Speaker 1: We are going to blink and it is going to
Speaker 1: be time for the second season of The Utah Mammoth
Speaker 1: here in our market. And our next guest covers The
Speaker 1: Mammoth for the Salt Lake Tribune, Belle Frasier on a
Speaker 1: Monday afternoon, Hello, Bell, Happy Monday.
Speaker 2: How are you good?
Speaker 3: How are you?
Speaker 2: I'm good?
Speaker 1: So any downtime, any vacation. I mean, this is kind
Speaker 1: of the time of year, Bell, where if you're going
Speaker 1: to take some vacation, it feels like this has got
Speaker 1: to be it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no official vacation. I went back to New York
Speaker 3: and Boston where my friends and family are for two weeks.
Speaker 3: Wrote some stories there, but was definitely nice to not
Speaker 3: be so deep in the Utah Mammoth News for a second.
Speaker 3: Take a bit of air, and now I'm so ready
Speaker 3: for the season to start, really counting down the days
Speaker 3: until even training camp from preseason, just so we can
Speaker 3: get things going for sure.
Speaker 2: All right, Bell, here's where I want to start.
Speaker 1: What gives you the most confidence that next season, that
Speaker 1: proverbial next step will be taken and we could actually
Speaker 1: experience Stanley Cup playoff hockey and slick I think the.
Speaker 3: Obvious answer there, and the easy one, I guess is
Speaker 3: just seeing who they brought in so far this summer.
Speaker 3: And I think the biggest top six to reinforcement is
Speaker 3: JJ Peturca, who they traded for from the Buffalo Sabers.
Speaker 3: You know, they traded Michael Pestering and Josh Stone, who
Speaker 3: I know people were very sad to see leave, but
Speaker 3: they didn't have to give up any prospects or or
Speaker 3: for its overall pick. This trade came before the draft,
Speaker 3: and I know people were nervous that maybe they would
Speaker 3: have to give up the pick to get someone like
Speaker 3: the Turka, but they did it. And what's really good
Speaker 3: about him is his age. You know, he's right in
Speaker 3: the range of Logan Cooley and Dylan Gunther. He's twenty three,
Speaker 3: and his ceiling's really high, and he is a finisher.
Speaker 3: He had a thirty goal season, and you know, I've
Speaker 3: talked to a lot of Buffalo media and they think
Speaker 3: that he's going to score a lot more throughout the
Speaker 3: throughout his career and he's going to be happier in Utah.
Speaker 3: You know, there are reports that he just didn't want
Speaker 3: to be in Buffalo and he kind of forced his
Speaker 3: way out of there. So I think the new and vironment,
Speaker 3: the new setup and a team that's really on an
Speaker 3: upward trajectory for him, that'll give him an opportunity to
Speaker 3: play top minutes, to be on the power play will
Speaker 3: be really important for Utah because that's something that they
Speaker 3: were missing a bit last year, you know, going into
Speaker 3: a third period being down a goal or not being
Speaker 3: able to extend the lead. They had trouble scoring, So
Speaker 3: I think someone like the Turka is important. And then
Speaker 3: you also just look at the more veteran leadership they
Speaker 3: brought in Brandon Tanneb and Nate Schmidt, the defenseman. Natech
Speaker 3: Schmidt just won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers
Speaker 3: and we got in the media call with him and
Speaker 3: he was hilarious. He has a really out their personality,
Speaker 3: which I think will be good for the room. He
Speaker 3: has an edge to him as he plays, so he'll
Speaker 3: be a good third pair, you know, defensive depths for them.
Speaker 3: And then brand of Tanneb too, also has spark to him,
Speaker 3: and he talked about it. He wants to bring energy
Speaker 3: to the bottom six and he'll score and he'll do
Speaker 3: what he can, but he'll hit and you know, He
Speaker 3: just adds a little sand paper for them. And then lastly,
Speaker 3: I think you look at their depth and goaltending. They
Speaker 3: brought and v tech Fanicheck, who also was on the
Speaker 3: Florida Panthers last year, as you know, second string, third
Speaker 3: string goalie. But I think that just adds some insurance
Speaker 3: for Utah. You know, we're not sure when Connor Ingram
Speaker 3: will come back, so I think they really shored up
Speaker 3: the areas where they needed one to two more guys
Speaker 3: they didn't get them. Mitch Marner had a huge names
Speaker 3: that may be headlined this summer, but they got better
Speaker 3: in areas that they were lacking last year and now
Speaker 3: it's just a matter of them building chemistry with those
Speaker 3: new guys.
