Roadrunners bolster Coyotes’ lineup
The NHL’s condensed schedule this season meant every team in the league was going to have to rely on players from their American Hockey League teams for depth.
That depth formed the Arizona Coyotes’ taxi squad this season, largely a group made up of players developed with the AHL Tucson Roadrunners. And as the Coyotes head into the final two weeks of the regular season with a playoff spot on the line, it’s as clear as the Arizona sky how important a role those players with Tucson experience have had.
Interest in the Roadrunners from an area hockey fan perspective has gone up considerably this season, in no small part because of the success of Coyotes players who played for Tucson either last season or even part of this season. Forward Michael Bunting has seven goals in 13 games with Arizona, goalie Adin Hill has won seven games in net with a shutout, and forward Lane Pederson has found a place in the lineup and was expected to play in his fifth straight game Monday night against the San Jose Sharks.
“To see the results as we’ve been able to place players with the Coyotes, and the hockey (operations) crew has done a great job of getting guys to make contributions up there ... I think people have seen that connection,” Roadrunners president Bob Hoffman said. “They’ve seen the importance of it and the geography certainly has a ton to do with that.”
In a normal NHL season without the effects of a pandemic, Tucson, for the previous four seasons of its existence, has been a place where young prospects can get regular playing time or for a quick call-up to the Coyotes, an injury rehabilitation stint or for some time to work on a struggling player’s game.
That’s partly true for this season, with former first-round picks Barrett
Hayton and Victor Soderstrom seeing consistent action, among other players drafted by Arizona. In 2021 it hasn’t been as much about players sent down — it was no surprise that the youngsters Hayton and Soderstrom, despite being with the Coyotes early in the season, were sent to Tucson — as it has been about the players brought up.
“It’s a huge effort from a lot of people that maybe don’t get recognition,” said Coyotes assistant coach Jay Varady, who was the Roadrunners’ head coach for the past three seasons until joining the Coyotes staff earlier this year. “It’s exciting to see players get opportunities that have followed the plan.”
A look at the list of players who have seen ice time for the Coyotes shows players with multiple seasons of experience as Roadrunners, besides Hill, Bunting and Pederson. Hudson Fasching and Michael Chaput are a pair of forwards currently on the taxi squad. Goalie Ivan Prosvetov was with Tucson last season and and has spent time in the NHL and on the taxi squad this season.
Defensemen Kyle Capobianco and Jordan Gross have both appeared for the Coyotes this season and also have spent several seasons in Tucson.
“Part of the American Hockey League is recruiting some guys to come down there and play. For us more importantly it was about the organization and being so close to the NHL team where management can get down, development staff can get down,” Varady said. “We actually could get up when I was coaching in Tucson. We can meet with Coach Tocchet, we can meet with everybody. A lot of places you don’t have that. With that, there’s a real connection to the younger players in the organization.”
That connection was being built in the days when current Coyotes such as Conor Garland, Lawson Crouse and Christian Fischer were playing there. Each has spoken highly of the coaching they received and the Tucson experience.
Hoffman said the praise from the former Roadrunners about playing in Tucson means a lot. One of those key to the development of the current Coyotes is now the Roadunners’ head coach, Steve Potvin.
“That’s the mark we want to make. When they come into the organization we try to do as good a job as we can culturally to see the Coyotes are here, and we’re an arm and an extension of the Coyotes,” Hoffman said. “So that culture needs to be trying to teach these guys to be professionals, trying to teach them how to be winners and knowing what a positive culture and setting goals is all about. That way it’s the same way down here as it is up there as well.”
Kevin Roy’s 28 points lead the Roadrunners this season. The longtime AHL player with 28 games of NHL experience with the Anaheim Ducks said the uniqueness of this season has created more opportunities for minor leaguers.
“It’s a great organization, great coaches,” Roy said of Tucson. “Just the mentality of trying to get better every day and doing the right things and get everyone to the next level and get an opportunity to make a difference here and go on and play at the top level possible, it’s a young team this year and everyone’s working hard and doing the right things to get better.”