SALT LAKE CITY — Bill Armstrong’s ability to work the phones this offseason is why Ryan Smith’s wouldn’t stop buzzing.

As GM of the Arizona Coyotes, Armstrong was charged with trying to build a franchise while remaining conservative in how he spent salary cap space — for a franchise that historically had mountains of it, but worked to stay near the cap floor.

With the club relocating to Salt Lake City, new owners Ryan and Ashley Smith wanted to make the sort of changes that went beyond the club having a new address, color scheme and name ahead of the Utah Hockey Club’s first season.

They wanted to send a message that their rebuild was done. They sent that message by pulling off a trade to get top-pairing defenseman Mikhail Sergachev.

“I got a text from a bunch of different people about him, getting Johnny Marino and some of the other players that we’ve got,” Smith said. “But you also don’t want to be dumb. You don’t want to come in right at the beginning and throw and push above where we are as a team.”

Landing Sergachev in a trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning was just the start of what Utah did in the offseason. In total, the UHC added five players who added an extra $19 million in salary cap space — another sign that the Smiths were willing to spend on a franchise that had historically had miserly ownership when it was in Arizona.

The long rebuild meant that the team came to Salt Lake City with a young core featuring captain Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton, Lawson Crouse, Sean Durzi, Matias Maccelli and Nick Schmaltz. Now it was about determining what was the best way to supplement that core so it could take the next step in its evolution.

Sergachev’s arrival speaks to those aspirations. He’s a 26-year-old, two-time Stanley Cup winner that can log heavy minutes, create offense in one end, disrupt it in another, quarterback a power play and anchor a penalty kill.

He can now operate in all those roles as an undisputed No. 1 defenseman rather than as No. 1-in-waiting — which was the case when he was in Tampa Bay with Victor Hedman, the 2018 Norris Trophy winner and six-time finalist.

Going from a personnel logjam on one team and instantly becoming one of the new team’s most important players isn’t new. Yet what makes the Sergachev trade unique is it provides a window into how Utah could operate going forward.

This is why several people around the Utah Hockey Club are optimistic about Sergachev and the potential that he presents.

As for Sergachev himself? He understands why these expectations exist, but also believes that’s something he needs to earn rather than just have it handed to him.

“That all sounds great until you play,” Sergachev said. “You gotta deserve that role first of all and show it in the season. You can’t just be like, ‘We’ll give you 30 minutes.’ I’ve got to go in and show them that I’m ready for all those things.”

SOME OWNERS WANT to know everything about everything; some want to be hands off. Smith lives in the middle: he wants to know everything, so he can trust his people to do their jobs.

That particular philosophy comes from Smith growing up in Utah and later owning the Utah Jazz. Longtime Jazz owner Larry Miller was extremely involved with the team, which made an impact.

“I’ll never forget that Jerry Sloan was also here 18 years,” Smith said. “And the only reason Jerry Sloan was here for 18 years was because Larry was so involved he knew exactly what he was doing, how good and exactly what was going on. When you’re not involved, you make bad decisions. … When you’re not in the details, you can’t really see the work that’s going on.”

This offseason, Armstrong, Smith and Utah president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong had a conversation about the team’s needs. They all agreed that defense was a priority, which was the first step in the club getting Sergachev.

The next step was Armstrong calling every team in the NHL and asking them if they would be interested in trading their No. 1 defenseman. Armstrong said every GM was respectful — but there were some who chuckled because those trades aren’t exactly common. “We planted seeds,” Armstrong said. “Those guys are impossible to get. Nobody wants to give up their best defenseman at a young age. We kind of moved past it and moved on to plan B, and were starting to look at some other trades. And then the phone rang.”

The Lightning were on the other end of the call. They presented Armstrong with a proposal involving Sergachev. Armstrong said the initial proposal was turned down, but it didn’t take long for both sides to reach an agreement.

Sergachev headed to Utah, with defenseman J.J. Moser, prospect center Conor Geekie, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 seventh-round pick (Noah Steen) going in the opposite direction.

Armstrong said moments like the trades to land Sergachev and John Marino speak to how the franchise is no longer in a rebuild and is ready for something more.

“It’s hard, man. It’s hard to find those guys. It’s almost pretty much impossible,” Armstrong said. “When you’re building a team and trying to win a championship, nobody wins unless you have a No. 1 goalie, a No. 1 defenseman and a No. 1 center. We try to get those No. 1 building blocks in place. That is the first key for us.”

SERGACHEV FRACTURED THE FIBULA and tibia in his left leg on Feb. 7, which kept him out until the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in April.