Speaker 2: Do you have an update on Connor?
Speaker 1: I mean I was going to ask that as a
Speaker 1: follow up, and obviously it's a very sensitive information or
Speaker 1: sensitive situation, and the information is sensitive too, and the
Speaker 1: club has of course been great to make sure that
Speaker 1: he gets helped and he needs But do you know
Speaker 1: where we're at with that process now?
Speaker 3: Yeah, last time we talked to Bill Armstrong, he said
Speaker 3: that Ingram's been in the assistant program, that he's doing well,
Speaker 3: and that they're hoping for the best for him. You know,
Speaker 3: we also heard that he was playing in a men's
Speaker 3: league recently, kind of getting his fitness back. Bill Armstrong
Speaker 3: declined to comment on any timeline for his return or
Speaker 3: you know, the specifics. He said he wanted to keep
Speaker 3: those within the organization, which is understandable given the sensitivity
Speaker 3: of the situation. But you know, it's definitely something from
Speaker 3: the business side of a team that they had to
Speaker 3: think about, and I think that shows with how they
Speaker 3: brought in v Tech Fancheck because training camp is a
Speaker 3: month away now, and I think they're just making sure
Speaker 3: that they're ready for any situation. So that's all we
Speaker 3: have on Ingram right now. It sounds like he's making progress,
Speaker 3: but there's been no subsistence you know, return date for him.
Speaker 2: Still some money.
Speaker 1: According to the numbers I have in front of me,
Speaker 1: he's still six million change to potentially bring in other players.
Speaker 1: Do you think this is the group or do you
Speaker 1: think that money will be used to add a little depth.
Speaker 3: I think this is probably the group, but I think
Speaker 3: if they were going to do anything before the season starts,
Speaker 3: it might be a trade, and I don't think they will,
Speaker 3: but I think if if they were to do something,
Speaker 3: I don't see them use the rest of their cap space,
Speaker 3: just because you know, Bill Armstrong is super responsible and
Speaker 3: he also has Logi Cooley, who could be up for
Speaker 3: an extension this year, same situation as Dylan Gunther was
Speaker 3: in last year, and Gunther extended for eight years in September.
Speaker 3: So I don't think fans should be freaking out that
Speaker 3: Coolly hasn't extended yet, especially with the cap going up
Speaker 3: for the next few seasons. Seasons in the NHL, negotiations
Speaker 3: are probably tougher and he'll still be with the team
Speaker 3: next year if he doesn't extend. But I think because
Speaker 3: there are players that they still need to lock up,
Speaker 3: they'll probably try to keep that cap space. And you know,
Speaker 3: they also resigned Jack McBain, who is an RSA for
Speaker 3: a bit higher than fans or the team probably wanted to,
Speaker 3: but it's because he would have been a USA in
Speaker 3: two years, so they had to pay for those years.
Speaker 3: He got four point twenty five million dollars on his
Speaker 3: average annual values, So I think they you know, they
Speaker 3: put their money where they wanted it, and I don't
Speaker 3: see them overspending for something because right now. I mean
Speaker 3: the internal competition that they have with the players they
Speaker 3: have right now, their prospects. The guy that Tucson is
Speaker 3: probably the best sits in for this organization. So they
Speaker 3: have the bodies that they need, and I don't think
Speaker 3: there's a glaring pol for them after the moves that
Speaker 3: Byill has done already.
Speaker 1: Well, it's been a minute since you and I have
Speaker 1: been able to catch up, and I know you've been
Speaker 1: asked about the Michael Karr Coney story, but I wonder
Speaker 1: for my audience in this space if you could elaborate
Speaker 1: a bit. I mean, I can remember watching that post
Speaker 1: game presser when he essentially was like, yeah, it's not
Speaker 1: going to work. And look, you always want to leave
Speaker 1: space for people to have emotional reactions, and things like
Speaker 1: making a living in contracts and money make all of
Speaker 1: us emotional.
