Summer has arrived for the Utah Hockey Club, and while it ended sooner than the team wanted it to, it provides an excellent opportunity for the staff and players to take a break from hockey and reset ahead of preparing for the 2025-26 season. So, with that in mind, what exactly do players on Utah have planned for this summer? Here’s what some of them told The Hockey Writers.
Relaxing Summers Ahead for Utah Players
A couple of the players are still around in Salt Lake City after ending the season in St. Louis. It makes sense because the team didn’t have a long summer last year in Utah. In fact, this will be the first offseason for some of the former Arizona Coyotes without off-ice drama looming over their futures.
Last summer, Liam O’Brien was in a group of players who didn’t have a lot of time to relax. He had to move his whole family to Utah for the inaugural season. This offseason, it seems like he’ll be making sure to take the time to visit as much family as he can, especially with his wife and daughter.
“I have a young daughter, so I’ll probably just visit some family,” O’Brien said. “I’m excited for her to be around, you know, our grandparents, cousins, and uncles. I’m looking forward to that.”
Related: What Do Visiting NHL Teams Think of Utah?
O’Brien has stuck around Salt Lake City a little bit to host an autograph session at Overtime Cards and Collectibles. All proceeds from the autograph session went to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It was cool to see the number of fans that showed up and helped out the society. O’Brien got a kick out of it, too, signing things like a sushi cat toy.
Spicy Tuna (aka Liam O’Brien) was signing tonight.
— Jackie J. (@nacholikespuck) April 25, 2025
First thing he says:
“That’s not real sushi, right?”
Me: “No way, I wouldn’t do that to you. It’s a cat toy.”
Him: laughed and talked about how much he loves Mint Tapas and Sushi.
Sergy Eggs ✅
Spicy Tuna Roll ✅
What’s next?… pic.twitter.com/EREWHVVmcJ
Mikhail Sergachev took off for Russia after Utah’s locker room cleanout with his wife Liza and his son Theo. However, he had to take care of business in Salt Lake City first. He hired people to take care of his famous chickens. Unfortunately, he had to give back his rabbits to the store.
“I feel bad for them,” Sergachev said. “They need a lot of space, which I can’t provide for them. One time, they ran out and were eating my neighbor’s flowers. He was pissed. I want them to live the best life.”
It sounds like Sergachev will be enjoying his time in Russia by catching up with old friends and family. He’ll also be skating with Utah prospects Dmitry Simashev and Danill But, who are both expected to sign with Utah this summer.
Ian Cole wasn’t happy with Utah’s failure to make the playoffs. Can you blame him? This is the first time since 2014 that he won’t play postseason hockey. As a massive leader in the locker room, he takes it on himself to try to get his team into the postseason next year after signing a one-year extension with Utah at the trade deadline. He’s not focused on much other than that, hence his summer plans.
“I’ll take a couple of weeks off and start getting ready for next year,” Cole said. “So, I’m keeping it simple.”
A couple of the players will actually play summer hockey. The IIHF World Championship is coming up in May, and a couple of the teams will have some Utah players. Team Czechia will have Karel Vejmelka as one of their goaltenders. Meanwhile, Team Canada might be a little lacking on Utah players, as Dylan Guenther will not play due to a nagging injury.
Head coach André Tourigny won’t be part of Canada’s coaching staff, either. With Utah so close to playoff contention, he and the rest of the coaching staff will be watching the playoffs closely and studying the play. However, like the players last season, Tourigny didn’t get much of a summer either. He’s a big family guy, so the rest of this summer will be about seeing his kids.
“I’ll be taking some personal time, which I’m sure everyone understands (because) last summer was what it was,” Touringy said. “I’ll try to make up for it and take care of the family. My kids are a bit spread out. They’re all in Quebec, but they’re all about eight hours apart, so mommy prepared a little bit of travel.”
Team USA has a bunch of Utah representatives, though. Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, and Michael Kesselring will all play for the red, white, and blue. Speaking of Kesselring, he does have other plans for this offseason, including a couple of reunions with his Utah teammates.
“I’ll probably go to Arizona and hang out with Kells for a bit,” Kesselring said. “I want to play his course. He’s a member, so I’ll get out to do that hopefully. Me and Cools have been talking about going down to his house for the US Open, so that would be pretty fun. Other than that, my family has a lake house in New Hampshire, so I rent 40 minutes south of that. I’m up at the lake a lot, and I’m in Boston a lot.”
Keller still owns his house in Paradise Valley, which he has had for the past couple of years when he played with the Coyotes. His house does have a putting green in his backyard, so he’ll most likely be utilizing that a lot this summer. Josh Doan will also be returning to Arizona, and he confirmed that he will be skating at Mullett Arena during the offseason. It wouldn’t be surprising if we see Keller and other NHL Arizona residents like Auston Matthews join him, just like last summer.
Perhaps the player who has the biggest offseason coming up is Kailer Yamamoto. After securing a contract just days before the season, he’s been a big part of the Utah organization, becoming a point-per-game player in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Tucson Roadrunners and finding a spot in Utah’s lineup towards the end of the season.
This summer, Yamamoto hopes to have a long playoff run with the Roadrunners who are currently in the middle of a tense playoff series with the Abbotsford Canucks with a winner takes all Game 3 coming up on Saturday. Whenever the Roadrunners’ playoff run ends, Yamamoto will look to secure a contract for the 2025-26 season. On top of that, he’ll be getting married to his long-term girlfriend, Bailey Williams, which he’s really looking forward to.
“I’m getting married this summer, on Aug. 10,” Yamamoto said. “That’s going to be very exciting. I’m trying to plan for that right now. Little bit of nerves, but I think it should go good.”
As Utah’s players all head off on their separate ways around the globe, it finally provides a break for a team that hasn’t really had one in a while, thanks to last year’s hectic summer. Now with all of the off-ice issues in the rearview mirror and the inaugural season in the books, it should be a relaxing and enjoyable offseason for Utah.
