Tij Iginla underwent successful hip surgery and will miss the remainder of his season with the Kelowna Rockets in the Western Hockey League, Utah Hockey Club announced Wednesday.
The 18-year-old forward — and Utah’s sixth overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft — was on pace for a career year in the WHL. Iginla posted 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) through 21 games before his surgery.
Iginla missed a majority of Utah training camp earlier this year due to an undisclosed injury. While it’s an unfortunate end to a productive season for Iginla, it will put him on a good timeline for offseason recovery to be ready for next year.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Tij Iginla (12) shoots the puck as Carsen Musser (35) defends the goal during the scrimmage game following UtahÕs 2024 Development Camp at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, July 5, 2024.
Jaxson Stauber is ‘hungry,’ proves to be reliable
Jaxson Stauber made history for Utah Hockey Club on Saturday, recording the franchise’s first-ever shutout. It is likely the 25-year-old goaltender will be called upon again in the coming games.
Stauber was brought up from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners in the absence of Connor Ingram who is dealing with an upper-body injury. Head coach André Tourigny said Ingram is “not close,” so Utah’s goalie rotation has turned into Karel Vejmelka and Stauber.
“Once you get that first game in there, there’s nothing better than that. You definitely want more. I’m hungry,” Stauber said. “I just want to keep getting better and hopefully help the team when I can if I get another opportunity.”
Saturday’s 6-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights was Stauber’s first NHL game since February 2023 — he spent the entirety of last season in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs (the Chicago Blackhawks’ affiliate).
Utah Hockey Club goaltender Jaxson Stauber (33) stops a shot by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar (55) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Sam Morris)
It was hard to tell, though. Stauber posted 29 saves and looked focused and poised in his first start for Utah.
“Sometimes when you haven’t played in a while in a game situation you get there and it gets fast and some of your habits can get a little sloppy,” Stauber said. “With the limited practice time as well, I think I did a good job of maintaining those habits.”
Stauber’s performance was an obvious positive for Utah. The team does not want to overplay Vejmelka as he takes on the No. 1 role while Ingram is sidelined. Thus far, Vejmelka has been strong with the extra responsibility. The 28-year-old netminder has a 2.38 goals against average and .917 save percentage through 13 games this season and has only been gaining confidence.
Having two goaltenders who feel both mentally and physically ready to play will be important for Utah this week. The team has five games in the next eight days and will need to rely on some version of a rotation to maintain freshness in net.
“I think I just want to make the most of my opportunity,” Stauber said. “We’ll see what happens. If I just come to the rink, do my best every day, continue to get better, all those things will work themselves out.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) fails to block a puck against the Dallas Stars during the second period of the game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.
Load management, possible players entering lineup
Utah’s backend, somehow, got thinner on Friday. The team announced that 20-year-old defenseman Maveric Lamoureux will be out for four to six weeks with an upper-body injury.
Lamoureux was originally recalled from the AHL to help mend the gap that the injuries of Sean Durzi and John Marino left. Now, with Lamoureux also out, Utah will continue to look for solutions from within.
The team recalled Maksymilian Szuber from the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday but returned him on Wednesday. The 22-year-old defenseman did not play in any games, he just practiced. With Szuber back in the AHL, Utah is rolling with seven defensemen, perhaps opening space for players like Vladislav Kolyachonok to get back in the lineup.
Tourigny admitted his team looked a little tired in Monday’s 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars.
“I will say, I could feel some fatigue against Dallas which is not something we’ve felt a lot this season. But the last stretch was heavy,” Tourigny said. “We felt it. Everybody felt it. We felt a little bit more tired, heavy legs and stuff like that.”
Kolyachonok last played on Nov. 24 and has skated in 13 of Utah’s 25 games so far this season. The 23-year-old defenseman has been working hard in practice — always the first one on and last one off the ice — while waiting for his name to be called.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok (52) looks to pass during the game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Colorado Avalanche at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.
Robert Bortuzzo could, potentially, sit one of the back-to-back games out for load management. He was also dealing with a minor lower-body injury last week. The veteran has played in the last four consecutive games for Utah with Juuso Välimäki.
“It’s case by case. It depends on the number of minutes they play, if there’s any injury or banged up player involved in that,” Tourigny said of making lineup changes this weekend. “It will be important for us to be smart. But load management isn’t just about guys going in and out of the lineup — it’s how you manage your every day. You eat, you rest, you sleep, you hydrate yourself, all of that.”
In terms of the forward lines and power-play units, there were no changes in Wednesday’s practice.
The team was scheduled to practice Friday in Buffalo before Saturday’s afternoon game — the lines should remain the same through that simply because they’ve been working.
Lawson Crouse, Michael Carcone, Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz all broke their individual droughts and scored last weekend, adding a needed offensive depth to Utah’s attack. The team should look for goal-sheet contributions from Matias Maccelli (has not scored since Nov. 7) and Barrett Hayton (has not scored since Oct. 30) on the road trip.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club center Barrett Hayton (27) brings the puck down the ice during the game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024.
Scouting Utah’s opponents
Utah will first face the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday before taking on the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday. The team has yet to win consecutive games since the first week of the season, and this stretch gives it another opportunity to do so.
The Sabres most recently blew a 4-0 lead to the Colorado Avalanche, losing 5-4 on Tuesday. Buffalo — another team dealing with a heavy schedule — plays the top-of-the-league Winnipeg Jets on Thursday ahead of its matchup with Utah.
The power play has been a struggle for the Sabres this season; they’re ranked 29th in the league at 14.7%. Their penalty kill is middle of the pack at 80.3% and 15th in the NHL. Forward Alex Tuch leads the team in points with 23 (eight goals, 15 assists) through 25 games while skating on the first line with Tage Thompson and Jason Zucker.
The Flyers, on the other hand, have been on somewhat of a hot streak, winning four of their last five games. Philadelphia has some tough competition before Utah; it plays the Florida Panthers on Thursday and the Boston Bruins on Saturday which means it will also be coming off a back-to-back.
Travis Konecny leads the Flyers with 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) through 25 games and is on the first line with Joel Farabee and Sean Couturier. Defensively, Philadelphia has the third-best penalty kill in the league at 84.9%.
