The Phoenix Coyotes are thirty-four games into the season and currently in fourth place in the Pacific Division and seventh place in the Western Conference. The Coyotes have had their ups and downs so far, but have their heads above the .500 mark.  This team is led by a strong veteran force of Shane Doan, Ed Jovanovski, Olli Jokinen, and Derek Morris. Even though he may have had an inconsistent start of this season, Ilya Bryzgalov is playing as strong as ever.  However, this year the Coyotes have pack of young pups that are seeing a lot of ice time and are contributing to the Coyotes success.  Mikkel Boedker, Kyle Turris, Kevin Porter, and  Victor Tikhonov are all running in the top 35 of rookies in the league  (http://www.nhl.com/ice/rookies.htm?navid=NAV|PLY|Rkies).

 Mikkel Boedker, of Brondby, Denmark, was the Coyotes first round draft pick (eighth overall) earlier this summer. He leads this pack of pups with 7 goals, 9 assists, is a +4 and has played in all 33 games.  He scored his first NHL goal in only his second NHL game. Don’t let his small frame fool you, because this kid is fast and can handle the puck on the fly very well.   He’s always ready for the puck and learns fast from his mistakes.  He’s even been known to skate circles around an opposing team while setting up a play. This great Dane has a lot of promise and I look forward to seeing this kid to make a name for himself in no time.

Kyle Turris, is from New Westminster, BC. Canada and played in the 2008 Frozen Four with the Wisconsin Badgers.  He was drafted by the Coyotes in the first round (third overall) in the 2007 entry draft.  Kyle currently has 5 goals, 6 assists, and has 2 power play goals.  His confidence on the ice has increased and it showed last week when the Coyotes played against Nashville. The puck broke loose from a Nashville player, Kyle scooped it up in the neutral zone and had a break-away and went up against Predator goalie Dan Ellis.  Ellis froze up, dropped and Turris put it over his head. It was a gorgeous goal.  Expect to see more highlights from young Kyle.

Kevin Porter, of Detroit, Michigan, was drafted by the Coyotes his freshman year at Michigan.  In 2008 he won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award which is the equivalent to football’s Heisman Award.   He currently has 5 goals and 5 assists with the Coyotes.  He sees the ice well and is more of a set up guy then a scorer.  As he gets more playing time and adds to Wayne Gretzky’s system, you will see him tied to more goals.

Viktor Tikhonov, was born in Riga, Latvia and grew up in Northern California.  His grandfather is Viktor Tikhonov, famed coach of the Russian team that Team USA met in the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.  Tikhonov has 4 goals and 2 assists so far this year.  He is persistent with his play and is not afraid to get into the middle of a pile up in the corner only to come out with the puck.  It looks like Viktor is still trying to get his feet under him, but always seems to be in the middle of a great play.   Look for this pup to improve his play and skill and be a big name in the NHL. 

These young players have many years to their hockey lives.  They are all new to the NHL game and are growing every time they hit the ice.  I look forward to watching these pups grow into their paws and hopefully lend a hand in making a run at bringing the NHL playoffs back to the Valley of the Sun.

This is a copy of my blog that posted on Xtra Sports 910 Bickley & MJ Listener Blog on Tuesday, December 9, 2008. 

Sean Avery deserves the punishment he received for his classless act.  A week ago NHL bad boy, Sean Avery, rounded up the media after the morning skate in Calgary and proceeded to make vulgar comments about other players in the league dating his ex-girlfriends.  He did not play that night and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman suspended him indefinitely. That was then followed up with a meeting between the two and league disciplinarian Colin Campbell last Friday. Avery received a suspension of six games without pay, needing to seek an anger-management evaluation, and possible structured counseling. This is just another incident in Avery’s career that just may have ended.  

He led the league in penalty minutes for the 2005-2006 season with 257. He successfully manages to get under players skin and was voted in the 2007 Hockey News player pole of 283 players, and 66.4% said he was the most hated player in the league. Also, he managed to get a rule named after him, “The Avery Rule.”  This came to pass shortly after his antics of blocking New Jersey goaltender, Martin Brodeur, by waving his hands and stick in front of Brodeur’s face to distract him during a two-man advantage power-play in the first round of playoffs in April 2008. His actions were considered as unsportsmanlike and the league defined the rule the next day. It was also reported in March of 2008 that his name and personal cell phone number was in the “little black book” of Manhattan madam Kristin Davis. He claimed someone had to have been playing a joke on him.

These are not actions of a classy guy.  Although, he would want you to think otherwise with his summer interning at Vogue magazine, being on the list of the People magazine, “Sexiest Man Alive 2007”, and has an interest in women’s clothing and has express he would like to be a fashion editor after his days on the ice.   That may come sooner than he had expected. 

His suspension is up on December 16th against the Phoenix Coyotes and questions are beginning to rise if he will play.   Reports have surfaced that he tried to formally apologize to his current team the Dallas Stars and they refused his request.  A couple of  teams in the league, the Detroit Red Wings, and Tampa Bay Lightning, have already expressed that they are not interested in his services or in his case disservices. Even the Stars AHL affiliate, Manitoba Moose, has mentioned they wish not to deal with him.   At this point, I’m sure that Stars are trying to figure what to do with this problem child.

I have to agree with Steve Gorten, NHL/Florida Panther writer for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, that Sean Avery is “hockey’s version of Dennis Rodman.”  Avery is about Avery and could careless about his actions and if you don’t get out of the way it’s your fault for not moving. He is not a favorite among his peers and most likely may not be missed if he would not return to play after his suspension.