San Jose, Calif. • There are a few extra Utah Hockey Club fans in the crowd at road games lately.
It is the team’s first-ever mentors' trip, a tradition among National Hockey League clubs. This week, each player invited a person who has had an impact on their life to join Utah in both Colorado and San Jose.
Parents, siblings, cousins and friends are on the road with Utah, traveling on the team plane, attending morning skates, cheering the loved ones on at games and participating in planned activities away from the rink.
“We were talking with the guys in the breakfast room — there was a lot of energy, a lot of chat. I think everybody’s happy,” head coach André Tourigny said. “That arrived at the perfect time for us. The schedule is not really friendly for us lately, so I think that boost of energy will be great for us.”
Tourigny was right — his team came out with one of its stronger performances of the season on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche. The mentors looked on from the stands — dressed in their customized player jerseys – as Utah beat the divisional rival Avalanche 4-1 at Ball Arena.
Dylan Guenther — whose mom Nadine is on the trip with him — posted a three-point night with two goals and an assist. The 21-year-old forward now leads Utah with 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 29 games. Guenther said his mom has been a good luck charm in the past; it seemingly carried over to this season.
“I think it’s important to show some gratitude. She did a lot for me and my brother growing up. We skated a lot as kids – before school, after school,” Guenther said. “As much as my whole life is dedicated to hockey, so was hers as much as she maybe didn’t want it sometimes. I think it’s cool to kind of give that back to her.”
The Edmonton native was also reunited with one of his long-lost youth hockey coaches who happens to be the brother of defenseman Kevin Connauton.
With injuries to Maveric Lamoureux and Robert Bortuzzo, Connauton was recalled from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners on Wednesday to fill in as Utah’s seventh defenseman. The 34-year-old got the news a day before the team left for its mentors' road trip and immediately called his brother, Sean, to see if he could make it on short notice.
“Got a phone call from my brother Kevin in the morning when my alarm was going off to get up for work,” Sean said. “I use the same ring tone so I had no clue what was going on. Finally got my eyes open and looked — saw a couple missed calls."
Kevin asked Sean to join the team as his mentor. The only problem? Sean had 30 minutes before he had to be at work as a youth hockey coach. Plus, it was minus 10 with snowfall in Edmonton and there weren’t many options for afternoon flights to Denver. Nonetheless, Sean explained the situation to his boss — who is former NHLer Nathan Dempsey — and made it out in time.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Sean said.
“It’s awesome. He loves it. I couldn’t be happier to be able to bring him,” Kevin added. “Never got a chance over the years to get him on a trip like this. To have an opportunity to do it now is great. He’s someone I’ve looked up to my whole life. Kind of return the favor a little bit.”
(Charlie Neibergall | AP) Utah Hockey Club's Kevin Connauton celebrates with teammates after scoring during the second period of an NHL preseason hockey game against the St. Louis Blues, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa.
At Thursday’s morning skate in Colorado, Sean got talking to Guenther’s mom. The two had met before – Sean was the assistant coach for Guenther on Team Alberta at the Brick Tournament when the Utah forward was 10 years old. The tournament is held every summer for the top 9- and 10-year-olds in North America and was one of Guenther’s early stops on the way to the NHL.
“To see him now having such great success at this level, it’s pretty cool,” Sean said.
Guenther laughed about the connection when asked about seeing Sean for the first time in 10 years.
“I saw his name on the key card coming into the hotel and was like, ‘Oh wow, can’t believe he’s here,’” Guenther said. “Probably makes him feel old, too.”
While Kevin likely won’t play on the road trip — Vladislav Kolyachonok is back in the lineup on the third pair with Juuso Välimäki — he’s practicing and making the most of the opportunity. Through 17 games with the Roadrunners this season, Connauton has six points (three goals, three assists) and offers a steady, veteran presence to the group.
“I think just keeping things in perspective. This is about as good of a lifestyle as you can get,” Connauton said of handling the up-and-down nature of his career. “Just gratitude for this lifestyle and this opportunity. Everyone dreams of playing pro hockey and I’ve been fortunate enough to do it for a while.”
Sean was proudly wearing the “44” Connauton jersey on Thursday and has the perfect spot to put it once the trip is over.
“I hang them all in the shooting area where I do some of my sessions back home,” he said. “Kevin is not necessarily the guy that’s in the gift shop throughout his career, so usually we have to take some extra time to get one made. To have it out of the gate, it’s pretty special.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) during an NHL hockey game at the Delta Center against the Calgary Flames in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024.
Mikhail Sergachev — who has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) as Utah’s No. 1 defenseman this season — was able to bring both of his parents. Neither his mom nor dad speak English, he said, so it’s “just easier for them to be together on this trip.”
Sergachev, like all of his teammates, credited his family for helping him get to where he is today.
“They’re the ones that brought me to the game and gave me everything I needed. Almost half of their paycheck would go to my hockey stuff every month,” Sergachev said. “Instead of going on vacation for two weeks, they would just take their time off to go to tournaments with me. Obviously, I appreciate that and I try to give back as much as I can.”
His parents have been in Utah since November, going to games, enjoying the outdoors and spending time with their grandson. Sergachev, and his eight-year contract, were traded to Utah in June, so his mom and dad have been getting to know his new home.
“They love Utah. They go in the mountains every day for hiking and just walking around,” Sergachev said. “They love games, the atmosphere, the team. They think I’m in the right spot so they’re happy for me.”
While the Utah Hockey Club players are stars and well-known professional athletes to the public, the mentors still see them as sons, brothers, cousins and childhood friends. No matter the amount of time spent in the league, Nick Bjugstad’s mom, Janeen, said seeing her kid live out his dream never gets old.
“It’s still surreal that he’s doing this after 12 years. I’m still a mom, I still worry about injuries and just hope that he has a good game. I’m still so in awe that he’s doing what he said he wanted to do when he was three,” Janeen said. “I always tell him I’m proud of his hockey, but I’m most proud of his character.”
Utah made its mentors proud with Thursday’s dominant win. It will look to bring that momentum into Saturday’s contest against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center with some fresh Utah Hockey Club jerseys in the crowd.
