SCOTTSDALE – When the Coyotes packed up everything but old grip tape and departed Arizona for Utah, they left behind one vital piece from their time in the Valley.
There is still the dead franchise’s logo, a picture of a howling, snarling ‘yote.
Even without a professional hockey team in the state, youth hockey continues to grow in Arizona thanks in part to the Jr. Coyotes program that helps countless aspiring players hoping to play in college and the NHL.
The NHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Arizona Coyotes to Smith Entertainment Group on April 18, 2024. For the first time since 1996, Arizona was without an NHL team, but one organization sporting the dead franchise’s logo is still trying to grow hockey in the desert.
The Jr. Coyotes are the Valley’s premier youth hockey program with 18 teams ranging from 9U to 18U across multiple tiers. The long list of Jr. Coyotes teams practice in the extensive Ice Den Scottsdale across three rinks.
“We’ve got a huge travel program, which is kids on the ice, more traveling out of state, more elite-level teams,” said Mike DeAngelis, director of hockey operations and program advancement. “And then we’ve got a huge house league, too, with a bunch of kids in it that play more recreationally and are only on the ice a couple days a week.”
For the Jr. Coyotes, the work of making great hockey players starts at a young age. Ice Den Scottsdale hosts learn-to-skate programs for kids getting on the ice for the first time. The program teaches kids as young as 6 how to skate, and then starts turning them into hockey players.
“It is the hardest sport, in my opinion, to play because it’s not just throwing on running shoes,” said Kenny Corupe, director of youth hockey at Coyotes Ice. “You’ve got to do all of that on steel blades, going super fast on the ice. You’ve got to watch out for sticks and pokes and also someone else coming right at you and hitting you.”
Developing college players is a priority for teams in the 17U and 18U range, but Corupe said youth teams are all about getting kids to love the sport. Corupe encourages his fellow youth coaches to make it fun to come to the ice and keep young players coming back.
“There’s not enough people that really want to teach the sport at a younger age,” Corupe said. “Everyone wants to do it when they’re older, when they can do power plays and a little bit more strategic gameplay, and I approve that, that’s a fun part. I’ve always taken more joy in inspiring kids to love the game.”
This year marked the first time 9U player Phoenix Salazar took the ice as a Jr. Coyote. Salazar said his coaches make the game fun and are very friendly. Corupe aims to keep it that way for his young players, but the Jr. Coyotes still have a demanding schedule for those in their program.
“I play three sports, and I only have one day (a week) without hockey,” 9U player Lock Accardo said.
Brady Turner, a 18U right winger, has been with the Jr. Coyotes since he was 6 years old. Turner learned to skate with the program when he was just 4 and has been in the Ice Den ever since.
“Since the start, this program has really been everything to me,” Turner said. “It’s where I started hockey. It’s where I played my middle years of hockey, still playing here.”
Turner has rigorous practices six days a week. He goes in the morning from Tuesday to Thursday, and then skates after school Monday through Friday. If that’s not enough, Turner skates Saturday morning and trains three days a week in the Ice Den Performance Center, an off-ice training facility.
Turner credits the Jr. Coyotes program with helping shape him into the player he is today and hopes the program will help him get to the next level of hockey.
“They try to get you right to that door to get there,” Turner said. “And then you obviously got to get yourself to make the teams. But they give you all the right stuff you need to get there.”
Coyotes Amateur Hockey Association 18U assistant coach Jordan Muzzillo said players like Turner also need to monitor off-the-ice components like nutrition and sleep habits that impact in-game performance. Muzzillo believes the Jr. Coyotes’ multi-faceted approach on and off the ice is uniquely tailored to developing better players.
Jr. Coyotes learn to play from seasoned hockey veterans. DeAngelis played for Italy in three Winter Olympics and had an 13-year professional playing career. Corupe played for American Hockey League and ECHL teams before playing for Italian and Norwegian clubs. Muzzillo played at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
“I put our program up against any other youth program in the country, with the amount of collegiate hockey players, professional hockey players, Stanley Cup champions that we’re fortunate enough to have coach these kids,” Muzzillo said.
The Jr. Coyotes were born from the P.F. Chang’s Youth Hockey organization, which was formed in 2006 to provide hockey development, coaching and exposure for elite hockey players in Arizona. The organization became reality through the efforts of Jim Johnson, a 13-year NHL defenseman and coach. Johnson wanted to make it possible for talented Arizona players to stay in the desert instead of fleeing to another state to play at the highest level of competitive hockey.
The former NHL player’s dream was realized when P.F. Chang’s President Rick Federico agreed to provide seed money. In 2010, the PF Chang’s Tier 1 hockey program board of directors announced the name change to the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes.
“We are very proud of the groundwork that we have laid and equally as proud of our players as they continue to make their mark each season and are placed in high-level junior and college programs,” Johnson said in 2010. “We envision many positive things for the future of the program and the elite level athlete as our Tier 1 teams will continue to participate in the prestigious Tier 1 Elite League now as the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes.”
The Jr. Coyotes program has done just that for years, developing a long list of college players and even a few NHL players. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews, Utah Hockey Club’s Josh Doan and the Boston Bruins’ Mark Kastelic are former Jr. Coyotes.
The program doesn’t seem fazed that its namesake NHL team is no longer in Arizona. The influence is hard to ignore with the name and the howling coyote logo plastered on its jerseys and all over the Ice Den Scottsdale. There is even a rink named after former Coyote Shane Doan.
“There was hockey here in the Valley before the Coyotes got here,” DeAngelis said. “The Coyotes helped a ton with the interest level and getting kids fired up to get into the sport. But I think the biggest problem in Arizona is that we don’t have enough facilities and enough ice facilities, and most rinks are maxed out.”
The Ice Den Scottsdale is open 20 hours a day, 7 days a week and 363 days a year. DeAngelis and his team have to schedule ice time for 18 Jr. Coyotes teams, learn-to-skate programs and adult beer league teams. Luckily, the organization also has two ice sheets at the Ice Den Chandler to add more time slots.
Corupe said the Jr. Coyotes have seen registration numbers soar in recent years. There is so much demand that teams need to cut players or put them at different levels because of a lack of available spots.
“Our program is still growing, which is great for the state losing the NHL team,” Corupe said. “That does sting, but you still see that love of younger kids coming up, which is awesome. We have to continue with that.”
One promising local connection for the program is ASU. There is already a pipeline as six former Jr. Coyotes have played for the Sun Devils. Currently, freshman defenseman Brasen Boser and sophomore forward David Hymovitch are former Jr. Coyotes.
With ASU now the Valley’s premier hockey team, the Jr. Coyotes are confident in the future of hockey in Arizona.
“Sun Devils are a big shining light for hockey in Arizona right now, with the Mullet rink and everybody getting fired up to go to the games and stuff, and I’ve seen some games on TV now,” DeAngelis said. “ So now the Sun Devils here in Phoenix, at least, certainly have taken over the torch to keep kids involved, excited about the game.”
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