Utah Hockey Club News

Connor Ingram will make his Arizona debut Thursday as the Coyotes head to Montreal to take on the Canadiens. Ingram was claimed off waivers from Nashville prior to the regular season after finishing 2021-22 with an .879 SV% across only three starts.He will hope the Coyotes can produce more pucks on the net as their 23.7 SOG/GP currently ranks them 30th in the NHL. The Canadiens will be looking for their third win of the season after topping Pittsburgh 3-2 on Monday night.

Välimäki will make his Coyotes' debut a week after being claimed off waivers from the Calgary Flames. The 24-year-old Finnish defenseman will be taking the spot of Scott Timmins who is day-to-day with an injury. Through 82 career games, he has three goals and 16 points to go along with 48 PIMs.

Vejmelka draws the start Monday as the winless Arizona Coyotes head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs. The second-year netminder has struggled mightily in his first two starts of 2022-23 producing a .884 SV% as well as a shockingly high 5.54 GAA. He will look to get the Coyotes in the win column for the first time after they beat the Maple Leafs in both of their meetings in 2021-22.

Schmaltz suffered an upper-body injury in the first period of the Coyotes' season opener in Pittsburgh. Schmaltz will miss at least six weeks, sidelining him until late December or early January. Lawson Crouse was elevated to the Coyotes' top line in Schmaltz's absence.

Yamamoto missed the Oilers' season opener but will play Saturday vs. the Flames. Yamamoto, who had 41 points (20G / 21A) in 81 games last season, will start on a line with Leon Draisaitl and Evander Kane.

Guenther was the No.9 overall pick in 2021 and scored 45 goals with 46 assists (91 points) in 59 WHL games last season. With Nick Schmaltz out, Guenther figures to be plugged into the Coyotes' top-6 for his NHL debut.

Vejmelka will get his second start of the 2022-23 season after struggling in the Coyote's opener allowing six goals on 53 shots. He will hope the team in front of him is a bit more defensively sound as 53 Shots is the most against for any game this season.

Durzi had one assist and three shots in 22:58 TOI in his season debut on Tuesday but will come out of the lineup on Thursday. Brandt Clarke will replace Durzi and make his NHL debut.

Vejmelka draws a tough opening night matchup as the Coyotes head to Pittsburgh to take on Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. The 26-year-old Czech netminder struggled mightily in his rookie season in 2021-22 posting a .898 SV% alongside finishing third last among starters with a 3.68 GAA. Vejmelka will hope 2022-23 brings his win rate up after securing victory in only 25% of the games he played.

Yamamoto skated once again this morning but did not take part in line rushes, and it appears as if he'll be scratched for the Oilers' season opener. Jesse Puljujarvi will skate on the top line, and Devin Shore was recalled from the AHL to take his place in the lineup.

The Lightning suspended defenseman Ian Cole on Sunday, approximately 48 hours after an anonymous and newly created social media account posted disturbing allegations that Cole groomed and sexually assaulted a woman while she was underage. The team suspended Cole with pay pending investigation, which was launched by the NHL on Sunday.

Yamamoto was on the ice for Monday's practice and head coach Jay Woodcroft called it a "positive sign" but still listed him as questionable for Wednesday. Jesse Puljujarvi skated on the Oilers top line in practice, with Yamamoto skating as an extra.

Ingram was terrific in the AHL a season ago, going 30-17-7 with a 2.70 GAA and .915 SV% in 54 games with Milwaukee (AHL). With the Coyotes, Ingram should have no problem taking over as the No.2 behind Karel Vejmelka and should see a decent workload this season.

Valimaki was a first-round pick in 2017 and has collected 16 points (3G / 13A) in 82 career NHL games with the Flames. Last season he spent most of the year in Stockton (AHL), where he had 18 points (2G / 16A) in 35 games. In Arizona, he should be able to land a role on the third pairing.

Sergachev was banged up in Thursday's preseason game and has yet to practice since, but head coach Jon Cooper expects him to play good-to-go on Tuesday. Sergachev had seven goals and 31 assists (38 points) in 78 games a season ago.

Hayton was the No.5 overall pick in 2018 and has 31 points (13G / 18A) in 94 career NHL games, including 24 points (10G / 14A) in 60 games a season ago. With limited competition for minutes down the middle in Arizona, Hayton could be their No.1 option between Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz in 2022-23.