The Utah Hockey Club are adding to their blue line as the midway point of the season inches closer. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman shared that the team used the waiver wire to claim defenseman Dakota Mermis after the Toronto Maple Leafs waived him and forward Alex Nylander the previous day.

A lot of people in the Utah HC organization have been involved with the Wild at some point, although none of them were there for more than two seasons. Here’s the list: Nick Bjugstad: Played there from 2021 to 2022. He’s also from Minnesota. Ian Cole: Played there in the 2021 season.

The Wild earned a 2-1 advantage off another broken play from Utah. This time, it was a turnover in the neutral zone after Kirill Kaprizov picked up Nick Schmaltz’s intended pass to Olli Määttä, took it straight to the net and wristed it past Karel Vejmelka at 15:01.

The Wild prevailed 5-4 on Tuesday night, moving back into first place in the NHL with a hard-fought victory in their first trip to Utah. Matt Boldy scored the winner in the shootout.

There was a previous stretch where the Utah Hockey Club went 4-10, showing signs of a struggling team desperate to turn things around. Goal scoring was significantly down because many of Utah’s top players couldn’t find the scoresheet.