SALT LAKE CITY — The Chicago Blackhawks and Utah Mammoth will forever be etched in NHL history. On Oct. 8, 2024, the then-Utah Hockey Club hosted a Connor Bedard and company for the first game in franchise history.
It kicked off a rough Hawks 2023-24 season and a respectable inaugural campaign for Utah, which won that game 5-2.
“It was awesome, you didn’t quite know what the reaction was going to be from the fans,” said Hawks defenseman Ian Cole, who played for Utah in that debut. “I’ve been in some big games — Stanley Cup playoffs, finals, all that stuff — (the Delta Center) was very much one of the loudest buildings that I’ve had (been), to the fans’ credit.
“This is a very loud building. It’s a very tough place to play, and in turn a great place to play for the Mammoth.”
The Central Division opponents see each other four times per season, with each meeting being more physical than the last. Bedard said it himself — he received memorable hits from 37-year-old Cole, who spent the last two seasons with Utah.
“Ian Cole probably landed the most cross-checks on me than anyone else in my life,” Bedard said in July. “Now we’re teammates, I’m just excited to have those guys (him and Cole Smith) be my teammates now.”
The frequency of their matchups didn’t add peace between the teams either. Last season they faced each other three times in the first 12 days in March.
That stretch was as physically taxing for Cole as it probably was for the Hawks in 2025-26. Seeing a division foe three times in less than two weeks is bound to leave some dings and bruises.
The Hawks hold a 5-3-0 record over the Mammoth and have won four straight in the series. They will face each other for the ninth time Thursday in the Mammoth’s season opener. Is this a rivalry in the making?
“Anytime you play a team multiple games in a short period of time, specifically playoff series but also in a situation like (March), you build some animosity there for sure,” Cole said. “Just by the schedule that was perpetuated, I do think that’s a little accurate.”
Utah Hockey Club players are announced before their first game against the Blackhawks on Oct. 8, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (Spenser Heaps/AP)
Cole, who joined the Hawks in free agency in July, will make a return to his former team’s arena. It’s a trip down memory lane — Smith visited Vegas on Tuesday, Cole’s back in Utah and Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway will return to Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday.
While Cole does understand the potential budding rivalry with the Mammoth, he’s not circling the matchup on his calendar — yet, at least.
“I also don’t think that you know we look at this game as like we have to beat specifically Utah,” Cole said. “We do this game as a ‘Hey, we lost our first game of the year, we’re pretty disappointed about that.’ We need to win the next game (and) it just happens to be against Utah.”
The Hawks will look to bounce back from an ugly loss in Las Vegas on Tuesday. They gave up tons of rushes to the Golden Knights, and the Mammoth are an equally rushing team.
“A lot of people have them picked as the next up-and-coming team and being a playoff team that can do damage,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “They’re a very good rush team, so if you’re not dialed in, they can make you pay easy.
“The key thing for us is to handle those situations without getting on our heels. I thought we did a pretty good job of that last year overall against this group and we’ll have to try to do the same (Thursday).”