Coyotes rookies hope to leave lasting impression

GLENDALE – The day of an Arizona Coyotes rookie begins at 8 a.m. and doesn’t end until 9 p.m.

“Everyone’s not going out right now,” rookie right winger Christian Fischer said.

There isn’t much time for socializing after 13-hour days spent at Gila River Arena, where the rookies are vying to stand out in the eyes of Coyotes personnel.

It’s the only chance to catch the attention of management for the 29 rookies, who took the ice beginning Sept. 17 for the five-day rookie evaluation camp. Veterans joined in on Friday.

For rookies, this is the first part of a test that determines who will find a spot on the Coyotes roster.

“It can be pretty nerve-wrecking, your first time in an NHL arena and putting on the sweater for the first time,” Fischer said. “You just want to learn as much as you can. You want to perform at your best. This is an evaluation in the end.”

By rookie camp standards, Fischer is a veteran. The Chicago native is a 2015 second-round pick that is familiar with the early-morning meetings, the hotel breakfasts and the 30 minute warm-ups with the team’s strength and conditioning coordinator, J.P. Major.

The rookie scrimmages aren’t any less intense or less chippy than years before. This time around the Coyotes rookies faced-off with Los Angeles, falling 3-1 in the first game, then following up with a 2-1 win in the second.

The goal for rookies who have been through the camp before can be much different now than the first time around.

Now, they aspire to make the team.

“Last year I was just trying to learn, take everything in,” said right winger Conor Garland who turned pro at age 20 this year. “I knew I was going back to juniors so I just tried to bring that back to my team and help them get better with all the stuff I learned here.

“This year, it’s about trying to earn a job whether it’s here or in Tuscon.”

Both Fischer and Garland spent the last season producing points for their junior teams.

The 5-foot-8 Garland demonstrated his playmaking ability to find his Moncton Wildcats teammates for scoring opportunities with his 89 assists in 62 games played. He can find the back of the net too, finishing with 39 goals. He even added one in the second rookie game against the Kings Wednesday afternoon.

Fischer made his presence known in the Ontario Hockey League with the Windsor Spitfire, racking up 40 goals and 50 assists in 66 games played. He also saw AHL action with the Springfield Falcons for six games, finding twine twice.

Both have impressive resumes. Both have made their presence known along with pre-camp standout forwards Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak.

“They’re close to playing in the National Hockey League if not (already) ready to play in the National Hockey League,” associate coach Jim Playfair said. “A lot of them put a lot of work in. What we want them to understand is by doing the right things twelve months out of the year, they’re moving themselves closer.”
Regardless of the name on the sweater or previous junior team, Fischer said the depth the Coyotes have acquired makes the competition stiffer.

“This year there’s four lines and six defensemen that can all make the team,” he said. “There’s a lot of depth to be played with here. Each year it’s going to get more and more competitive with fewer and fewer spots to make the team.”

Adding to the mix

A late August transaction with the Florida Panthers added 6-foot-4 power forward Lawson Crouse to the mix. He brought with him to Glendale his 2015 World Junior Championship experience skating for team Canada – winning the gold medal next to Coyotes wingers Max Domi and Anthony Duclair.

The Panthers 2015 first-round draft pick has only been in the desert for two weeks, but it hasn’t stopped him from putting his playing style on the table for Coyotes brass to see.

“I play strong, I play mean and I do what it takes to help the team win and make the players around me better players,” he said. “Whatever it is, whether it’s sticking up for a teammate or blocking a shot, I’m in it for the team and I’m in it to win the game. That’s just the way I was raised. I’m a very competitive guy, and that’s the way I play my game.”

This mindset segwayed the media in bestowing him the nickname “the Sheriff.” But normally, he responds to “Crouse” or “Law”  from his teammates.

“The guys joke around,” he said. “A couple guys will go  ‘Oh look, here comes the sheriff!’ But it’s not really my nickname around the hockey rink.”

Bonding over Netflix 

Training, eating and sleeping habits honed in juniors – good and bad – are displayed on the ice and factored into coaching decisions. The process helps when there’s a buddy to start a new TV show with after a grueling day at the rink.

“We’re always in each other’s rooms watching Netflix,” Fischer said. “We’re on “Prison Break” right now; that’s the go-to. We’re on season two. We just started it last week.”

The past summer leading up to rookie camp, Fischer, along with a few fellow prospects, decided to get a head-start training out in the Valley. Garland, Dvorak, and left winger Brendan Perlini even had a house together in Scottsdale.

“In our downtime we usually golfed,” Garland said. “I made it out to the aquarium one day. We probably tried every restaurant in the city. Perlini and I made it out to Canyon Lake. When I first got here, I couldn’t tell the difference between Scottsdale and Glendale. It was a great way to get acclimated to the heat and to the area.”

As rookie camp closes out and roster cuts loom, it’s the moments shared with teammates that they carry with them – no matter which path they embark on this season.

“That’s probably been one of the best parts,” Fischer said. “Getting to know the new guys, then the ones from last year’s camp to this year’s you keep in touch with. You’re around them all day and then in the hotel. It’s fun just to hangout and talk. Everyone is coming from different teams, different experiences.”