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Utah prospect report: Where is everybody playing?
As Lee Stempniak enters his third season as director of player development for the franchise now known as the Utah Hockey Club, the fruits of his staff’s labor are starting to ripen.
Through five games, Dylan Guenther led the NHL in goals and Josh Doan has rocketed his way to the NHL stage faster than anybody imagined he would.
A glut of prospects have made their way to Tucson of the American Hockey League, putting them one step away from the show, while others are nearing moves to the pro stage due to their progress in the NCAA, juniors or Europe.
“Obviously, it’s a lot of work and time and hours,” Stempniak said. “But the interaction with the players and helping them advance through the ranks and hopefully reach the NHL and achieve their dream is really rewarding.
“The biggest thing for us is to make this a constantly evolving process where we meet at the end of the season and ask, ‘What do we need to do better?’ Some of that is asking our players, ‘What do you like? What do you want from us? What can we do better?’ You take in all this information and keep constantly refining it to make it a more efficient model that’s going to make a difference at the NHL level.”
With the future in mind, here is our annual look at where all of Utah’s prospects will be playing this season with a hat tip to Stempniak for the updated information.
Not everything is set in stone. Forward Owen Allard is injured so he remains in limbo. Forward Noel Nordh is still trying to cement his place in Tucson with the AHL’s Roadrunners. And with multiple injuries to Utah’s blue line (John Marino, Sean Durzi and Robert Bortuzzo), more Tucson players may get recalled beyond Patrick Koch.
For the most part, however, the destinations are set.
ALLCITY Network will resume the prospect report’s normal format in November as we dive more deeply into two or three players’ progress and challenges. Here’s a look the prospects’ 2024-25 plans.
| Position/player name | 2024-25 team/league |
| *F Owen Allard | Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) or Tucson (AHL) |
| F Samu Bau | Ilves (Liiga, Finland) |
| F Cole Beaudoin | Barrie (OHL) |
| D Gregor Biber | Rögle (SHL, Sweden)/Rögle (J20) |
| F Daniil But | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL, Russia) |
| C Jonathan Castagna | Cornell (ECAC) |
| D Aleš Čech | BK Mladá Boleslav (Czech Extraliga) |
| D Artem Duda | Tucson (AHL) |
| F Ilya Fedotov | HK Sochi (KHL, Russia) |
| D Terrell Goldsmith | Tri-City (WHL) |
| G Michal Hrabal | UMass-Amherst (Hockey East) |
| F Vojtěch Hradec | BK Mladá Boleslav (Czech Extraliga) |
| F Tij Iginla | Kelowna (WHL) |
| F Miloš Kelemen | Tucson (AHL) |
| D Justin Kipkie | Victoria (WHL) |
| D Patrik Koch | Tucson (AHL) |
| G Rasmus Korhonen | Västerås IK (Allsvenskan, Sweden) |
| D Ludvig Lafton | Färjestad BK J20 (J20) |
| D Maveric Lamoureux | Tucson (AHL) |
| D Tomas Lavoie | Cape Breton (QMJHL) |
| F Tanner Ludtke | University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC) |
| F Sam Lipkin | Tucson (AHL) |
| F Julian Lutz | Tucson (AHL) |
| F Miko Matikka | Tucson (AHL) |
| F Ben McCartney | Tucson (AHL) |
| D Matthew Morden | Harvard (ECAC) |
| F Vadim Moroz | Dinamo Minsk (KHL, Russia) |
| G Carsen Musser | Colorado College (NCHC) |
| F Noel Nordh | Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) |
| D Montana Onyebuchi | Tucson (AHL) |
| F Aku Räty | Tucson (AHL) |
| D Dmitri Simashev | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL, Russia) |
| D Will Skahan | Boston College (Hockey East) |
| F Gabe Smith | Moncton (QMJHL) |
| D Victor Söderström | Brynäs (SHL, Sweden) |
| *D Maksymilian Szuber | Tucson (AHL) |
| G Melker Thelin | IF Björklöven (Allsvenskan, Sweden) |
| D Cal Thomas | Minnesota (Big Ten) |
| D Veeti Väisänen | Medicine Hat (WHL) |
| G Matt Villalta | Tucson (AHL) |
Utah development staff
Lee Stempniak, director of player development
Brett Stewart, director of European pro scouting and development
Kyle Bochek, Utah Hockey Club skills coach
Lars Hepso, Utah Hockey Club skating coach
Nathaniel Brooks, prospects development coach
Jeff Shantz, prospects development coach
Kurtis Foster, prospects development coach
Clay Adams: goaltending scout and development coach
Devan McConnell, Utah Hockey Club high performance director
Mitch Stewart, Utah Hockey Club performance coach
Ryan Wysocki, Utah Hockey Club performance coach
Carl Bombardier, Utah Hockey Club high-performance nutrition coach
Vince Lodato, Utah Hockey Club director of mental wellness/player performance
Top photo of Yaroslavl Lokomotiv’s Dmitri Simashev via Getty Images
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