Utah Hockey Club centre Nick Bjugstad will not be ready for opening night against the Chicago Blackhawks, according to Craig Morgan of ALL Utah Hockey.
A couple of updates here:
Utah Hockey Club center Nick Bjugstad is not expected to be ready for the start of the regular season on Oct. 8, per source.
Defenseman John Marino is now listed as day to day. https://t.co/jBOk6BSRqc— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) September 25, 2024
Utah Centre Nick Bjugstad’s Injury
Bjugstad was listed as having an upper body injury on September 19th. He was being evaluated week to week. The veteran has yet to appear in any preseason action. It would be wise for Utah to be careful with this injury. Bjugstad is a big part of the club’s core.
Bjugstad played 59 games with Arizona in 2022-2023 before being traded to the Oilers at the trade deadline. Arizona would bring him back in the offseason. He went on to sign a two-year contract. This is a player the fans that followed the Coyotes and chose to support Utah are familiar with.
Who will replace Bjugstad while he’s out?
Jack McBain and Kevin Stenlund are two prime candidates to fill the third-line centre spot. Stenlund is a big body that can play a physical type of game. Also, he’s not the fastest skater. Jack McBain is the perfect fourth-line centre that can give the club some offence, as he had 12 goals in 2022-2023. Utah can’t really go wrong with either of these guys to fill in for Bjugstad.
With his injury being week-to-week and taking into account that it will be around three weeks since the injury, we’re only talking about these players filling in for a couple of games at most. McBain is ahead of Stenlund because he knows Utah’s system, which is important. But it’s very refreshing to know the club has depth.
Main Photo: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images
