SALT LAKE CITY – For the first time, a team from Utah is taking part in an NHL draft.

Here are the players the Utah Hockey Club selected this weekend:

Round 1

No. 6 – Tij Iginla, F, Kelowna (WHL)

Iginla is a forward with an excellent shot and a high hockey IQ (it helps to have a father who is in the Hockey Hall of Fame). Iginla played both center and wing this season with Kelowna, but he is expected to move to the center position entirely next season – which should help after Utah traded up-and-coming center Conor Geekie.

No. 25 – Cole Beaudoin, C, Barrie (OHL)

Utah traded No. 38, No. 71 and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Colorado Avalanche to move up to No. 24 and take Beaudoin. It remains to be seen if Beaudoin stays at center or slides to the wing, but he has the profile of a competitive power forward.

round 2

No. 65 – Will Skahan, D, USA U-18

Skahan is a big, physical defenseman who moves well with and without the puck. His father, Sean, was the strength and conditioning coach for the Anaheim Ducks for 13 seasons, so as a kid he would go into the locker room after games and skate with injured players.

Round 3

No. 89 – Tomas Lavoie, D, Cape Breton Eagles (QMJHL)

Lavoie was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 QMJHL Draft. He is a big defenseman (6'4″, 220 lbs) with an improving two-way game; he managed 21 assists from the blue line last year. His strength, however, lies defensively, where his large frame allows him to cover large swathes of the ice.

No. 96 — Veeti Vaisanen, D, Finland

Vaisanen had some first-round pick rumors earlier this year, but a lack of progress on offense put those rumors to rest. Still, he's a defensive specialist – is that enough to play in the NHL?

Round 4

No. 98 — Gregor Biber, D, Austria

Biber is a 6'3″ defender and therefore fits perfectly into the scheme set by Utah's general manager Bill Armstrong.

No. 103 – Gabe Smith, C, Moncton (OMJHL)

Smith is an old-school center who loves to hit. He still has a lot of development to do in the rest of the game, but his physicality and violent nature are NHL-ready. He's been called a battering ram on skates. If nothing else, that sounds like fun.

Round 5

No. 135 – Owen Allard, C, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

Allard was passed over in the 2022 and 2023 drafts, but his time finally came on Saturday when Utah picked up the 20-year-old forward. If he wants to make it to the NHL, it will likely be as a fourth-line grinder. And after waiting through two drafts and not giving up, he's already shown he's good at grinding.

“I defied all the odds and stuck with it,” he told The Hockey Writers. “It would have been easy for me to quit hockey or just stop playing, but I say never give up and trust in your abilities. You can always get better, you just have to work hard.”

No. 153 — Ales Cech, D, Czech Republic

Utah received the pick in a trade that also brought in New Jersey defenseman John Marino. The 20-year-old defender is not in high demand. He had seven assists in the Czech league last season and also plays for his country's U-20 national team.

Round 6

No. 167 — Vojtech Hradec, C, Czech Republic

No. 190 — Ludvig Lafton, D, Norway