Speaker 2: So no issue at all for the about face. But
Speaker 2: how did this? How did this play out?
Speaker 3: Yeah? So exit day interviews back in what was that April?
Speaker 3: I think at the Deata Center. You know, guys talk
Speaker 3: about howther's seasons but end Usually if you're a UFA
Speaker 3: or RFA, you aren't as direct as my Carconi was,
Speaker 3: but as journalists. We appreciate it, you know, we appreciate
Speaker 3: him just coming in and speaking his mind. But on
Speaker 3: that day in April, he said, you know, I love
Speaker 3: the guys, They're a great group. I don't think there's
Speaker 3: going to be an answer, a direct quote, he said,
Speaker 3: I don't think we're going to agree on anything. I
Speaker 3: spoke to the coaching staff and management, and I think
Speaker 3: we're going to go in different directions. And we asked,
Speaker 3: you know why he was feeling that way, and he
Speaker 3: felt he wasn't given big enough of an opportunity for
Speaker 3: Utah last year. You know, the year before in Arizona
Speaker 3: he had twenty goals, and then last year for Utah
Speaker 3: he was usually the thirteenth forward. He was healthy, scratched
Speaker 3: a lot when he was in the lineup. He was
Speaker 3: bottom six, so his numbers went down, but also his
Speaker 3: games played went down. And I think that was a
Speaker 3: good problem from an organizational level for Utah because it
Speaker 3: meant that the younger guys were getting better and forcing
Speaker 3: their way into the lineup. You look at someone like
Speaker 3: Josh Jone who's no longer there, but Dylan Gunster and
Speaker 3: Jack mcvain and those types of players. But it definitely
Speaker 3: cost Carcony. So he was going out into the free
Speaker 3: agent market and nothing had bit, you know, for the
Speaker 3: first couple of weeks and on when was this a
Speaker 3: couple of week July fifteenth or sixteenth, he signed a
Speaker 3: one year contract with the Mammoth for seven hundred and
Speaker 3: seventy five thousand dollars, which was the same average annual
Speaker 3: value as his last contract. And when we talked to
Speaker 3: him after the signing, he said, you know, he didn't
Speaker 3: want to be taken out of context for his exit
Speaker 3: day interview. He said that he always wanted to be
Speaker 3: in Utah, but like you were saying, frustrations run high.
Speaker 3: He had just talked to the coaching staff, so he
Speaker 3: kind of walked back on not his want to leave,
Speaker 3: but his thought that he wouldn't be part of the
Speaker 3: future of the franchise. I think it's a fine signing
Speaker 3: for them. I mean, I don't think Carconi is going
Speaker 3: to have a huge role, but he likes playing with
Speaker 3: a chip on his shoulder. He said, he knows he
Speaker 3: has a lot to prove coming in in his situation,
Speaker 3: but I imagine he's probably an extra ford or bottom
Speaker 3: player again, just because of his size his stats last
Speaker 3: year and just the guys Utah has coming in. But
Speaker 3: he proves people wrong. He proves people wrong, and I
Speaker 3: think a lot of fans would like to see that.
