A tough break for Utah Hockey Club as rising star Dylan Guenther will be sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The team has called up Josh Doan from their AHL affiliate in Tucson to fill the gap.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Utah. At just 21, Guenther has been lighting up the scoreboard this season with 16 goals and 18 assists through 40 games. He was on track for a career-best 70 points.
What’s strange is that Guenther finished Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Panthers without showing any signs of injury. Now he’s looking at missing several weeks while Utah fights for a Western Conference wild-card spot.
The young forward has been everything Utah hoped for when they signed him to that massive eight-year, $57.14 million deal before the season. It was a big bet on a player with just 50 points in 78 NHL games, but it’s looking pretty smart right now.
Guenther’s absence will leave a huge hole in Utah’s power play, where he leads the team with seven goals. He’s been their most trigger-happy player too, firing 237 shots on goal while averaging over 16 minutes of ice time per game.
Utah’s been playing solid hockey overall. They control most of the play and their special teams have been strong. But scoring goals? That’s been their Achilles’ heel. They’re averaging just 2.85 goals per game – good for 23rd in the league. Losing their top scorer won’t help.
Enter Josh Doan, who’ll likely slot in on the second line with Logan Cooley and Jack McBain. The 22-year-old Arizona native has already had a taste of NHL action this season, picking up two points in nine games before heading back to Tucson.
He’s been tearing it up in the AHL, ranking fourth on the team with 21 points in 25 games. Utah’s hoping he can recapture the form that saw him score nine points in 11 games with the Coyotes last year.
While Utah doesn’t need to put Guenther on injured reserve right now, they might have to if they need to make any more roster moves in the coming weeks.
