Utah Hockey Club places former first-round pick and 20-goal scorer on waivers
The Utah Hockey Club has placed right-winger Kailer Yamamoto on waivers, moving on from the former 22nd overall pick in the 2017 draft.
Signing on a two-way contract only a few weeks ago on the 6th of October, the Utah team has decided to cut ties with the 26-year-old American winger. This comes after a relatively strong preseason, where he scored three goals in 4 games and was vying for a spot on the teams' roster. Coming off a season with the Seattle Kraken where he recorded 16 points in 59 games, it seemed that the player would at least have some more time to prove himself to the teams' hierarchy for a spot. However, it seems they felt otherwise.
In their inaugural season in the NHL, recently relocating from Arizona, the team has gotten off to a respectable start, debuting their franchise history with a strong 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on the 8th of October, and are sporting a 4-3-1 record after 8 games. They are, however, coming off a tough loss against the Colorado Avalanche last night, where they were battered 5-1. The following morning, the head office decided they needed to make some changes, starting with placing Yamamoto on the waivers list.
Those aren't the only changes the young team is planning on making, as they've been very active in trade talks, with Ivan Provorov of the Colombus Blue Jackets reportedly being on their wishlist, to cope with injuries to Sean Durzi and John Marino, who will be on the sidelines for some time. Another name that's been talked about for the newly established Utah side is Timothy Liljegren of the Toronto Maple Leafs, again showing the teams' insistence on constantly improving their roster and not falling behind due to injuries.
Time will tell if Yamamoto can find a new home in the NHL, but at 26 years old, he is running out of time to establish himself as a solid piece on any team.
