Utah HC sign Milos Kelemen to a one-year, two-way contract

Utah Hockey Club announced they have signed forward Milos Kelemen to a one-year, two-way contract, worth $775,000.

Kelemen appeared in 10 games for the Arizona Coyotes in 2023-24, recording one assist and averaging 7:40 of ice-time. The native of Zvolen, Slovakia would go on to represent his country at the World Championships, where Kelemen was quite productive, scoring three times and adding two assists in eight tournament games.

The majority of his 2023-24 hockey season was spent in the American Hockey League with the Tucson Roadrunners. Kelemen was one of the Roadrunners offensive weapons, recording 16 goals and 32 points in 54 games. Unfortunately in his two Calder Cup playoff games, he wasn’t able to record a point.

Kelemen’s a 24-year-old who went undrafted and joined the North American professional ranks back in 2022-23 when he dressed in a career-high 14 games with the Coyotes, scoring once. His hockey career has also included two apperances at the World Juniors and representing Slovakia at the Olympics back in 2022, where he recorded one assist in seven games.

While he hasn’t shown the ability to put up offensive numbers at the NHL level early on in his career, Kelemen isn’t afraid to muck it up in the dirty areas of the ice, landing 46 hits in 24 career NHL games. Utah’s general manager Bill Armstrong continues to fill out his NHL roster for the team’s first season as a franchise, and Kelemen will be included in the internal competition at training camp for a checking role on the team’s fourth line.

As day three of NHL free agency continues, Utah has $15.1 million in cap space and have been busy reshaping their back end, trading for John Marino and Mikhail Sergachev, while signing veteran Ian Cole. Meanwhile, Armstrong continues to add to Utah’s depth, locking up Kelemen for another season.