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