “really good job.”

From the atmosphere to the fan engagement, Tkachuk was very complimentary.

After the compliments, Chucky was sure to state that he and the Panthers “were excited to see it tonight” in reference to the home crowd and environment.

From a competition standpoint he even felt that Utah could be worthy of the playoffs “if not this year, definitely next year.”

Even by throwing in the caveat that it may not be this season, he ended by giving the club a “good chance at making it this year.”

The praise didn’t stop there as he singled out Utah captain, Clayton Keller, who he spent a part of his childhood with.

Aside from lauding Keller’s talent, he was sure to chip on on how Clayton has held up as a captain in Utah’s inaugural season:

Calling it not only the “right choice”, but the “easy choice” is high praise from the two-time All-Star.

The encouraging, inspiring words, are an uncommon theme for Utah sports fans who are used to opposing NBA players bashing on the state.

Niceties aside, Florida will be doing their worst as they try to track down Toronto in the Atlantic division.

Utah will be looking to help close the 4 point gap between themselves and the Vancouver Canucks for that 2^nd wild card spot.

Utah would like to help prove that they aren’t only a nice place to visit, but a tough place to play as they currently hold a 5-7-4 home record at the Delta Center.

Utah will have six straight home games after tonight providing a good opportunity to make that record much more respectable as the Clubs last home win came on the 18^th of December.