Speaker 1: Any specific takeaways from the schedule release, I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: seeing that eleven of the first fifteen games are on
Speaker 1: the road, which is a tough start, but obviously they'll
Speaker 1: come back around. You play the same amount of road
Speaker 1: games as you do home games. But as you kind
Speaker 1: of dug into that schedule release, Bell, what were some
Speaker 1: of your main takeaways.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's exactly what you said. They have a really
Speaker 3: tough start to the year. I think it was something
Speaker 3: like sixteen of twenty or sixteen to thirty or something
Speaker 3: to start the season or on the road, But you know,
Speaker 3: they were a really good road team last year. Actually
Speaker 3: they struggled at home more so. So you might think
Speaker 3: it's a good thing for them to find their footing
Speaker 3: and bond as a team and be on the planes
Speaker 3: and hotels together and figure out their identity for the
Speaker 3: team on the road before they come to Delta Center
Speaker 3: and show off for year two. Start with a three
Speaker 3: game road trip Colorado, Nashville, and Chicago before coming back
Speaker 3: to Delta Center on October fifteenth for opening a night
Speaker 3: against the Calgary Flames, and that'll be a four game
Speaker 3: homestand so I think for them it'll test them immediately,
Speaker 3: which is a good thing. You know, a lot of
Speaker 3: the players have talked about not having that slump in
Speaker 3: the beginning of the season like they did last year,
Speaker 3: starting on time, and like you said, every team goes
Speaker 3: through hard stretches in the schedule. I don't think you
Speaker 3: can use it as an excuse for a poor record
Speaker 3: or poor showing, So I don't think Utah will use
Speaker 3: it as that at all. And I think you know,
Speaker 3: one game or that people have circled on the calendar,
Speaker 3: obviously the divisional opponents because those points matter more. And
Speaker 3: then also I believe November twelfth, the Buffalo Sabers come
Speaker 3: to town and that will be Josh jen and Michael
Speaker 3: Kessing's homecoming as well. So there's definitely, you know, great
Speaker 3: matchups to start the year. And although it's one of
Speaker 3: the tougher road schedule, I think it'll probably make the
Speaker 3: team better and if not, they'll just have to learn
Speaker 3: from it as every other organization does.
Speaker 1: How much of the road heavy schedule early on has
Speaker 1: to do with the renovations of the building bill.
Speaker 3: That's what we thought. But they're scheduled to play preseason
Speaker 3: games at Delta Center. Their last two preseason games, I believe,
Speaker 3: at the end of September our scheduled to be at
Speaker 3: Delta Center, and those will be the first you know
Speaker 3: event at Delta Center since the renovations. So I imagine
Speaker 3: those games won't be the full effect. They'll definitely be
Speaker 3: things that aren't fully ready yet. But supposedly, as of now,
Speaker 3: those are supposed to be at the arena, and we
Speaker 3: haven't gotten, you know, any changes on that. So I'm
Speaker 3: sure it helps the Delta Center crew that they'll be
Speaker 3: gone for the first week of this season. But I
Speaker 3: don't think that's because there's any delays or change in
Speaker 3: schedule for the renovations. I think that's all on track,
Speaker 3: and you know, this just gives them a bit more
Speaker 3: time to get everything ready for opening night.
Speaker 2: So having an interesting conversation.
Speaker 1: I had a little family reunion last week and chance
Speaker 1: to catch up with a lot of my family who
Speaker 1: I don't see very much, who are big sports fans,
Speaker 1: and we were just kind of comparing the project of
Speaker 1: the Jazz rebuild to the project of the Mammoth rebuild,
Speaker 1: and the Mammoth are much further along. I think this
Speaker 1: is probably year five or six of a rebuild and
Speaker 1: the Jazz, I mean, it depends on what their messaging is,
Speaker 1: which seems to change day to day. Now it's like, no,
Speaker 1: we actually were tearing it down and the rebuild starts now.
Speaker 1: So the Mammoth are further along than the Jazz are.
Speaker 1: And I'm just wondering Bell. Throughout the course of your
Speaker 1: time here covering the team, talking to players that have
Speaker 1: been traded to Utah or draft picks that have been
Speaker 1: drafted to Utah, It's a little bit different when you're
Speaker 1: a draft pick because typically you're young, and ultimately you
Speaker 1: work for the organization of the NHL Hockey League and
Speaker 1: you have been assigned to the Salt Lake City office,
Speaker 1: and I feel like you're more inclined just to accept
Speaker 1: it and be excited. Do you sense any pushback at
Speaker 1: all for hockey players wanting to come to our market
Speaker 1: and stay here for quite some time. It's just it's
Speaker 1: the main thing that the Jazz are run into. For
Speaker 1: a number of years, they've been able to draft, they've
Speaker 1: been able to develop, but they just can't retain. And
Speaker 1: if you're going to win trophies, you have to retain.
