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Why Utah’s hockey reporters nominated Mikhail Sergachev for an award

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Why Utah’s hockey reporters nominated Mikhail Sergachev for an award


The defenseman was nominated for the award that “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to the game.”

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev acknowledges the crowd after scoring a goal versus the Seattle Kraken at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, April 8, 2025.

Mikhail Sergachev would rather not talk about his individual success with Utah Hockey Club this season.

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“I love playing hockey,” the defenseman said regarding the accolades and responsibility he has had in Salt Lake City this year. “I want to improve, too. I don’t want to be out there just to be out there, to eat minutes. I want to produce, I want to defend, I want to do it the right way. I’m working towards my goal.”

It is this mindset — paired with Sergachev’s resilience coming back from injury, getting traded and turning into a No. 1 defenseman — that earned him the Utah Hockey Club nomination for the NHL’s Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

The award is given to the player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to the game.” Each chapter in the Professional Hockey Writers Association nominates a player from the team it covers. The winner is selected through a PHWA poll at the end of the regular season.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime, given Utah a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at the Delta Center, on Wednesday, Dec 18, 2024.

“It is great. Obviously, I appreciate it,” Sergachev said. “Last year was a tough year and you never know how your next year is going to go.”

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The 26-year-old broke his left tibia and fibula in Feb. 2024 when he was still with the Tampa Bay Lightning. After undergoing surgery, Sergachev had to relearn how to walk before he even thought of putting his skates back on.

“It was a tough time,” he said. “At some points, I was kind of depressed. Like week number four or five. I felt like it was taking too long for me. I wanted to be on the ice already. I was watching the games and was at the rink.”

Because of Sergachev’s strong commitment to his rehabilitation, the blueliner was able to return for two of Tampa’s playoff games in late April 2024. That June, though, he got traded to Utah Hockey Club in a deal that Sergachev said both shocked and excited him.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) during an NHL hockey game at the Delta Center against the Calgary Flames in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024.

He took the summer to get himself physically and mentally prepared to join a new team — one that was bringing him in with expectations to be a No. 1 defenseman.

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“I had a really long summer of working out and skating — that’s how I got back in shape,” Sergachev said. “I asked our coaches to send me our playbook. I started analyzing it — what kind of game it is and what kind of team we are.”

Sergachev came into Utah training camp and quickly showed the talent, competitiveness and dedication he had to help push the Club to another level. The team added Sergachev to the leadership group early in the season — he is now one of the alternate captains — and has relied on him for guidance both in the way he plays and how he conducts himself off the ice.

Through 73 games with Utah, Sergachev has posted 51 points (including a career-high 15 goals) while skating on the first defensive pair, power play and penalty kill.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) looks to pass during the game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Colorado Avalanche at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

It was a long journey for Sergachev to get through his gruesome injury and adapt to a new team but he has come out on the other side as a better hockey player.

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“I love it here,” Sergachev said. “I kind of didn’t know if I was going to recover fully or how hard I needed to work and stuff like that. But when I got through it and played that first game, I realized my body is stronger than I think it is. That I’m mentally stronger than I think I am. The belief in myself — I started believing in myself more that I’m able to do things that I thought I couldn’t.”

The Salt Lake Tribune sat down with Sergachev to further discuss his Masterson Trophy nomination and reflect on his first season in Utah. Watch that below:



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Utah

Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president

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Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president


Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.



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Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods

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Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods


BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.

After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.

Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.

“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.

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An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.

Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.





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Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months

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Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months


EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.

Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.

Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.

“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”

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When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.

An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.

In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.

Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.

Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.

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In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.



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