(Tempe) With all the setbacks experienced by the Arizona Coyotes, there persists a perception, in the north of the continent, according to which hockey has no place in this American state bordering Mexico.
If there’s one place where hockey is on fire, it’s on the campus of Arizona State University (ASU). The Sun Devils, the southernmost of the 63 major league teams in the NCAA, generated more than $3 million in box office revenue last season.
In 2022-2023, the average attendance for their local games (4,791 spectators) was higher than that of the Coyotes (4,600), who share the same amphitheater. The capacity of Mullett Arena, however, is slightly larger for university games; the symbol, nevertheless, is powerful.
While in its beginnings, the program mainly attracted local players, its members now come from Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Canada, etc.
We are very close to becoming a real power.
Greg Powers, head coach of the Arizona State University Sun Devils
This Indiana native settled in sunny Arizona 27 years ago. He first attended ASU as a television journalism student. He also defended the Sun Devils net, at a time when the team was not supported by the university.
He never left. After a seven-year hiatus from hockey, he returned to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant coach, before being promoted to head coach.
In 2015, following a private investment of 32 million – “the biggest gift an ASU team has ever received” – the Sun Devils moved to Division 1 of the NCAA, also retaining the Powers services.
Success came quickly. By the fourth year, the team advanced to the end-of-season NCAA tournament, unheard of for such a young program. The feat would have been repeated the following year, in 2020, if the event had not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Next season, the Sun Devils, currently considered an independent team, will join the NCHC conference. “Another box will be checked,” emphasizes Greg Powers. Three players on the current roster have been drafted by NHL clubs. Last year there were two more. The pieces fit together. ” And it’s only just started. »
PHOTO ARIANNA GRAINEY, PROVIDED BY ASU SUN DEVILS
Greg Powers behind the bench at a local Sun Devils game
“Create the tradition”
Greg Powers makes no secret of it: building a program in a market still considered non-traditional is not something that can be done in a jiffy.
In interview with The Presshe says that, for a long time, the team he leads was seen as an “urban legend”.
“Oh yes, you have a team in division 1? », he still hears often. To be honest, it was a bit of a pretext for the presence of the representative of The Press in his office.
“It’s a different experience from a traditional program,” admits the 46-year-old pilot. Because of the climate, the campus, the novelty effect…” Consequently, he feels that his club still has to “prove that it has its place”, which he does not see as a disadvantage. He evokes a mentality of “us against the world” which does not displease him at all and which, he says, is not a barrier to recruitment.
“There is nothing wrong with enrolling at Boston University or North Dakota, where hockey has been played for over 100 years,” he insists. Our mantra here is: create tradition. Set the standards. Be the founding fathers. And our players have been on board for eight years. »
The project is even more attractive since the team abandoned a small 700-seat community arena – since demolished – to establish itself last year at Mullett Arena, built a stone’s throw from the ASU campus, next door of its spectacular football stadium.
PHOTO MATT YORK, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
ASU students use a pedestrian bridge built on campus.
It’s not like the Sun Devils magically grew out of the sand, either. Hockey in Arizona is not as rooted as in the northern states or as in Canada, that goes without saying. However, according to Hockey USA, registrations there have jumped 135.5% in 10 years – from 2012-2013 to 2022-2023.
For comparison, during the same period, Quebec lost some 20% of its players. This shows that the vitality of a sport practiced is not necessarily linked to the financial health of a professional franchise established in the same market…
Coyotes Legacy
Whatever one thinks of the Arizona Coyotes, it was their presence in the Phoenix metropolitan area that allowed hockey to flourish, believes Greg Powers.
“A lot of players stayed after they retired. Some even moved here without ever having played there. » This is particularly the case of Eddie Lack, former Vancouver Canucks goalie who became a real estate agent and volunteer coach for ASU goalies.
“For 10 years, if you go to the Scottsdale arena, you will come across Derek Morris, Tyson Nash, Shane Doan, Dave Ellett, Taylor Pyatt, Steve Sullivan, Ray Whitney… and the list goes on,” emphasizes Greg Powers.
“All these guys, who had great careers, became coaches in our market. The level of coaching in minor hockey is therefore very high, and that contributes to the good development of the players. Several young people here play at the major junior level or in the first division of the NCAA. All this is linked to the presence of the NHL in the region. »
Arizonians are also starting to wear Bettman circuit team uniforms. The best known is obviously Auston Matthews, but Matthew Knies (Toronto) and Mark Kastelic (Ottawa) have joined full-time this season.
Powers, however, does not link the existence of the Coyotes directly to the rise of the Sun Devils. “I think it could have happened organically without that. »
But the growth of hockey? Certainly. He cites as an example the current shortage of ice surfaces available for recreational and competitive teams in the area. The community skating rink adjoining Mullett Arena is used “20 hours a day”, to the point where there are plans to build another one.
PHOTO SIMON-OLIVIER LORANGE, THE PRESS
Sun Devils practice last Thursday at Mullett Arena
No less than five teams defending the university colors train there and play their local games there. In addition to the one described in this text, there are three men’s clubs and one women’s club playing in lower divisions.
The main men’s team, in fact, is one of the three teams that generate substantial revenue on campus, along with men’s basketball and football.
“Hockey is exploding here,” insists Greg Powers. At ASU, where it’s believed to have laid the foundation for a program ready to compete on equal terms with the best in the country. And in Arizona in general, where the sport is gaining more and more fans.
Why, then, is a non-traditional market’s reputation so resilient? The Coyotes’ failures certainly contribute to this.
“Maybe also because of the sun and the palm trees? », suggests the coach with a smile.
There is undoubtedly a little of that, yes.