Moving up 4th in the NHL draft in the lottery adds to the Utah Hockey Club’s exciting summer | Sports
When the Utah Hockey Club selected Tij Iginla with the sixth pick and took 10 other players in the first draft since the team moved to Salt Lake City, fans were excited, thinking they would be in the NHL right away. General manager Bill Armstrong tried to temper expectations, telling them, “No, it takes some time.” After an unexpected victory off the ice Monday night in the draft lottery, the expectations for the club’s future are Rocky Mountain high once again. Utah won the second random draw of lottery balls to move up from the 14th pick to No. 4, adding to an already momentous summer that could feature a free agent spending spree with tons of salary cap space and an owner not afraid to spend money, the first phase of massive arena renovations taking place and the full-time name getting unveiled before next season. “It’s a game-changer for us,” Armstrong said on a post-lottery video call with reporters. “These are exciting times for Utah. … Just great stuff for the franchise. I can’t express in words on the excitement of when that happened and the opportunity in front of us.” Armstrong has over $22 million in room, and