SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah hockey fans welcomed the former Arizona Coyotes to their new home Wednesday.
Players and coaches were greeted at the airport in morning by a crowd of approximately 100 players from local youth hockey programs. The kids chanted “Go, Utah! Go, Utah!”
The team attended a fan celebration at the Delta Center in the afternoon. The arena was packed for the free event, with many fans turned away at the doors.
“We’re 70 people who got traded the same day and we’re going to the same place,” coach André Tourigny said. “I think all of that creates some magic. I think we’ll just be tighter with that. When you want to win championships, you need to go through the trenches together. We went through some trenches this year.”
The challenges uprooting from Arizona are tempered by the energetic reception the club has received in the state and a chance to build a new culture.
Trump factor loomed large as GOP leaders pushed through Ukraine aid
VOX POPULI: The special charm of Gaudi’s unfinished work: Sagrada Familia
Explainer: The decline of Hong Kong's press freedom under the national security law
Crash snarls Auckland Harbour Bridge traffic
Climate change is bringing malaria to new areas. In Africa, it never left
Wellington council 'excluded' from information about ageing rail network, chair says
Lifting name suppression for rapist would revive social media hostility, lawyer argues
Lionel Messi tells Chinese fans no politics at play in his HK absence
Maple Leafs forward William Nylander sits out 3rd straight game to open the playoffs
Crash snarls Auckland Harbour Bridge traffic
Anze Kopitar scores in overtime, Kings beat Oilers 5
Waymo begins charging for Los Angeles driverless taxi service, ending the freebies