Hockey in the desert. What was once a mystical thought that a sport could survive in an environment where temperatures reach over 120 degrees has become a reality in the summer of 1996 when the Winnipeg Jets moved to the Valley of the Sun, forever changing the landscape of the NHL.

At the time, the Phoenix Suns and The Arizona Cardinals were already establishedwith the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 1997 and the Arizona Diamondbacks two years later in 1998. Sports were thriving in the desert southwest, and rather than just being a hot city with little to do. , it became a hub of professional sports, which is another reason why the Arizona Coyotes were born in 1996.

Related: The Arizona Coyotes are officially moving to Salt Lake City

Nearly three decades later, the terrain has undoubtedly changed with the Coyotes move to Salt Lake City, Utah. With a myriad of failed ownership groups, rebuilds, and the inability to find a permanent arena, it was a bust for such a promising opportunity.

That being said, the Utah Hockey Club gets off to a quick start and most eyes are drawn to the rising stars of Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, and rightfully so. However, the state of hockey in Arizona has been overlooked despite two teams still being in the desert: the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Tucson Roadrunners.

This doesn’t mean desert hockey is dead; It’s not, but that doesn’t mean the Coyotes’ departure helped anyone; this is not the case. So what is the state of hockey in Arizona? What does the future hold for us? While some questions will remain unanswered for the foreseeable future, it’s still something to look into.

The consequences of the departure of the Coyotes from Arizona

The four major sports leagues have experienced relocation; sometimes it’s unavoidable. Take a look at the city of Oakland, which lost the Raiders and now, after the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, the Oakland A’s. When problems arise with the stadium, attendance or anything else, it’s part of the business, even if it’s never pleasant for the fans or the running of the business.

Now, for Arizona State, the fans and the community built throughout, the past few months have been a rollercoaster of events since the team’s departure. Some fans have chosen to follow the team, while others are on the other side of the spectrum, choosing another NHL team to follow or waiting for a team to return to the Valley on any given day.

“Eventually, you experience some joys when you remember some of the good times you had. The Coyotes had some incredible times for me and my family. » Shane Doan said. “The relationship my family has with the Valley is so special and often underestimated when you think about everything this community has given me. »

Hockey in the desert will never be the same, but that doesn’t mean there’s no more hockey, as Arizona State Sun Devils and the Tucson Roadrunners stand tall in light of the Coyotes’ departure.

Arizona Sun Devils and Tucson Roadrunners Lone Wolfs in the Desert

What does loyalty look like? How can you define it in the sport of hockey? Look no further than Sun Devils head coach Greg Powers, who is entering his 16th season with the program/club. He single-handedly made ASU hockey what it is today, producing NHL talent in Joey Daccord and Josh Doan. With that, ASU is now the lone wolf in the desert, at least in the Valley.

“We’re the show in town,” Powers said at his opening news conference last month. “You know, if the NHL is here or there, not here, none of that changes our mindset on the ice.”

The Sun Devils have always been a team to watch, but now with the departure of the Coyotes, they are the go-to destination for top-notch hockey in the Valley. This season they’ve had a rough start, but they continue to grow the game with NHL prospects on the roster and Cullen Potter, first round projected for 2025.

It’s not the only hockey in the desert; 100 miles down I-10 you’ll find the Roadrunners, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Utah Hockey Club.

Maveric LamoureuxJulian Lutz, Miko Matikka and Sam Lipkin showcase the wealth of talent in Tucson under longtime head coach Steve Potvin, who has completely transformed the Roadrunners. They have been to the playoffs the past two seasons and have seen Josh Doan and Guenther rock the Roadrunner, both of whom are now playing prominent roles at the NHL level.

While it’s not the same as the Coyotes, and to be frank, it never will be, there is still light in the dark times in Arizona without an NHL club.

Lyndsey Fry keeps youth hockey afloat in uncertain times

When news of the Coyotes’ official move was announced, many people began to panic. It was uncertain and unprecedented that the rumors of the past two decades would finally come true, and now the team followed for years and years was leaving for good. Despite this, Lyndsey Fry, the president and co-founder of Arizona Kachinas, created the Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation to make sure this doesn’t happen to youth hockey in Arizona.

The Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation is a non-profit organization that honors Matt Shott, the former Coyotes Director of Hockey Development. The foundation’s goal is to promote all levels of hockey in the Phoenix metro area, boys and girls, and to support all youth programs.

“It’s the cornerstone. This is the bottom of the pyramid. These are the learning programs for the game. These are the continuous playing programs. These are the school programs. This is the physical education program. Frire said. “It’s everything at the very bottom of the pyramid that leads to everything else.” We want to make sure that all of these opportunities still exist.

Over the past decade, the Coyotes have played a major role in the development of youth hockey in the Valley, hosting numerous rink activities and learning and growing the game. This has brought tons of new players every year, and now it’s going to be difficult to replace that with the Coyotes gone.

“Honestly, this has exhausted any source of role models for young people. Growing up on the ice and being able to watch them play and interact with them as a whole was a very important part of my hockey development, and to see that opportunity taken away from the next generation is heartbreaking,” Teyzin McElroy, a high school senior who plays for the Aztecs of Corona Del Sol. “Hockey had its place in the desert.”

The impact goes well beyond the NHL team. This impacts the entire community, and it’s a spiraling effect that will continue in the wilderness until the NHL returns.

Utah and Vegas attempt to captivate the Arizona market

With the Coyotes gone, that doesn’t mean other teams can’t get in, right? THE Vegas Golden Knights have already hosted on-ice clinics at various Ice Dens throughout the Valley. Utah is planning something similar in the future, but it’s still building its franchise, which still has plenty of progress and hurdles to overcome.

Utah won’t be Utah’s hockey club forever, so naming rights and arena renovations are among the top priorities. However, they will be on the field in Arizona trying to help grow hockey in the desert.

While it can be bittersweet for Coyotes fans, especially when they’re driving down I-10 and see a giant bulletin board with the Vegas Golden Knights or Utah logo; This is unusual to say the least. As we move forward into the 2024-25 season, it will be interesting to see how involved these teams are in the growth of hockey in Arizona. While this will seem strange, it will ultimately help the game grow without an NHL team.

What’s next for desert hockey?

I could ask this question if I had three wishes from a genie, but in all seriousness, we don’t have the answer to this question. The last time something like this happened was in 1999 with the Atlanta Thrashers, so honestly, it’s a big question mark as to what happens next in the desert. Frank Seravalli released a report earlier this month saying hockey would be back. Arizona in the next five years. It seems a little early, but he was perfect during the moving process, so you never know. Nonetheless, it will be one of the hottest topics in the desert for the foreseeable future.