Utah Hockey Club names first captain in franchise history!

The Utah Hockey Club has named forward Clayton Keller as the first captain in franchise history. The team made the official announcement on Friday morning.

"I'm extremely honored to be named captain of Utah Hockey Club," Keller said per NHL.com. "I'm grateful for this opportunity and want to thank the entire organization for believing in me. I understand it's a privilege to be a captain in the NHL, and a huge honor to know that management, coaches, and my teammates have the belief in me to lead this team. It's a huge responsibility and one I have prepared my whole life for. We have a room full of great leaders and together, we will work hard to achieve our goal of becoming a playoff team."

In each of their previous three seasons, the Arizona Coyotes had not name a captain, though Keller was a member of the organization during that time. He was an alternate captain for Arizona the past two seasons. 

As one of the longest tenured players on the team, the announcement does not come as a surprise, though it is great to see that Keller is rewarded for his leadership and experience.

Last season in Arizona, Keller put up 33 goals and 43 assists for 76 points in 78 games with his former Coyotes, his eighth with the club.

Keller was selected seventh overall by the Coyotes in the 2016 NHL Draft, and signed an eight-year contract in September  2019, that kicked off in the 2020-21 campaign. 

Utah plays its first regular-season game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. 

As of now, only the Seattle Kraken is left with no captain ahead of the 2024-25 season.