OGDEN, Utah — The Ogden Mustangs snagged the inaugural NCDC Mountain Division championship earlier this week, shutting out the Utah Outliers, 5-0, Tuesday night.
The tier 2 junior-level team, with players as young as 17 years old, will now move on to play in the Dineen Cup Finals.
With the official announcement that the Arizona Coyotes will be relocating to play in Salt Lake City next season, players are eager for what's in store for Utah.
"I think this could end up being a hockey hotbed, it's a perfect spot," said Cooper Fink, a forward for the Mustangs. "You see what the California NHL teams have done for them."
Fink and fellow forward Turner Richards have been on the ice for as long as they can remember.
While they are teammates in Ogden now, their friendship goes years back.
"We're both from Minocqua, Wisconsin and grew up pretty much neighbors in the same neighborhood and been together ever since," Richards said.
Richards didn't have to search too far to find someone to look up to in the sport of hockey.
"My cousin, Brad Richards, he played in the NHL for around 20, 20 seasons," he explained.
Richards echoed the sentiment said by many that having the pro game in Utah is a big deal.
"The guys obviously playing here and kids growing up being able to go see NHL in Utah now is going be, I mean, that'll be huge," he said.
The Mustang coaches believe this will help kickstart the sport in the Beehive State.
"It's going to also build more rinks and it's going to help grow in the mountain range if you want to say look what it did for Colorado, I mean, hockey is big now in Colorado," said Brad Zangs, Assistant Coach for the Mustangs.
Mustangs Head Coach and General Manager Kenny Orlando says having a pro team just south of where his team plays will also put more eyes on what his players can showcase on the ice.
"Having that, you know, a layer of scouting that could be invested in kids in this area of the quality programs that we have out here at the junior level, I think it's nothing but spectacular for these kids," Orlando said. "It's going to create more excitement within the game, within the junior ranks for sure."
A positive influence, not just for the Mustangs players, but also for kids who are thinking about picking up a stick.
"Kids out in Utah, you know, seeing an NHL team meeting their idols, being able to see them in person is just going make them want to work that much harder and, and be just like them," Richards said.
"I think to have it right here and see that it's achievable is awesome," Fink added.
The Mustangs will play a best-of-three series hosted by the South Shore Kings, beginning Friday, April 26 at 5 p.m. MT.