Speaker 1: Do you think the Mammoth are going to run into
Speaker 1: any issues that way?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think there's been a clear shift
Speaker 3: with the NHL and NHL players and NHL fans perspective
Speaker 3: on Utah. And I know you're saying how the draft
Speaker 3: picks don't really have a choice to be in Utah,
Speaker 3: but I think the narrative around them has been really
Speaker 3: different for the NHL. And I was actually talking to
Speaker 3: you know, Andy Larson, our jazz writer, because it was
Speaker 3: around the time where all the Ace Bailey drama was
Speaker 3: happening and then these which got resolved. But these Utah
Speaker 3: players get drafted, and you know a lot of them
Speaker 3: were saying, I wanted to be in Utah. I was
Speaker 3: hoping I got drafted by Utah. I'm so excited to
Speaker 3: be here. The mountains are so beautiful, Like this is
Speaker 3: one of the top teams in the NHL. I'm so
Speaker 3: excited to be in this organization. And it was it's
Speaker 3: a distinct, you know, change in narrative from what I
Speaker 3: think has been reported about the jazz in the past,
Speaker 3: and we talked about this before free agency opened for
Speaker 3: the NHL that it was going to be really interesting
Speaker 3: if they had to overpay for players or if they
Speaker 3: were able to land any players, and they were. I mean,
Speaker 3: they landed two Stanley Cup champions in Schmidt and Banicheck
Speaker 3: and then Brandon Tannev. Although they'll be you know, bottom six,
Speaker 3: more debt veteran role, he's a legit NHL and guys
Speaker 3: who have been around the league and seen different markets.
Speaker 3: So I think that's a really good sign for the
Speaker 3: Mammoth and the fans in front office that guys did
Speaker 3: sign here during free agency, and a lot of guys
Speaker 3: resigned as well, you know, Ian Cole resigned, Alex Kurfett resigned,
Speaker 3: Jack McBain resigned, Dylan Gunther resigned. Those are pieces of
Speaker 3: your core moving forward. JJ Paterca, although it was a trade,
Speaker 3: he kind of had to say. He forces himself out
Speaker 3: of Buffalo and found a team that would work for him.
Speaker 3: So I think that should be a positive note for
Speaker 3: Mammoth fans seeing that players are willing to take the
Speaker 3: chance on Utah. And I think there won't be an
Speaker 3: official answer until, you know, probably five to eight to
Speaker 3: ten years when the team is here and you can
Speaker 3: actually see a pattern form or real opinions after the
Speaker 3: first or second year. But I think for the way
Speaker 3: they introduce themselves to the league and to the country
Speaker 3: and to hockey fans, players want to be here, and
Speaker 3: you know, it's only been positive feedback from us as
Speaker 3: the media. We haven't you heard anything of that they
Speaker 3: don't want to be here or anything of that sort.
Speaker 1: What sort of information can you share with our hockey
Speaker 1: fan listeners about the new experience in the building once
Speaker 1: everything is done once and it may bleed into next season.
Speaker 1: Anybody who's ever bought a house or built a house,
Speaker 1: or had construction on anything, quite frankly understands that these
Speaker 1: things are always delayed. But once that is completely done,
Speaker 1: what sort of changes are in store?
Speaker 2: What can you share there?
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, it's going to be multi year project. I
Speaker 3: think they're saying three to five off seasons because since
Speaker 3: the Jazz and Mammoth are there, they only have the
Speaker 3: summers to do the renovations. But this year they focus
Speaker 3: on the lower bowl and just improving site lines for
Speaker 3: those seats and throughout the arena. When it's one hundred
Speaker 3: percent done. Every view will be full. There won't be
Speaker 3: any blockages like there were last year. But they've blown
Speaker 3: out the entire lower bowl and they're raising it by
Speaker 3: three feet. I believe in pushing it back. So the
Speaker 3: views that people love for the NBA and the upclose
Speaker 3: nature of the Delta Center is still there, but the
Speaker 3: actual like I'm trying to think of the word, but
Speaker 3: it won't be a seat for hockey fans, so they'll
Speaker 3: be able to see both goals. There won't be any
Speaker 3: parts of the ice cutoff, so that's kind of the
Speaker 3: tangible things they're working on. And then in the end
Speaker 3: of the project, there's going to be a new parking garage,
Speaker 3: there'll be a downtown plaza. You know, the entire downtown
Speaker 3: area around the Delta Center is kind of being reinvented.