Prior to the injury, Sergachev was practically an every-game player for the Lightning. He played in 70 or more games in five of his first six seasons in Tampa Bay; the lone season he didn’t hit 70 games was the 2020-21 campaign, when he skated in all 56 of the club’s games in the pandemic-impacted season.

He had 19 points in 34 games last season before he sustained the leg injury, which allowed him to rethink his priorities during a long layoff.

“I was focusing on the wrong things,” Sergachev said. “I was focusing on [playing on the] first power play and focusing on not playing 27 minutes but playing 23. Stuff like that was the wrong focus. The main focus should be playing the game the right way, and helping the team win. And if they give you the first-team or second-team power play, you take it and run with it.”

Sergachev projected as a top-pairing defenseman as a prospect, and the Montreal Canadiens drafted him ninth overall in 2016. That projection led the Lightning to trade for him a year later — with Jonathan Drouin heading the other way — although they already had a franchise legend in place as their No. 1 blueliner, in Victor Hedman.

Sergachev scored 40 points as a rookie and continued to score 30 points or more over the next four seasons. By his third season, he was beginning to average more than 20 minutes per game while becoming a presence on both special teams units.

Hedman, by comparison, had more assists than Sergachev had total points from 2017-18 through 2021-22.

“I was wanting to be ‘the guy’ there, and I was focusing on that,” Sergachev said. “Victor has been on that team forever. He’s won a Norris Trophy, he’s won Cups, he’s won the Conn Smythe — he’s won everything. He’s a rock. He’s impossible to move.”

Sergachev said everything changed during the 2022-23 season. The Lightning moved him to the top power-play unit. That led to him finishing with a career-high 64 points, with 27 of them coming with the extra-skater advantage.

Hedman finished with nine goals and 49 points that season. Aside from the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, it was the first time since the lockout-shortened 2013 season that Hedman finished with fewer than 10 goals. Hedman’s 14 power-play points that year were also his fewest since the 2015-16 season.

“I feel like he felt uncomfortable too, for sure,” Sergachev said of Hedman. “When they put me on the first power play two years ago, that must have felt uncomfortable. It felt uncomfortable for me last year that I wasn’t given a chance. It’s kind of like a back and forth of unneeded stress for him and unneeded stress for me.”

Anaheim Ducks left winger Alex Killorn, who spent 11 seasons with the Lightning, said Hedman and Sergachev were close, and there was never animosity between them.

“They got put in tough situations where maybe one guy gets taken out of the first power play for the other guy,” Killorn said. “It causes [no problems] between them, but guys are competitive in the NHL and they want to be in those spots.”

Sergachev echoed that sentiment.

“Oh no. He’s my best friend. I love him to death,” Sergachev said. “He’s been so great to me and I’ve learned a lot from him. Everything I know now and do on the ice is from him.”

SPEAKING IN OCTOBER, Sergachev spoke cautiously about his role with the Utah Hockey Club. He understood that he could be asked to serve in several roles, while acknowledging that nothing was promised to him despite the blockbuster trade that brought him to the team.

Come December, he’s been as good as advertised. He leads Utah with 25:24 in average ice time, which ranks fifth in the NHL. He’s second among all NHL skaters in short-handed minutes, while he’s 11th among defensemen in power-play-minutes.

Sergachev is projected to finish with what would be his first 20-goal season, while his 55 points would be the second most he’s recorded in his career.

“He is a top-of-the-line NHL defenseman who can play in just about every style and just about do everything on the ice,” said Utah defenseman Ian Cole, who was also Sergachev’s teammate in Tampa Bay. “He’s well put together. He’s strong. He can play hard. He can play skillfully. He can shoot the puck. He can score goals. He can run the power play. He can kill penalties. He can do everything. I think that’s why he gets paid the salary he does and it’s why he’s in demand as he is.”

Cole, Marino and Sergachev were brought in this offseason to reinforce a defensive unit for a roster that could have a chance at making the playoffs in its first season; the group took a hit when Marino and Durzi were both injured in October, and are not expected back until the spring. The team promoted Maveric Lamoureux from the minors, and traded for veteran Olli Maatta to help absorb the blow.

Utah’s defensive zone performances have played an instrumental part in the club establishing its identity throughout the first quarter of the season. Natural Stat Trick’s metrics reveal that Utah is allowing the second-fewest high-danger goals per 60 minutes, the seventh-fewest high-danger scoring chances per 60, the eighth-fewest scoring chances per 60 and the ninth-fewest shots allowed per 60.

