After having a fairly successful Friday night, HC Utah made two major acquisitions during the second day of the draft. First, the club traded with the Tampa Bay Lightning to obtain Mikhail Sergachev, giving up Connor Geekie, JJ Moser, a 2025 second-round selection, as well as this year’s 199th pick.
Minutes later, a trade was completed with the New Jersey Devils, allowing Utah to pick up John Marino and the 153rd pick in exchange for the 49th pick and a 2025 second-round pick.
This series of moves allowed the team to add two fullbacks, filling a previously unfilled need at that position.
We already knew that with the organization’s arrival in Utah, the new owner wanted to see GM Bill Armstrong pull off a coup to ride the positive wave sweeping around the club.
Adding these two elements to the blue line is a big plus, not only to stabilize the defense, but also for youngsters like Victor Soderstrom and Vladislav Kolyachonok, who will have mentors to support him in his progression. The GM still has to come to an agreement with Juuso Valimaki, but it’s starting to look interesting for Utah!
