Arizona Coyotes recall defenseman Dakota Mermis from Tucson
Nov 6, 2018, 9:54 AM | Updated: 1:06 pm
Arizona Coyotes defenseman Dakota Mermis (43) skates with the puck against Winnipeg Jets left wing Brandon Tanev (13) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Arizona Coyotes recalled defenseman Dakota Mermis from the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, the team announced Tuesday.
The move comes the day the Coyotes head out on a four-game road trip, which includes a back-to-back in Pittsburgh and Washington this weekend.
The Coyotes already had seven defensemen on their roster at the time of the move, but defensemen Alex Goligoski and Jason Demers took maintenance days in practice on Tuesday. Head coach Rick Tocchet said Mermis would just provide some depth.
“We’re going out east so we don’t want to get surprised, if somebody can’t go,” Tocchet said. “It’s normal protocol, just have a guy in case something goes wrong. It’s harder to get a guy from west to east, right? So just let him come out and practice and come with us, and it’s a safety net just in case something happens.”
The Coyotes had an open roster spot already, thus, a corresponding move was not imminently necessary.
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Mermis, 24, is a left-shot defenseman who has played nine NHL games in his career, all for the Coyotes last season. He does not have a point at the NHL level. In nine games with Tucson this year, he has scored 1-4-5. He has 198 games of AHL experience.
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