Owen Allard watched 583 of his peers get drafted before he heard his own name called. That’s 19 rounds over three years that he had to sit there, wondering if his dream of playing in the NHL would ever come true.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Utah Hockey Club is no longer a concept. The franchise took the ice for the first time Friday at the 2024 Rookie Faceoff at the Toyota Sports Performance Center, playing against the San Jose Sharks and Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NHL Draft.

Utah has one buyout on its books: former Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson. It’s a particularly sticky situation because Arizona/Utah did not buy him out — the Vancouver Canucks did, two years after acquiring him from the Coyotes.

This season, non-nationally exclusive Utah Hockey Club games will be broadcast locally on KUPX-TV Channel 16. Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.

The Kings were back in action on Saturday night for their second of three games in the 2024 Rookie Showcase. Going up against the Utah Hockey Club, the Kings got their first dose of the newest franchise to enter the NHL.

With the 4 Nations Face-Off coming up in February, the Utah Hockey Club has a chance to send a number of players to compete for their respective national teams. But before we get into our roster projections,

If you live in Utah, Utah 16 will be your main hub for hockey games. The channel, available through your cable provider, will broadcast 75 regular season games, in addition to some preseason games.