Morning Meltdown – Arizona Coyotes Edition
By Mario Hicks
For this Morning Meltdown let’s take a look into some of the buzz surrounding the Arizona Coyotes.
One of our Heat Waved writers discussed the rivalry between the Arizona Coyotes and the LA Kings
"“The Arizona Coyotes opened up their preseason Monday night with a pair of split squad games against the Los Angeles Kings. Not only was there excitement in the air from Coyotes fans, because the preseason had begun, but it also brought back some memories they’d like to forget from last year.Almost exactly a year ago, Kings Center Jordan Nolan laid a big high-hit on Arizona Coyotes defenseman, Rostislav Klesla, in open ice, early on in a preseason game. This hit all but ended Klesla’s NHL career. Klesla was taken off the ice on a stretcher and missed a considerable amount of time due to the injury he sustained. He wasn’t the same player when he returned to the team. His inconsistent play lead him to be traded away by the Arizona Coyotes later on in the year. He soon retired from the NHL after the trade. To add insult to injury for Coyotes fans, Nolan was given no disciplinary action for the hit from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.”"
To read more about this, click here.
With still 50-plus players on the Coyotes training camp roster, coach Dave Tippett usually trains his eyes to focus on only a few players at a time.
"“The ones you don’t know end up standing out a bit because everything you’re learning is new,” he said.Such is the case with center Justin Hodgman and defensemen Andrew Campbelland Jamie McBain.Hodgman was among the group of players that signed two-way deals with the Coyotes July 1, and a steady showing in practice culminated in a goal and assist in Monday’s preseason game in Los Angeles against the Kings.He played in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League the past two seasons and spent a year in Finland before that.“He’s just a good two-way, complete player,” Tippett said. “Right-hand centerman, thinks the game well, makes good plays and he’s a good-size guy. An interesting guy.”"
To read more from Dave Tippett, click here.