Grizzlies Preview: Opening Night in Boise

Grizzlies Gameday: Season Opener in Boise

Utah Grizzlies(35-26-11, 81 points, .569 win % - 2020-2021 season) @ Idaho Steelheads (36-18-7, 79 points, .648 Win% - 2019-2020 season. The Steelheads did not play in 2020-2021).

Idaho Central Arena. May 23, 2021. 7:10 pm MST. Mixlr/FloSports.

Ryan Kinasewich Makes Pro Head Coaching Debut

Tonight Ryan Kinasewich makes his head coaching debut. Kinasewich was named the 8th head coach in team history on September 28th. Kinasewich was the Grizz assistant coach for the past 3 and a half seasons. Utah’s winning percentage with him as an assistant coach was .584. Ryan is statistically the greatest offensive player in team history, where he holds the all-time franchise records for goals (156), assists (200) and points (356).

Teigan Zahn Named Grizzlies Assistant Coach.

Former Grizzlies Defenseman Teigan Zahn was named an assistant coach on September 28th. Zahn played professionally for 9 seasons from 2012-2021, including 188 games with the Grizzlies over a 4-year period. He played in 48 games with Utah in the 2013-14 season. Zahn rejoined the Grizz after a 4 year run with the Colorado Eagles, where he helped them win back-to-back Kelly Cups in 2017 and 2018. Zahn played in all 72 games in the 2018-19 season where he served as team captain. Zahn played in 492 professional games over the past 9 seasons.

Rivalry Renewed

It’s the first time the Grizzlies and Steelheads have met in the regular season since February 28, 2020. It’s the first regular season game for the Steelheads in 594 days. They last played a regular season game on March 7, 2020. Forward AJ White is back with the Steelheads after spending last season with Utah. White scored 15 goals and 25 assists in 60 games with Utah last season. Idaho defenseman Michael Prapavessis played in 20 games with Utah last season, scoring 1 goal and 4 assists. Utah and Idaho will meet 16 times during the regular season with 7 games at Maverik Center and 9 games at Idaho Central Arena.

Trey Bradley Named Grizzlies Captain

The Utah Grizzlies have announced that Trey Bradley will serve as team captain for the 2021-2022 season.

Bradley enters his 3rd full season as a professional. Last season he led the Grizzlies with 37 assists and was 2nd on the team with 47 points. Last season Bradley played his best hockey when it mattered most as scored 19 points (2 goals, 17 assists) and had a +12 rating in the last 16 games, leading the Grizz to the playoffs.

Bradley will be the first Grizzlies player to wear the “C” since Taylor Richart wore it in the 2019-2020 season. Current Grizzlies assistant coach Teigan Zahn was team captain for the 2018-2019 campaign.

Matthew Boucher and Miles Gendron Named Assistant Captains

Matthew Boucher and Miles Gendron have been named assistant captains and will wear the “A” this season. Boucher led the Grizz with 25 goals and 52 points last season and won the 2020-2021 Rookie of the Year award. Gendron had 7 goals and 8 assists in 46 games last season. His best performance came on February 6, 2021 at Kansas City where he scored 2 goals in a 3-2 Utah win.

Grizzlies Roster

Forwards: Matthew Boucher, Brian Bowen, Trey Bradley, Brandon Cutler, Connor Graham, Mason Mannek, Tyler Penner, Neil Robinson, Quinn Ryan, Gehrett Sargis.

Defenseman: Nate Clurman, Joey Colatarci, Austin Crossley, Charles-Edmond D’Astous, Miles Gendron, Luke Martin, Connor McDonald, Andrew Nielsen, Kyle Pouncy, Jordon Stone.

Goaltenders: Peyton Jones, Garrett Metcalf, Trent Miner.

Returning Players

There are 6 players with previous Grizzlies experience on the roster for opening night. The top 2 scorers are back in Utah from last season. Matthew Boucher led Utah with 25 goals and 52 points last year and was the winner of the 2020-21 league Rookie of the Year honors. Trey Bradley led Utah with 37 assists last year. Mason Mannek had 2 assists in 9 games last season for Utah after finishing up a 4 year WHL run with the Portland Winterhawks. Mannek scored 10 or more goals in each of his 4 seasons in Portland. Miles Gendron is the only returning defenseman. He had 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists) in 46 games last year. Gendron also played in 15 games with Colorado (AHL) last season and had 2 goals and 1 assist. Goaltenders Peyton Jones and Garrett Metcalf are back for a 2nd season.

AHL Experience on Roster

Defenseman Andrew Nielsen has played in 232 AHL games over the last 6 seasons. Nielsen had 39 points (14g, 25a) for the Toronto Marlies in the 2016-17 season. Nielsen was a member of the Marlies when they won the 2018 Calder Cup. In total there are 9 players on the opening day roster with previous AHL Experience. 7 of the 9 players with AHL experience are defenseman.

Big Group on the Blue Line

Every defenseman on the Grizzlies current roster is listed at 6’1” and taller. The biggest defenseman is Andrew Nielsen, who’s listed at 6’4” and 230 pounds.

Rookies

There are a few players with previous professional experience but are still considered rookies because they have played in less than 25 pro games. Trent Miner played in 6 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles last year. Nate Clurman played in 9 games with the Eagles after starting the season at the University of Notre Dame. Connor Graham appeared in 1 game with Worcester (ECHL) in the 2018-19 season before playing at Wilfrid Laurier University. Kyle Pouncy played in 5 games with the Wichita Thunder over the past 2 seasons. Brian Bowen has 14 games of ECHL experience with Worcester, Norfolk and Adirondack. Joey Colatarci, Tyler Penner and Gehrett Sargis each has experience in the SPHL.

Pro Debuts

There are 5 players who will make their professional debuts when they hit the ice for the first time this season. They include Austin Crossley, Jordon Stone, Brandon Cutler, Neil Robinson and Quinn Ryan.

Last Week’s Preseason Games

Friday, October 15, 2021 – Utah 2 Idaho 5 – Luke Martin scored both of Utah’s goals. Garrett Metcalf saved 15 of 16 and Peyton Jones saved 9 of 12. Quinn Ryan had 2 assists. Trey Bradley 1 assist.

Saturday, October 16, 2021 – Idaho 6 Utah 5 -  Miles Gendron and Quinn Ryan each had 1 goal and 1 assist.

This Week’s Games

Friday, October 22, 2021 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Saturday, October 23, 2021 – Idaho at Utah. 7:10 pm.

Sunday, October 24, 2021 – Idaho at Utah. 1:10 pm.

Next Week’s Games

Friday, October 29, 2021 – Utah at Wichita. 6:05 pm

Saturday, October 30, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 6:05 pm

Sunday, October 31, 2021 – Utah at Allen. 1:05 pm.