The Utah Grizzlies were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They played their home games at Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah.
History Pre-history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars in Nashville, Tennessee, in the Central Hockey League. Henry Brabham then took over the team in 1983 and relocated them to Vinton, Virginia mid-season, to become the Virginia Lancers. Brabham and the Lancers were then one of the founding members of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in 1988.
The franchise was sold and relocated several times until it went dormant after the 2002–03 season. After the American Hockey League (AHL) incarnation of the Grizzlies suspended operations in 2005, David Elmore and Donna Tuttle of the Elmore Sports Group bought the rights to the dormant ECHL franchise and moved the team to the E Center to replace the previous Grizzlies franchise.
ECHL Grizzlies Prior to the 2013–14 season, their NHL affiliate Calgary Flames changed their affiliation to the Alaska Aces. Incoming head coach and general manager Tim Branham announced a three-year agreement with the Anaheim Ducks on August 7, 2013. After the Grizzlies made the post-season in every season within the Ducks organization, the Grizzlies and Ducks agreed to a multi-year extension during the 2015–16 season.
Following the 2017–18 season, the Grizzlies missed the post-season for the first time in 11 years. At that time, their ECHL rival, the Colorado Eagles, joined the American Hockey League as an affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche after previously serving as the Avalanche affiliate in the ECHL. The Grizzlies ended their agreement with the Ducks and affiliated with the Avalanche, their then-closest geographical NHL club.
Despite the arrival of the NHL in Utah in 2024, with the Utah Mammoth, the Grizzlies and Mammoth were never affiliated.
Relocation to Trenton, New Jersey On July 23, 2025, West Valley City officials announced that they had agreed to a deal to sell the team to Delaware-based Pro Hockey Partners, LLC who will relocate the team to a different market for the 2026–27 season. Longtime owner David Elmore had died, and his widow Donna was in poor health, leading the family to sell. However, city council approval was required because the city owned a large minority stake in the team. The former ECHL market Trenton, New Jersey, was the rumored destination for the Grizzlies. The team was reported be playing at the CURE Insurance Arena which is the former home of the Trenton Titans/Trenton Devils. On September 9, 2025, the Grizzlies confirmed the sale to Pro Hockey Partners, LLC and the relocation to Trenton. The Grizzlies will be rebranded to the Trenton Ironhawks.
Season-by-season record Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, SOL= Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalty infraction minutes Regular seasonPlayoffs Season GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA PIM Standing Year 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Kelly Cup 2005–06 72 36 30 5 1 78 235 236 1712 4th of 6, West 2006 L, 0–4, AK — — — 2006–07 72 22 42 4 4 52 184 294 1953 5th of 5, West 2007 did not qualify 2007–08 72 32 30 2 8 74 239 259 1595 4th of 5, West 2008 W, 4–2, FRE W, 4–1, VIC L, 0–4, LV — 2008–09 72 28 28 6 10 72 220 246 1372 4th of 6, West 2009 L, 1–4, AK — — — 2009–10 72 34 29 4 5 77 260 253 1292 3rd of 4, West 2010 W, 3–2, LV L, 0–4, IDH — — 2010–11 72 33 32 4 3 73 189 227 1674 3rd of 4, Mountain 2011 W, 3–1, STK L, 0–4, VIC — — 2011–12 72 33 33 0 6 72 183 223 1573 3rd of 4, Mountain 2012 L, 0–3, LV — — — 2012–13 72 29 30 4 9 71 217 277 1741 4th of 4, Mountain 2013 L, 0–4, ONT — — — 2013–14 71 38 24 3 6 85 187 173 1329 3rd of 4, Mountain 2014 L, 1–4, BAK — — — 2014–15 72 37 27 5 3 82 213 219 1170 4th of 7, Pacific 2015 W, 4–2, IDH L, 1–4, ONT — — 2015–16 72 39 27 3 3 84 223 206 942 3rd of 5, West 2016 W, 4–2, COL L, 0–4, FW — — 2016–17 72 36 29 5 2 79 225 240 1312 4th of 7, Mountain 2017 L, 1–4, ALN — — — 2017–18 72 28 29 9 6 71 230 256 1212 6th of 7, Mountain 2018 did not qualify 2018–19 72 37 26 4 5 83 232 218 1264 3rd of 7, Mountain 2019 L, 1–4, IDH — — — 2019–20 62 34 17 7 4 79 207 164 884 3rd of 7, Mountain 2020 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 72 35 26 5 6 81 207 219 1037 4th of 7, Western 2021 — L, 0–3, ALN — — 2021–22 72 42 27 2 1 87 240 225 959 1st of 7, Mountain 2022 W, 4–3, TUL W, 4–2, RC L, 1–4, TOL — 2022–23 72 35 33 4 0 74 230 259 1316 4th of 7, Mountain 2023 L, 2–4, IDH — — — 2023–24 72 31 36 5 0 67 227 264 750 5th of 7, Mountain 2024 did not qualify 2024–25 72 25 39 6 2 58 226 292 741 7th of 8, Mountain 2025 did not qualify 2025–26 72 30 32 9 1 70 237 255 727 5th of 8, Mountain 2026 did not qualify
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