(Ottawa) There aren’t many people across the NHL who cry about the fate of the Arizona Coyotes.
During its 28 seasons in the desert, the organization was talked about much more for its problems – especially financial – than for its performance on the ice.
The team played in three different cities and experienced all kinds of conflicts with local authorities. Already mocked by many people, it established itself last season in an arena with fewer than 5,000 seats. His impending move to Salt Lake City will, in many ways, bring an end to a long agony.
However, there is a real community of hockey fans in Arizona. The growing interest in this sport has led to an increase in its practice among young people, and now the first players from this southern state are appearing in the NHL. There are not many of them, but they are proud to claim their origins.
Mark Kastelic of the Ottawa Senators is part of a trio of established Arizonans on the circuit – the others being Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies of the Toronto Maple Leafs. On this Saturday morning, after his team’s training in preparation for the match against the Canadian, he does not hide his sadness at the idea of seeing the club of his childhood fly to Utah.
“It hurts,” he whispers, in a soft voice that one would not have suspected in this 6’4” colossus.
Kastelic’s family history is closely linked to that of hockey in Arizona. His father, Ed, born in Ontario, spent around fifteen years in North American professional hockey. He played a season with the Phoenix Roadrunners in the now defunct International League and, upon retirement, after a few years in Europe, returned there to start a family. His uncle, Mike Stapleton, played three seasons with the Coyotes in the late 1990s.
Born in 1999, Mark “grew up watching the Coyotes.” As a child, he idolized Curtis Joseph, Mike Smith, Shane Doan, Radim Vrbata… Memories of the 2012 playoffs, during which the Yotes successively defeated the Detroit Red Wings and the Nashville Predators, are still fresh in his memory.
I don’t know life in Arizona without NHL hockey. From a league perspective, I guess that’s the right thing to do. [le déménagement]. But it’s really unfortunate.
Mark Kastelic
Growth
This is not an extremely documented situation in the north of the continent, but hockey has experienced real growth in this region of the United States.
Last November, The Press described the resounding success of the University of Arizona Sun Devils, who play in the first division of the NCAA. Greg Powers, their head coach, directly linked the development of hockey in Arizona to the presence of the Coyotes.
Read “Coyotes roommates make Arizona shine”
In Arizona, minor hockey registrations have increased 135.5% over the past decade, according to USA Hockey. Arenas have sprung up in major cities across the state, and ice time is being fought over.
Kastelic, like Matthew Knies, grew up with the Junior Coyotes. In 2014, the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Junior League drafted him in the second round. In 2019, the Senators drafted him in the fifth round. He is currently playing his first full season in the NHL.
In his eyes, it is “terrible” that no solution has been found to ensure the survival of the Coyotes. He considers himself “living proof” that hockey is growing in Arizona.
I feel bad for the young people who will no longer be able to cheer on their team. From afar, you might think that hockey has no place there [en Arizona]but when you take the time to look into it, you discover how passionate the fans are about hockey.
Mark Kastelic
According to him, the organization’s difficulties in establishing itself permanently in an arena will have caused its downfall. His choice, by default, to play at Mullett Arena, a complex originally intended for a university club, constituted “the final nail in the coffin”.
“They needed an NHL arena,” says Kastelic. In Glendale [de 2003 à 2022], the location was not good, but at least it was a large amphitheater. In the playoffs, it was full. We felt the passion. »
He only has good memories of his two visits to Mullett Arena, a “small, but state-of-the-art” building. However, he attributes his excitement to the excitement of finally playing in front of parents and friends. “I was so happy to be there…”
Going home for the summer and no longer training with established professionals in the Phoenix area year-round “will be weird,” he concludes. Nothing will be the same again.
According to the latest information available, it seems that the current owner of the Coyotes, Alex Meruelo, has reached an agreement with the league guaranteeing the return of a franchise within five years if his arena project in Scottsdale sees the light of day .
So NHL hockey isn’t completely dead in Arizona. For many, including Mark Kastelic, however, it is a very real mourning that is beginning.