Coyotes hold two-team scrimmage
Arizona ramps up work with opener looming
Forward Derick Brassard scored a goal in his first day of Arizona Coyotes training camp, and another newcomer, Drake Caggiula scored twice in Wednesday’s scrimmage at Gila River Arena, the first of two this week leading up to next week’s regular-season opener.
The Coyotes played three modified periods and split the roster into two teams, with Caggiula, signed just last month, scoring the only two goals for Team B. Team A had goals from Jakob Chychrun, Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, Brassard and Michael Chaput in its 5-2 win.
“I was pretty excited to meet all the guys. I wished my first time on the ice was a practice, but it was just nice to get into a game situation,” Brassard said. “Just a good atmosphere in general around the dressing room. It was good.”
Brassard said he was a late addition to camp Wednesday because he cleared COVID-19 medical protocol that morning after seven days in quarantine.
Five of the seven total goals came in the second period, one that was dedicated to the power play and penalty kill units as well as 3-on-3 and 4-on-3. Schmaltz scored in 5-on-5 in the third period, and Caggiula got his second goal just before the scrimmage ended.
“‘Brass,’ he hasn’t really had a practice here yet so I thought he looked good out there. He’s a good veteran out there. He instructed guys on the bench and it was a hell of a shot on that goal,” Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said. “A guy like Caggiula, you give him a chance, he’ll put it in the net, so it was good to have a couple of guys like that that give you chances on net.”
The first period saw Tocchet experiment with many different line combinations and defensive pairings, with the line of Keller, Schmaltz and Conor Garland getting a number of shifts.
“I’m just looking for some guys to step up in some situations,” Tocchet said. “Schmaltz’s line, a lot of possession time. For them the next graduation is they’ve got to start attacking the net and shoot the puck.”
The Coyotes turned on the scoreboard and LED boards that ring the arena, and had a DJ playing music with ice repair work taking place during breaks. Tocchet watched the first period from high up in the first level of seats.
The Coyotes won’t be playing preseason games, so Wednesday’s scrimmage and the one to come on Friday are their only opportunities to simulate game-like conditions inside the arena.
“It kind of gave us a game feel, because before we know it it’s going to be Game 1 here,” forward Christian Dvorak said.
“It was nice to get that feeling with some music and some warmups and I thought it was good for our team.”
The Coyotes had 34 players take part in the scrimmage, with key players Alex Goligoski and goalie Antti Raanta still not in camp.
Arena attendance limit set
The Coyotes announced on Wednesday a limited seating capacity for the team’s six home games this month, with a maximum of 3,450 fans to be allowed inside Gila River Arena beginning with the Jan. 14 season opener against the San Jose Sharks.
The City of Glendale has allowed 25 percent capacity, according a statement from the Coyotes.
The club intends to work with Gila River Arena and the city to determine the seating capacity for each month throughout the 2021NHL regular season.
“The health and safety of our fans, players, coaches, and staff has been our top priority throughout this process and we are looking forward to beginning the season with a limited capacity of seating for our fans,” Coyotes president & CEO Xavier Gutierrez said in the statement. “We have been working diligently with the City of Glendale, state and federal authorities, medical experts, and the NHL to ensure that we have a safe environment at Gila River Arena. We are confident that the innovative and tech-enabled services we have in place will protect the health and safety of our fans.”
Safety measures for fans at games include socially distanced seating, full digital ticketing, cashless transactions, pre-paid touchless parking and sanitizer stations throughout the arena.
There will also be additional food preparation protocols at all concessions, fan flow circulation and a no-bag policy. All fans and arena employees will be required to wear a mask when not actively eating or drinking and no smoking will be allowed outside on the patios.
Coyotes season-ticket holders will have first priority to purchase tickets based on their tenure.