Listen, I know most seasoned NHL fans will tell you, “Preseason games don’t count.” It’s a known adage in all sports leagues except maybe in NASCAR, where non-points races at least have a solid monetary payout. But don’t tell Utah Hockey Club fans these games don’t count because right now, they are and should be cheering their new team on.
This time last season, the NHL coming to Salt Lake City was nothing more than a pipe dream, even if we can all agree Utah’s state capital would have made for an outstanding hockey town. Meanwhile, Phoenix, Arizona, or better yet, the Greater Phoenix Area, never seemed to be a good fit for the NHL, even throughout the Coyotes glorious run in 2012.
Sure, for most hockey fans, it’s just NHL preseason, and it may even be like that these days for fans of the Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kraken. Neither team has hit their respective ten-year marks yet, but the novelty has worn off, even if the former possesses arguably one of the NHL’s better fanbases and more successful histories.
For fans in Utah, they need to be cheering on a team that has only played a couple of games so far in the preseason. Let them get loud when Clayton Keller scores that overtime goal because, across the sports landscape, new fanbases need to show their support early.
Utah Hockey Club fans shouldn’t care that it’s only preseason
Regardless of how well Utah plays for the rest of the preseason, its fans must show the same passion that they displayed last night at the Delta Center. It was a special atmosphere, and it would have rocked to have been part of it, of fans cheering on players they barely know (for now), slapping fives with strangers, and connecting with one another because pro hockey in Utah brought them together.
Sure, the time will come when preseason may be nothing more than a blip in the average Utah hockey fan’s life. We’re used to seeing half-empty arenas this time of the year because of the NFL and NCAA football being in the thick of their respective regular seasons and the MLB finding itself in the “down the stretch” phase.
But then again, look at, say, the Montreal Canadiens and their fanbase, which packs the Bell Centre even during irrelevant contests that will see half the players taking part in these games spending their time either in junior hockey or the AHL.
While the games don’t count, every single shift counts for the players looking to make an impression not only for their fans but the coaches, general manager, etc. Maybe Utah will be one of those teams and if they are, we just got a glimpse of how passionate this fanbase can and should be.