Breaking Down Utah Forward Dylan Guenther's Fast Start

The Utah Hockey Club are getting an incredible start from their young star forward.

Oct 12, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Utah Hockey Club right wing Dylan Guenther (11) skates with the puck against New York Rangers center Sam Carrick (39) during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

The Utah Hockey Club are off and rolling in their inaugural season in the NHL. The team is 3-0-0 to begin the year, knocking off the likes of the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, and New York Rangers to earn their victories.

A huge key to the Utah Hockey Club's fast start is their scoring winger Dylan Guenther. Fresh off signing a new eight-year contract with the team, he's already showing the team why they made such a heavy investment in him. He has five goals through three games, lighting the lamp in each game played.

At just 21 years old, Guenther has many steps to take still in his development, but his hot start is worth examining further. Taking a look at each of his goals so far, there are two main contributing factors.

The first is his speed. Guenther appears shot out of a cannon as he skates through the neutral zone, whether he has the puck on his stick or not. The Blackhawks experienced this first hand during their matchup. Guenther recorded Utah's first ever goal largely due to his speed.

As Utah entered the offensive zone, Guenther flew up the middle of the ice, which helped push the Chicago defense back and create space for his teammates. With the Blackhawks then giving too much respect to his skating ability, he was able to post up in the high slot and receive a pass on target for a one-timer. And then Utah hockey history was made.

The second factor that is making a huge difference is Utah's revamped power play structure. They've found a great fit with Guenther occupying the left half wall and face-off dot on the first unit. The result is two of his five goals coming with the man advantage, and both have come off one-timers. The latest came against Vezina Trophy candidate Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers.

While Guenther's always been seen as a scorer, the ability to rifle off these quick, hard, and accurate shots is adding a whole new level of danger to his game. While the pace he's setting is unsustainable, there's a noticeable improvement in the young forward's game, and he's set to have a career year for the Utah Hockey Club.

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