By: Tyson Whiting
Utah Grizzlies (31-36-5, 67 points, .465 Win % - 2023-24) @ Idaho Steelheads (48-20-2-2, 100 points, .694 Win % - 2023-24)
Date: October 18, 2024 Venue: Idaho Central Arena Game Time: 7:10 pm.
Streaming: FloHockey – https://www.flohockey.tv/events/12609403-2024-utah-grizzlies-vs-idaho-steelheads
Friday’s Matchup
It’s the regular season opener at Idaho Central Arena as the Grizzlies begin the 72 game season against the rival Idaho Steelheads. The mountain division rivals will meet 9 times during the regular season with 6 of the 9 being played at Maverik Center. Ryan Kinasewich begins his fourth season as Grizzlies Head Coach and General Manager. Kinasewich has a record of 108-96-12 in three seasons.
Mick Messner scored two goals in a preseason game last Sunday in Idaho Falls, including a 3 on 5 shorthanded goal in the second period. Messner was one of three players to appear in all 72 regular season game for Utah in the 2023-24 season.
Grizzlies 2024-25 Opening Day Roster
Goaltenders (3) Jake Barczewski, Vinny Duplessis, Adam Scheel,
Defenseman (8): Derek Daschke, Kabore Dunn, Gianni Fairbrother, Chase Hartje, Kade Jensen, Kyle Pow, James Shearer, Bryan Yoon,
Forwards (13): Aaron Aragon, Craig Armstrong, Dylan Fitze, Cole Gallant, Luke Manning, Keaton Mastrodonato, Mick Messner, Cade Neilson, Nick Pastorious, Neil Shea, Tyson Upper, Blake Wells, Briley Wood,
Grizzlies 30th Season in Utah
The Grizzlies are celebrating their 30th season of professional hockey in the state of Utah. The Grizzlies played in the International Hockey League from 1995-2001. Utah won the 1996 Turner Cup as they were led by Head Coach Butch Goring, who was a four-time Stanley Cup champion as a player with the New York Islanders. Butch Goring had a record of 178-123-27 in four seasons with the Grizzlies. Bob Bourne was the Head Coach of the Grizzlies from 1999-2001. Bourne was a four-time Stanley Cup champion and the winner of the Masterton Trophy back in the 1986-87 season. The Grizzlies were 83-61-20 in Bourne’s two seasons behind the bench. The Grizzlies moved to the American Hockey League for four seasons from 2001-2005. The Grizz were sold to Dan Gilbert, who moved the team to Cleveland and they are now known as the Cleveland Monsters. The Grizzlies bought an ECHL franchise and moved to Utah for the 2005-06 season. The Grizzlies have made the playoffs in 15 of the 18 seasons where a postseason was held (They were in line to make the playoffs before the 2019-2020 season was canceled). Going into the 2024-25 season the Grizzlies have a combined .531 winning percentage (639-555-81- 82) in 19 seasons in the ECHL.
Games on First Road Trip
Friday, October 18, 2024 – Utah at Idaho. 7:10 pm. Idaho Central Arena.
Friday, October 25, 2024 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm. The Monument.
Saturday, October 26, 2024 – Utah at Rapid City. 7:05 pm. The Monument.
Every Grizzlies game can be streamed on FloHockey and audio coverage is available on the Grizzlies YouTube channel.
Returning Grizzlies
There are 12 players with previous experience with the Grizzlies who are on the 2024-25 roster.
Forwards (7) – Aaron Aragon, Dylan Fitze, Cole Gallant, Luke Manning, Mick Messner, Max Neill, Blake Wells.
Defenseman (4) – Gianni Fairbrother, Kade Jensen, James Shearer, Bryan Yoon.
Goaltender (1) - Vincent Duplessis, who played in the final two regular season games for the Grizzlies in the 2023- 24 season. Duplessis played at Quinnipiac University in the 2023-24 season and had a record of 21-7-2 with a 2.02 Goals Against Average and a .914 save percentage in 30 games. Duplessis played at Boston University for three seasons from 2020-2023. Duplessis was the Hockey East Goaltender of the Month in February 2022
Dylan Fitze led all returning Grizzlies with 21 goals last season. In 136 games with the Grizzlies Fitze has 41 goals and 45 assists. Cole Gallant finished third on the Grizz with 35 assists and was fourth in points with 47 during the 2023-24 campaign. Mick Messner appeared in all 72 games for Utah in the 2023-24 season and had 15 goals and 23 assists. Aaron Aragon scored 10 goals and 6 assists in 59 games with Utah last season. Luke Manning and Blake Wells are all entering their first full season as professionals after appearing in games with Utah last season after their 2023-24 college seasons ended.
Bryan Yoon led the Grizzlies in plus/minus (+11) last season. Gianni Fairbrother had 1 goal and 2 assists in 8 games with Utah last season. James Shearer enters his second stint with the Grizzlies. He played in 80 games with Utah from March 2022-April 2023, scoring 9 goals and 25 assists. Shearer played with the EIHL’s Coventry Blaze during the 2023-24 season and had 2 goals and 11 assists in 39 games. Kade Jensen was off to a strong start to the 2023-24 season before suffering a season-ending injury on November 8, 2023 vs Wichita.
New Players for 2024-25 Season
Goaltender Adam Scheel spent the entire 2023-24 season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, where he had 2 shutouts, a .907 save percentage, a 2.84 goals against average and a record of 13-18-8. Scheel led all ECHL goaltenders with a 1.97 goals against average and a .932 save percentage for Idaho during the 2022-23 season. That year Scheel was named second team all-ECHL. In 87 career American Hockey League games Scheel has a record of 28-35-20 with a .905 save percentage and a 2.95 goals against average. In 43 games with Idaho over a 2 season stretch he has a record of 31-11 with a 2.02 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. Scheel was also a big winner at the college level with the University of North Dakota as he was the NCAA (NCHC) goaltender of the year in the 2020- 2021 season. At North Dakota he had a record of 52-18-5 with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage in three seasons.
