Utah Hockey Club General Manager Bill Armstrong joined ESPN The Fan’s Brice and Bianucci morning show to discuss the team’s unexpected leap to the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery.
Utah, which had only a 1.5% chance of moving up, secured the maximum 10-spot jump from 14th to 4th overall. The unexpected advancement gives the franchise a prime opportunity to select a top-tier prospect.
A Game-Changing Moment
Armstrong described the lottery win as a “game-changer” for the franchise. He recounted the moment the results were announced:
“You know, your brain just instantly changes. You’re like, oh my god, we just won the lottery. We just moved to four.
And then the second thought is, oh my god, all these new players who are going to get a chance to take a look at, for our first pick, it’s going to be special. To pick at four you got to absorb a lot of pain as an organization, and you can find some game changers up there—that’s the top of the draft. And so for us to have that opportunity off a lottery, it’s just huge, absolutely huge for us.”
The fourth overall pick represents both a reward for the organization’s perseverance and a springboard into a promising future.
Strategic Considerations
While thrilled with the team’s jump in draft position, Armstrong emphasized that Utah is keeping all options on the table, including trade possibilities. “Obviously we’ll always talk about it. We’ll never shut that door,” he said, highlighting the team’s flexible and strategic approach.
Armstrong also elaborated on his overall draft philosophy, stating:
“We’ve always taken the best player available philosophy. You know, as you get in the later rounds that changes. We’ve had a massive amount of picks in the last four years, so you do have to watch what you’re drafting and keep totals of how many defensive [players] and what we’ve drafted and so on and so forth. But when you’re picking up top, you’re just looking at the best player. Who’s the best player on that board, and we’ll swing. We’ll take a swing.”
This approach reflects a balance between disciplined roster-building and bold, high-upside decision-making when given premium draft positions.
Building a Competitive Future
Armstrong highlighted Utah’s solid foundation, built through years of stockpiling prospects and young talent. With six picks in the 2025 NHL Draft and over $22 million in cap space, the team has ample flexibility to improve via both the draft and free agency.
He outlined an optimistic timeline for becoming a playoff contender:
“We’ve just gotten better every single year and we get a twelve-point improvement off where we were last year. We’re projected somewhere to be 95 to 98 points next year and have a chance to get into the playoffs.
And that’s the next step for our group. As we get older here and, you know, Logan Cooley and those—the Dylan Gunthers of the world—go into their second and third year in the National Hockey League, it allows them to be a little bit more mature and take another step, and that’s going to make us better right there.
But we’re going to be able to add some pieces in free agency and, along with some young kids that are coming over from Russia that are pretty darn good players, it’s going to give the club a boost.
So if we can take another step next year and get into that 95 to 98 point range, we got a chance to get in the playoffs. That’d be a huge step for the organization.”
This combination of internal development and external additions is at the core of Utah’s strategy to transition from a rebuilding team to a legitimate playoff contender.
