Pregame preview: Utah Hockey Club vs. Chicago Blackhawks

It’s a battle of new versus old: the Utah Hockey Club and the Chicago Blackhawks.

The two teams will face off Tuesday in the Utah hockey team’s first regular season game as a franchise.

Here’s what you need to know about the matchup.

Chicago Blackhawks history

The Blackhawks are an “Original Six” team, meaning they’re one of the six remaining teams from the early days of the NHL. And, of course, their first game this season is against a brand-new franchise.

In their 97 seasons, the Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup six times. Three of those six titles came in the 2010s during the reign of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith, among others. They’re currently rebuilding, and that process is going swimmingly.

They selected Connor Bedard with the first-overall pick in the 2023 draft. Bedard is primed to become the next generational talent. In 2024, they drafted Artyom Levshunov with the second-overall pick.

As those players — in addition to the other handful of blue chip prospects in their system — develop, the Hawks will become a force to be reckoned with once again. Being in the same division as Utah HC, these two teams could be rivals a few years from now.

The Blackhawks’ biggest star: Connor Bedard

As mentioned, Connor Bedard was drafted first overall in 2023. He hails from the city of North Vancouver, British Columbia, and he is projected to be the greatest thing in hockey since the curved stick blade.

The 19-year-old center has a lethal shot, but that’s far from his only weapon — he’s also an elite playmaker.

Bedard scored 143 points in 57 WHL games in his draft year. He’s technically still eligible to play in the WHL — can you imagine what kind of numbers he’d put up now?

Are the Chicago Blackhawks good?

Simply put, no — the Blackhawks are not expected to be a playoff team this year. They are in the depths of a rebuild and will very likely be in contention for another top-10 draft pick.

That being said, they added a lot of experienced veterans in free agency this summer, so they will likely be a lot better than they were last year.

Laurent Brossoit came over from the Winnipeg Jets and will finally get his chance to prove himself as a starting goalie. Three-time Stanley Cup champion Alec Martinez helps out an otherwise shallow defense corps and offensive talent Teuvo Tervainen returns to the team after spending eight years with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Other additions include gritty forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Pat Maroon, speedy winger Ilya Mikheyev and veteran defenseman TJ Brodie.

Utah Hockey Club pregame party

Be sure to show up early to the season opener. The puck drops at 8 p.m., but festivities outside the Delta Center will begin at 4 p.m. Here’s the list of events:

• 12:30 p.m.: Press conference with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and team owners Ryan and Ashley Smith. Open to fans and media.
• 2 p.m.: ESPN studio hosts will do their game coverage live from the site. NHL legends Mark Messier and PK Subban will join TV host Steve Levy and be joined by special guests throughout the proceedings. To be clear, they’re covering all three of Tuesday’s NHL games from there, not just the one involving Utah HC.
• 4 p.m.: Fan party begins. It will include live music from DJ Joune and DJ Logik in addition to games and prizes. The prizes include merchandise and tickets to the game.
• 5 p.m.: The players participate in a special game day walk on a “mountain blue” carpet, welcomed by youth hockey players.
• 5:30 p.m.: Country music star Shaboozey performs a free concert outside the arena.
• 6:30 p.m.: Flyover featuring four F-35A jets.
• 6:30 p.m.: Watch party for those without tickets to the game.

Utah HC president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong also alluded to literal snow falling inside the Delta Center during the game.

How to watch Utah Hockey Club vs. Chicago Blackhawks

This is a nationally televised game. The only places to watch it are ESPN and ESPN+.

Utah HC+ will not show it, nor will any cable TV providers.