Having that defensive consistency has served as a counter to the offensive challenges that the UHC has faced. As of Dec. 9, the UHC was tied for 19th in goals per game (2.93), and has scored more than three goals in just 11 of its first 27 games.

“That’s a locker room that maybe hasn’t done a ton of winning, but you can see they’re trending the right way,” Killorn said. “[Sergachev is] going to be a big piece for them going forward.”

If Utah remains in the hunt for a playoff spot, they are in position to make a significant move ahead of the March 7 trade deadline. PuckPedia projects Utah will have $23.6 million in deadline day cap space, and could use any of its 26 draft picks over the next three years to facilitate a deal.

Armstrong said that last season saw the team go through “some good, some bad and some ugly,” with the idea that they’d learn from the struggles. He said their start last season proved they have the talent, and that the 14-game losing streak showed why it was important to always strive for consistency.

“[Last season] left scar tissue,” Armstrong said. “I’m excited to see what we do with that scar tissue.”

Utah students underperforming in math, language arts or science require timely interventions guided by accurate data to elevate them to proficient levels.

That was the conclusion in an audit report presented Monday to Utah’s Legislative Audit Subcommittee that includes ranking lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

The audit also revealed a “statewide gap between the performance of students who are in a group that traditionally struggles with academic proficiency, and those who aren’t.”

The report classified “underperforming student groups” as those who have a higher than typical chance of performing below proficiency “and who are economically disadvantaged, learning English, or racial or ethnic minorities.”

Such “underperforming student groups” frequently need the most growth and support, the report added.

Needed: Data-driven ‘intervention adjustments’

Auditors reviewed five years of data showing how many Utah students moved from “below proficient” to “proficient,” and vice versa.

“Looking at the net percentage proficiency change each for five years, the percent of students who changed their proficiency status remained problematically low,” their report noted. “Both state and Local Education Agency (LEA) level observations create a case for school districts and charter schools to reevaluate the effectiveness of their student intervention programs.”

LEAs such as school districts and charter schools, the report recommended, should make an effort to identify students in need “and intervene quickly at the first signs of difficulty.”

The audit staff also recommended that the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) should first review the cycle of student assessment data it collects — and then identify ways to expedite the process to improve turnaround times for local education agencies.

Auditors recognized that possibilities of “internal and external complexities” that might affect a student’s academic performance that can’t be quantified by data, such as the level of support a student receives at home.

A question for top-performing districts: ‘What’s working?’

Top-performing LEAs, according to the report, are executing timely and consistent interventions based on internal student data.

Such high-performing districts and charter schools gather and analyze data in a variety of ways. The auditors noted that some successful LEAs are utilizing internal data to drive their decisions and interventions. Others are utilizing designated data analysis teams.

For example, two high-performing Utah school districts highlighted in the audit provided a shared dashboard allowing individual schools to have visible, usable student data. “To provide this dashboard, these LEAs complete their own internal analysis prior to USBE data becoming available,” the report said.

Another high-performing school district is training school principals each month on how to use data “to conduct root cause analysis for various low performing student groups.”

And finally, another high-performing school district formed data analysis teams that meet every four weeks to review internal student data and reevaluate student placements.

“According to the district, internal student data has the capability to drill down to individual students’ skill sets to ensure timely, targeted interventions,” the report said.

Conversely, low performing school districts report lacking access to timely data even while trying to manage disparate data software programs and insufficient resources.

“Although there have been improvements, multiple LEAs mentioned that student data received from Utah’s State Board of Education (USBE) has not been timely,” the report noted. “For example, one school district reports building in lag time for state-owned program data, which could prolong introducing or adjusting targeted student interventions.”

Repeatedly, the audit emphasized the importance of executing timely decisions based on accurate data.

Such crucial elements “provide quality information for administrators to evaluate the success of implemented initiatives based on student achievement.”

As a caveat, auditors added a statewide “one-size-fits-all approach” to improving interventions is impractical.

“We recognize that implementation methods will depend on the LEA,” the report said, noting that each district has different resources, student populations and geographical regions.

While acknowledging differences between Utah’s LEAs, the audit report attached several recommendations of “Best Practices”:

• Standards-Based Instruction: One school district reports systematizing the Utah Core Standards to create learning rubrics.

“The standards identify basic knowledge, skills, and competencies — teachers create lesson plans based on the standards and instruct their students on core content.”

• Peer Learning: Another LEA understands the value of peer learning. The district spends “significant time” compiling data to identify other LEAs throughout the state that they can learn from.

“Schools within the district meet regularly to learn where they can improve.”

• Early and Consistent Intervention: New students in one LEA are immediately tested to determine appropriate placements.

