Utah Hockey Club announces Clayton Keller as franchise's first captain

This morning, we woke up to a bombshell from the Utah Hockey Club. Out of nowhere, Utah announced Clayton Keller as the first captain in franchise history.

While it is not shocking that Keller was chosen, he has been with the team for eight years and is considered their best player and leader. However, announcing a captain is a big step for this team.

The Arizona Coyotes have played without a captain for the last three years and elected to play with three assistant captains instead of the traditional captain and two assistant captains.

Utah Hockey Club announces Clayton Keller as franchise's first captain

On Tuesday morning, the president of Utah hockey operations, Chris Armstrong, said, "As a leader, Clayton exemplifies the values of our organization and the identity we want to build for our franchise here in Utah. Indeed, we are proud to name him the first captain in the history of Utah Hockey Club". He then continued, “On the ice, he leads by example as one of the game’s premier players. Off the ice, he earns the respect of his peers, coaches, and our training staff every day through his relentless desire to get the most out of himself and his teammates. He is ready for the responsibility and will be an excellent captain” (via NHL.com)

Others echoed the sentiments in the organization, such as general manager Bill Armstrong, who said, "To be named captain of Utah Hockey Club is an enormous honor and one that Clayton has earned...Clayton has evolved into an excellent hockey player and has become an even better person who has earned the respect of the entire organization. He’s looking forward to the challenges that come with serving as a captain and will be surrounded by a strong leadership group that will be able to support and help lead this team"(via NHL.com).

Keller is a four-time all-star and is only one of nine players to make the all-star team each of the last three years. He said himself today that "Our (Utah's) rebuild is kind of over now…we’re ready to take the next step, and the playoffs is definitely our goal" (via Cole Bagley). It will be fantastic to see how Keller grows with the "C" on his chest at only 26 years old. Keller has not even hit his hockey prime yet. Now that he has another true goal scorer to play with in Dylan Guenther, we could see a big breakout season for Keller to show that he is one of the best players in the NHL.