Breaking Down The Utah Hockey Club 2024 NHL Draft Class

The Utah Hockey Club's first real move as an NHL franchise came this past week when they drafted their first batch of players at the 2024 NHL Draft.

Unless previous new teams like the Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights, the Utah Hockey Club already has a full NHL roster without having to go through an expansion draft. That is because Utah acquired all of the Arizona Coyotes assets. Still, the first draft class being picked in Utah was a moment to see at the NHL Draft.

Breaking down the the Utah Hockey Club's 2024 NHL Draft Class.

The First Round: Iginla and Beaudoin

Utah was on the clock early at the draft, picking sixth overall. While hockey might be new in Salt Lake City, their first draft pick is no stranger to the game. Tij Iginla was drafted sixth overall by the club. The 5-foot-11 forward has won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship and will definitely factor into the future plans of the organization. He also is the son of Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla.

Utah also surprised fans during the first night of the draft, trading up to draft 24th overall after giving up a second and third in the 2024 NHL Draft and a second rounder in 2025. With the pick, the club drafted Cole Beaudoin.

With Beaudoin, Utah added some size to their prospect pool. The 6-foot-2, 209-pound forward can definitely make a difference in the lineup down the road.

The Second Round: Skahan

Skahan is a big defenseman at 6-foot-4. The club needs to add some large defensemen to their depth chart as this season and this free agency showed defensemen with size are highly valued.

The Third Round: Lavoie and Breton

Skahan and Lavoie would make an excellent pairing down the line in the NHL. Breton is another defensemen who could crack the lineup down the line.

The Fourth Round: Biber and Smith

Biber is another example of drafting a big physical defenseman. The hockey club valued that going into this draft. At 6-foot-4, Smith is a very capable forward who could crack the lineup in three to five years.

The Fifth Round: Allard and Cech

In the fifth round Utah drafted Owen Allard and Ales Cech. Allard is a center who made Team Canada's World Junior team thsi past season. At 6-foot-2, he could very well play in a bottom six role down the line.

The Sixth Round: Hradec and Lafton

In the sixth round the team drafted Vojtech Hradec (forward) and Ludvig Lafton (defenseman). Both players have size adding to the overall theme of the team's draft class.