Derek Daschke scored 16 goals for the Kalamazoo Wings during the 2023-24 season, which ranked tied for 2nd among all league defensemen. Kabore Dunn, Chase Hartje and Kyle Pow are the three rookie defensemen on this year’s club.
Keaton Mastrodonato scored 24 goals and 18 assists in 48 games with Idaho last season. Mastrodonato also scored 4 goals in 19 games for the AHL’s Texas Stars. Neil Shea played in 64 games for the Newfoundland Growlers in the 2023-24 season, scoring 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists). Nick Pastorious has previous ECHL experience with Iowa and Newfoundland. First year pros Craig Armstrong, Cade Neilson, Tyson Upper and Briley Wood all have good potential. Armstrong is coming off a solid 4 full season run in the WHL as well as a solid 2023-24 campaign with the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Cade Neilson has played in international competitions with Great Britain. Last season Neilson played at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Upper played at the University of Calgary for the past three seasons. Wood had a breakthrough 2023-24 year with the WHL’s Wenatchee Wild, scoring 62 points (28 goals, 34 assists) in 60 games. Wood was outstanding in the 2024 WHL playoffs, scoring 6 goals and 7 assists in only 6 games.
Goaltender Jake Barczewski had a stellar five-year college career and is entering his first season as a pro. Barczewski was a four-year starter at Canisius College from 2019-2023, where he played in 100 games and had a record of 44-42-8 record with a .917 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average. Barczewski was First-team all-conference in 2021-22 and third team in 2022-23. He was named the 2020-21 Canisius Male Athlete of the Year He was a teammate at Canisius college for four seasons with Grizzlies forward Keaton Mastrodonato. He transferred to the University of Michigan for the 2023-24 season, where he recorded a 20-14-3 record, two shutouts, a .907 save percentage and a 2.84 GAA. With Michigan Barczewski had 12 games with 30 plus saves.
Where Are They Now – 2023-24 Grizzlies Who are Elsewhere
Brett Stapley is playing for HK Dukla Trencin in Slovakia. Stapley led Utah with 47 assists and 71 points last season.
Brandon Cutler is in Germany, playing for EC Kassel Huskies and is a current teammate with 2017-18 Utah Grizzlies forward Ryan Olsen. Cutler had 36 goals and 29 assists in 72 games with Utah last season.
Kyle Mayhew is playing for the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets. Mayhew led Utah with 19 power play assists last season.
Josh Wesley is playing for HC Pustertal in Italy. Wesley led all ECHL defenseman with 18 goals in the 2023-24 season.
Nathan Burke is currently playing for the ECHL’s Indy Fuel. The Grizzlies face the Fuel at Maverik Center on November 27, 29-30, 2024.
Alex Beaucage is playing for the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
Adam Berg and Quinn Wichers are both current teammates with the EIHL’s Nottingham Panthers.
Robbie Stucker is with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears.
Dakota Raabe is with the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders.
Jacob Semik is currently an assistant coach with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints.
Ryan Sandelin is with the AHL’s Iowa Wild.
Connor Mayer is with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.
Michael Underwood is with the ECHL’s Maine Mariners.
Trent Miner is currently with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.
Will Cranley is with the three-time defending Kelly Cup champion Florida Everblades.
Jordan Martel is with the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers.
Games In First Homestand at Maverik Center
November 1, 2024 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm. Opening Weekend presented by Smith’s.
November 2, 2024 – Allen at Utah. 7:10 pm. Dia De Los Muertos (Hispanic Heritage Night).
November 9, 2024 – Tahoe at Utah. 7:10 pm. Pucks and Pups (Bring your dog to the game).
November 10, 2024 – Tahoe at Utah. 3:10 pm.
Tickets for every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.
Big Time Scoring Defensemen
The Grizzlies have had quite a few high goal scoring defensemen in recent years. Josh Wesley led all league defensemen with 18 goals during the 2023-24 season. New Grizzlies D-man Derek Daschke was tied for 2nd in the league with 16 goals last year for Kalamazoo as a first year pro. In the 2021-22 season Charles-Edouard D’Astous had 26 regular season goals, which ranks tied for 3rd most in league history for a single season. D’Astous had a legendary run in the 2022 playoffs, scoring a league record 19 goals in 18 games. It took D’Astous only 14 playoff games to break the single season record. D’Astous also broke the record for power play goals in a single postseason with 11. Taylor Richart was a big scoring defensemen in his time with the Grizzlies. Richart had 12 goals in the shortened 2019-2020 season. Richart tied for the league lead for goals among defenseman with 17 goals during the 2017-18 campaign.
Grizzlies Fun Fact
There are 3 current NHL Head Coaches who are former Grizzlies players. Current Winnipeg Jets Head Coach Scott Arniel was a member of the 1995-96 Turner Cup Championship club. Arniel was a key performer in the 1996 Turner Cup Playoffs as he scored 10 goals and 7 assists in 22 postseason games. Arniel’s was second on the team with 17 playoff points in 1996, trailing only current Boston Bruins TV analyst Andy Brickley, who had 19 playoff points. Boston Bruins Head Coach Jim Montgomery scored the most goals, assists and points for the Grizzlies during their AHL era (50 goals, 89 assists, 139 points).
New Jersey Devils Head Coach Sheldon Keefe finished his playing career by playing in 4 games, scoring 1 assist for the 2004-05 AHL Grizzlies.
Adirondack Thunder
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