Ian Cole Sees High Potential in Young Utah Team

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – After 17 seasons in the NHL, two Stanley Cups, and playing for eight different teams, Ian Cole is reaching the twilight of his hockey career. He’s won big, scored some massive goals, and has had a long career in the NHL. At 35 years old, he could retire and no one would blame him. However, after a playoff run with the Vancouver Canucks, he’s decided to take his talents to the young Utah Hockey Club, citing the potential of the team as the main reason why he signed.

Ian Cole Is Excited To Get To Work With Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Ian Cole said he didn’t need convincing to sign with the Utah Hockey Club.

Even though he’s been to the city before, and his brother- and sister-in-law lives there, Cole knew what he could contribute as a veteran voice on a young team.

That’s why the Michigan native, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins, signed a one-year contract with Utah Monday.

“I’ve heard stories about Utah from Kevin Deeth (former Utah Grizzly),” Cole told reporters on Zoom Tuesday. “He said it’s a place that’s crazy about their sports and supporting their teams.”

Utah Hockey Club Signs Defenseman Ian Cole to One-Year Contract

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Utah Hockey Club announced today the signing of defenseman Ian Cole to a one-year contract. As per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“Ian is a proven winner and a true professional on and off the ice,” said Bill Armstrong, general manager of Utah Hockey Club. “He has a great work ethic and is an excellent role model for our younger players. We’re thrilled to have him signed to our organization.”

The 35-year-old Cole registered 2-9-11 and 61 penalty minutes (PIM) in 78 games and two assists in 13 playoff games with the Vancouver Canucks in 2023-24. Cole led the team with 166 blocked shots last season, his third-highest total of his 14-year NHL career.

How ageless Ian Cole has played prominent playoff role

VANCOUVER, BC – Ask Ian Cole what makes a fellow blueliner tick and you get more than just a short critique.

After all, he played with Nikita Zadorov in Colorado and Carson Soucy in Minnesota. He can fill your recorder with the past and present value of current teammates. You might need fresh batteries.

Canucks: Ian Cole set to join unique playoff club

VANCOUVER, BC – The NHL record for the most teams a player has made the playoffs with is eight.

Only one player has ever hit this mark: former Vancouver Canucks centre Mike Sillinger.

Sillinger joined the Canucks in a trade from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks at the trade deadline in 1996 and ended up playing six games for the Canucks in the playoffs that year, making Vancouver the second team he played in the post-season with. He went onto eight Stanley Cup playoffs with eight different teams.

And now Ian Cole is about to match that record. When he makes his 2024 Stanley Cup playoff debut, presumably in game one of the coming first round, Cole will have made the post-season with his eighth NHL franchise.

It’s a remarkable record. Without a doubt, Cole knows first hand how hard teams that make the playoffs have to work.

Canucks counting on Ian Cole to show them his winning ways

VANCOUVER, BC – All the Vancouver Canuckshave done for most of the last eight years is lose. Ian Cole is the opposite.

While there hasn’t been a National Hockey League playoff game in Vancouver since 2015, Cole has made it to the Stanley Cup tournament the last nine seasons. And with six different teams.

 

Canucks: Why Ian Cole signed in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, BC – When you’ve been a defender in the NHL for 14 years, you get a sense of who is a challenging attacker.

Your job, after all, is to stop the guys who are trying to score.

Ian Cole has a good sense of what made the Vancouver Canucks tick offensively, both from playing against the likes of Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes, and from his teammates with top-end offensive talent.

Cole’s career resume is astounding when adding up the future hall of famers he’s counted as teammates, starting with this past season in Tampa Bay with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. Or Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar before that in Colorado.

Defenseman Ian Cole Agrees to One-Year Deal with Vancouver Canucks

VANCOUVER, BC – Defenceman Ian Cole has agreed to terms on a one-year, $3 million deal with the Vancouver Canucks, the club announced on Saturday.

Cole, 34, from Ann Arbor, Mich., has 182 points in 748 NHL games with Tampa Bay, Carolina, Colorado, Minnesota, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.

He will provide a veteran presence lost by the buyout of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who joined the Panthers on Saturday.

Ian Cole Signs One Year, $3 Million Contract with Tampa Bay Lightning

TAMPA BAY, FL – Two-time Stanley Cup Champion, Ian Cole, has signed a one year, $3 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 33-year-old defenseman had 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 75 regular-season games and two points (one goal, one assist) in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season.

Selected by the St. Louis Blues in the first round (No. 18) of the 2007 NHL Draft, Cole has 165 points (29 goals, 136 assists) in 670 regular-season games for the Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins and Blues and 26 points (two goals, 24 assists) in 110 playoff games.

Cole won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.