“Pairing new students needing intervention with the appropriate intervention program is key for student development. For consistency, students needing intervention remain with the same advisory teacher and/or instructional coach.”

5-year study: Stagnating student proficiency levels

Auditors asserted that student performances on previous statewide assessments are considered a “good indicator of future performance.”

Working under that premise, the audit report noted that five years of data reveals that the statewide movement between student proficiency groups “appears to balance out to stagnation.”

“Some of this may be explained by recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic; however, these conclusions remain true over time,” according to the report. “The average net percentage proficiency changes for pre- and post-pandemic school years is below 2%.”

Observations of student proficiency measures between the post-pandemic 2022-2023 school years “appear largely unchanged.”

Poor attendance in the pandemic’s aftermath could be a factor in proficiency drops.

In the years since the pandemic, absenteeism rates in one school district have nearly doubled.

“The largest gap in attendance was for English-language learners, which increased from 19% in 2018 to 38% in 2023,” according to the report.

“This is something that we really need to look into because we need to make sure that we’re providing everyone with a proper education and making sure that they have the tools necessary to be proficient — regardless of whether they are English-learners or whether they’re students who have some struggles,” said House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, following the auditors’ Monday report.

The report noted that Utah’s legislature has responded to chronic absenteeism, passing a law in 2023 directing LEAs to create and implement “evidence-based strategies” to reduce student absenteeism.

Now’s the time, the report concluded, for school districts and charter schools to take a hard look at the effectiveness of their student intervention programs.

“Student interventions should aim to link the root cause of the problem to a specific, targeted intervention that directly addresses the underlying issue,” the report noted.

“Additionally, timely and consistent interventions can significantly reduce the student proficiency gap by providing targeted support when students first show signs of difficulty.”

Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said that the “large group” of “below-proficient” Utah students reflected in the audit is alarming.

“We’re missing the huge gap when we say that we have a good education system,” she said. “Well, it’s failing on average 30 to 40% of our kids when they’re not meeting that minimum criteria.”

Darin Nielsen, Utah State Board of Education Assistant Superintendent of Student Learning, reported to the subcommittee that the state has increased the speed of its data reporting system to Utah’s LEAs.

“We recognize that we play a key role in helping our education community understand how to use results to make instructional decisions about students and student groups,” said Nielsen. “We’ve made a commitment to put more energy around assessment literacy for our leaders.”

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz concluded the meeting by thanking the state’s education community, noting a U.S. News & World Report ranking the Beehive State as #2 in education in the United States.

SALT LAKE CITY – AJ Dybantsa is set to make his decision.

The Utah Prep star and No. 1 recruit in high school basketball for the class of 2025 will announce his college decision on Tuesday, December 10.

Dybantsa will make his announcement in front of a national TV audience.

AJ Dybantsa will announce his college decision on ESPN’s First Take

The 6-foot-9 prospect, viewed as a potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft, will announce his decision on ESPN’s First Take hosted by Stephen A. Smith at 8:30 a.m. (MST).

Dybantsa’s final four schools include BYU, Alabama, Kansas, and North Carolina.

Initially, Dybantsa planned to commit to a school in February, but he decided to move that timeline up.

“I just don’t want to wait longer,” Dybantsa said last month. “It’s just going to be too much to wait until the new year. I can make a decision within a month. So I’m not going to wait two more months.”

BYU among Dybantsa’s final four

Dybantsa took in a game visit to the Marriott Center last month to see BYU take on Idaho on November 16. That visit occurred one month after an official visit to Provo in October.

“What they told me on my unofficial and my official, and what I [saw] at the game [in November] was pretty much the same thing,” Dybantsa said on BYU.

In October, a Crystal Ball forecast on 247Sports predicted that Dybantsa would pick BYU. That forecast was recently pulled, and no one has a Crystal Ball pick on which school Dybantsa will commit to on Tuesday.

This is not a game 🚨🤯 AJ really does have wings. pic.twitter.com/TYue6R61hy

— The Grind Session (@thegrindsession) December 1, 2024

Dybantsa has a perfect 1.000 Composite rating, which is the highest a recruit can receive.

Last month, Dybantsa earned MVP honors at the Hoopfest in Pleasant Grove, leading Utah Prep to a victory over Link Academy from Missouri. He had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win.

Dybantsa is a 6-foot-9 wing with a 7-foot wingspan.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.

Take us with you wherever you go.

Download the new and improved KSL Sports app from Utah’s sports leader. It allows you to stream live radio and video and stay up to date on all of your favorite teams.

Follow @Mitch_Harper