Speaker 3: But people are going to have to wait a bit
Speaker 3: for that. And I think the biggest thing that we
Speaker 3: haven't even been let in on because it's to be
Speaker 3: a surprise on opening night, is just all the branding
Speaker 3: around the Mammoth. It's hard to even remember the Utah
Speaker 3: Hockey Club branding now, so it feels like this team
Speaker 3: has been the Mammoths forever, but the new in game activations,
Speaker 3: the merge, everything on the JumboTron. I think it's gonna
Speaker 3: be really cool to see how they bring this branding
Speaker 3: to life in an in game situation instead of just
Speaker 3: the social media stuff we've been seeing for the last
Speaker 3: few months. So I think that's probably the biggest thing
Speaker 3: that fans should look forward to.
Speaker 1: You and I were spoiled as young hockey fans growing
Speaker 1: up going to the Garden, so this question might be
Speaker 1: a little bit unfair, But I'm wondering, Belle, when you
Speaker 1: took the job, what you were expecting as it pertained
Speaker 1: to atmosphere and fan participation year one for the Mammoth,
Speaker 1: and then did the experience meet or exceed those expectations?
Speaker 3: Definitely exceed. I mean I think I had no idea
Speaker 3: what to expect in the first place, and the players
Speaker 3: and coaches have said the same thing. But I think
Speaker 3: I wrote about this in M A. Paul. But Opening
Speaker 3: night was so special and magical because I think you
Speaker 3: saw that utash those up and Ryan Smith and everyone
Speaker 3: here had been saying it for years when they finally
Speaker 3: got the NHL team, and it was true, and that
Speaker 3: was One of my favorite parts of this entire season
Speaker 3: was just watching this community fall so in love with
Speaker 3: hockey but also be so dedicated. I mean, there wasn't
Speaker 3: one night at the Delta Center this year where it
Speaker 3: wasn't sold out or close to sold out and loud,
Speaker 3: and people asking questions and coming up to us and
Speaker 3: creating new chants and creating new fan tradition. So beyond
Speaker 3: the hockey, I think that's been the best part of
Speaker 3: being in Utah so far as just seeing how these
Speaker 3: fans have embraced the team, have embraced the league. And
Speaker 3: I imagine that just you know, times one hundred for
Speaker 3: next season because a lot of people are more excited
Speaker 3: about it. But yeah, definitely excuted expectations, and I think
Speaker 3: it surprised a lot of people, just in the NHL
Speaker 3: and in hockey in general. A pleasant surprise for sure.
Speaker 3: So it'll be cool to see how that kind of
Speaker 3: grows the next few years.
Speaker 1: Do you have any inside insight or maybe inside information
Speaker 1: about how ticket sales are going? I mean, tickets are available,
Speaker 1: and then in addition to that, corporate sponsorships as far
Speaker 1: as how this team is being supported. We oftentimes on
Speaker 1: this show expand that conversation to all of our products here,
Speaker 1: our sports properties here, and then the potential of the
Speaker 1: Miller's bringing major League Baseball. I know we're growing, We're
Speaker 1: growing as far as the population goes, We're growing as
Speaker 1: far as simply economic stimulation goes. Business is moving here
Speaker 1: and such. But is the hockey team being supported with
Speaker 1: ticket sales corporate sponsorship the way it needs to?
Speaker 3: It seems like it is. I'm not sure about corporate sponsorships.
Speaker 3: I mean, I can reach out to SEG about that.
Speaker 3: That's more obviously corporate. But in terms of ticket sales,
Speaker 3: it sounds like a lot of people have put in
Speaker 3: deposits for season tickets. You know, last year when they
Speaker 3: opened it before the games even started. They sold out
Speaker 3: of the deposits on the very first day. And we
Speaker 3: interact with a lot of fans on Twitter, and a
Speaker 3: bunch of people who just had single game tickets last
Speaker 3: year committed to half season or full season tickets this year.
