Salt Lake City isn’t really a hockey town.
Or it’s not a Utah Hockey Club town quite yet anyway.
First, let’s look at the data. The polling firm HarrisX conducted a survey for the Deseret News asking Utahns whether or not they were following the Utah Hockey Club. Just 5% of Utahns said they were following the team very closely. Another 20% were following somewhat closely, while the remainder, three-quarters of Utahns, said they were following “not too closely” (30%) or not at all (45%).
That makes sense to me. Most Utahns just haven’t had the chance to develop an emotional connection to the franchise: 62% of respondents to the above survey said they did not plan to attend any games this season, with 30% planning to attend fewer than five. Only 7% said they’d attend more.
There are hockey fans in Utah who do have longstanding connections to the players on the ice at the Delta Center. They’re just wearing a visiting team’s jersey.
The week surrounding Christmas Day saw two Utah Hockey Club divisional rivals make their way to Salt Lake City. The Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche both consider themselves Stanley Cup contenders, though both had struggled more than expected through the season’s first two months and change. The week, then, would be an important test of mettle as the teams fought to make good on their potential.
And in both games, the away fans were loud and proud.
Sometimes louder and prouder.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Colorado Avalanche fans celebrate a goal against Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024.
I watched the display of affection start before the game’s faceoff. As teams take the ice for warmups, fans clustered near their team’s benches, hoping for a closer glimpse of their players and maybe a free puck — and these gatherings featured more Stars and Avalanche fans than Utah Hockey Club fans this week.
Dallas fans could be heard shouting “STARS!” when the word made its appearance in “The Star Spangled Banner” — and it was far louder than the meek “Utah!” chant attempted when the singer came to the words “Oh say can you see."
During the games, the opposing fans made their presence heard, with significant cheers during Utah penalties and goals from the away team. To the home fans' credit, these cheers were quickly booed out by the local faithful.
Utah’s losses, though, gave room for the away fans to have the last laugh. Dallas fans air high-fived each other throughout the arena upon Dallas' goals. Against Colorado, Avs fans who saw the Delta Center’s first-ever hat trick from Artturi Lehkonen threw their own caps on the ice.
One Avalanche fan was so excited about the hat trick that he forgot about the net separating his hat from a successful throw to the rink. His hat falling meekly to the seats below was met with about the same reaction as that of the bird that hits the window. He was almost cartoonishly devastated.
This discussion isn’t to diminish either set of fans. I’m actually quite impressed with both.
The away fans who attends games in Utah are dedicated to their passion to a remarkable degree. In the case of the Avalanche, they were the natural NHL team to grow up watching here — I remember watching dozens of Avs games with my dad growing up on Altitude when it was distributed on Utah televisions. Many of the fans I spoke to on Friday were in the same boat: They’re longtime Utahns who simply chose to stay attached to the team they’ve cheered for for years.
But Utah Hockey Club fans deserve plaudits, too.
They’ve chosen to embrace a very green club with next to no history of success, and spend oodles of money doing so. Just getting in the building for the game against the Avalanche cost about $125 on the secondary market. Buying a jersey with the club’s temporary logo and a player’s name on it cost double that, $250.
It’s those latter fans that stand out to the Utah Hockey Club’s players. As much as the Delta Center’s fan demographics have been split recently, the situation was probably even worse for the team in Arizona. Phoenix’s huge number of transplants (only 23% of Arizona’s current adult residents were born in Arizona, a remarkable figure) meant that the team was long a magnet for outsider fans looking to enjoy the home team’s misery.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club and Colorado Avalanche fans walk the concourse before an NHL game in Salt Lake City, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024.
In Utah, the local support is much more significant, to the point where it seems to be putting pressure on the players. Both players and coaches on Friday night cited a deep desire to impress the Utah fans while playing at the Delta Center, which they say might lead to more emotional and erratic play from the home team. The Club is 5-7-4 in Salt Lake, and 11-6-2 on the road.
More maturity from this young team, and therefore more wins, might be the ticket that leads to Utah Hockey Club fan base growth. The HarrisX poll said the Hockey Club was more fervently supported by urban Salt Lake residents than by suburbanites and rural Utahns. A playoff berth might be required to truly expand the footprint of the fan base and get a wider share of attention spans.
The home team’s fan base is growing.
But for now, and for many games, the Utah Hockey Club shares its home with other fans.