Speaker 3: So yes, I don't have you know, exact numbers. I
Speaker 3: think they'll release those closer to the season when everything
Speaker 3: is sold out, and we'll get you know, the preseason numbers.
Speaker 3: But it really seems like the support is coming through
Speaker 3: in ticket sales, and I think you can just see
Speaker 3: it in the prices of tickets too. Unfortunately, it's not
Speaker 3: key to get into Delta Center, you know. I was
Speaker 3: looking at the prices the other day, and for opening night,
Speaker 3: I think the cheapest ticket to get in the door
Speaker 3: is two hundred and fifty dollars. So the only reasons
Speaker 3: the tickets are super expensive out here right now is
Speaker 3: because of the demand and because there's so few left.
Speaker 3: So I think that's a good sign. And yeah, like
Speaker 3: I said, we'll get specifics on that closer to the season,
Speaker 3: but from the general feel of it, it seems like
Speaker 3: people are going to fill out Delta Center for year two.
Speaker 1: All right, Bell, before I say you, Louise, tell us
Speaker 1: about Mammoth Week. I'm kind of learning about this in
Speaker 1: real time. What did the hockey And I'm not saying
Speaker 1: that as their name, I'm just referring to the Utah
Speaker 1: Mammoth as a hockey club. So everybody calmed down, Yeah,
Speaker 1: what what was Mammoth Week?
Speaker 2: What did this entail?
Speaker 3: It was a really cool initiative from the team. It was,
Speaker 3: you know, a statewide summer event and they stopped in
Speaker 3: seven locations. It was Logan, Provo Park City, Cottonwood, ogden Enich,
Speaker 3: and Saint George for like a week July twenty sixth
Speaker 3: to August twelfth, and they did you know, different merph
Speaker 3: set ups. They did ball hockey, street hockey, on ice,
Speaker 3: affordable clinics, and they had special guests that each stopped
Speaker 3: from the team. It was a lot of you know,
Speaker 3: the SEG broadcast team. And then Clayton Keller was in
Speaker 3: Saint George on August second for the final day. He
Speaker 3: was taking pictures, signing jerseys, talking to fans, and you
Speaker 3: know the main purpose of it was to just get
Speaker 3: hockey and the NHL team outside of downtown and throughout
Speaker 3: the entire state. And I was talking to Nant macconnell,
Speaker 3: who everyone knows is to play by play announcer for
Speaker 3: the team, and she was on a couple of the
Speaker 3: branches of the Mammoth Week tour, and he said he
Speaker 3: was blown away by the outcome and how many people
Speaker 3: showed up and how many kids were so excited, even
Speaker 3: though they were a six hour drive from Delta Center
Speaker 3: at the time. So I think it just talks to
Speaker 3: the team's dedication to not just make it the Salt
Speaker 3: Lake City Mammoth and make it really a community asset
Speaker 3: for the entire state. So you know, that's just one
Speaker 3: event they did, and you know that's something I've been
Speaker 3: impressed with for sure. Is all they do on the
Speaker 3: side of the hockey team, actually on the ice.
Speaker 1: Belle, thanks so much for the time. We're going to
Speaker 1: blink in October. We'll be here so hockey right around
Speaker 1: the corner. Have a great week and be well.
Speaker 3: Okay, awesome, Thank you.
Speaker 1: Belle Fraser covers the Utah Mammoth for the Solid Tribune.
Speaker 2: Just a phenomenal hire. She's done a great, great job.
Speaker 1: I wonder how long she'll be here at Belle Fraser
Speaker 1: One is where.
Speaker 2: You find her on Twitter.
Speaker 1: You can support her at sl trip dot com and
Speaker 1: subscribe and support our good friends over at the Trip.
Speaker 1: The Utah Mammoth will begin play with a road heavy
Speaker 1: schedule starting on Thursday, October and the ninth at Colorado,
Speaker 1: eleven of the first fifteen games away from Delta Center.
Speaker 1: Their home opener will be Wednesday, October fifteenth against Calgary,
Speaker 1: and tickets are on sale now.