Desert Dogs Down Under: Checking in with Jason Zucker

MELBOURNE, Australia -- The much-anticipated trip to Melbourne is officially underway, as the Arizona Coyotes landed in Australia early Monday morning and jumped right into team activities. Stick with arizonacoyotes.com throughout the week, as forward Jason Zucker, who signed with the team as a free agent in July, keeps fans up-to-date with his experiences Down Under.

The Coyotes will play the Los Angeles Kings in two preseason games on Sept. 22 and 23 (9/23 and 9/24 in Melbourne) as part of the 2023 NHL Global Series.

Sept. 22 – Day 5
It’s Friday in Australia, and there’s a true buzz around the sports town. Not only have fans shown up in droves to see the NHL Experience outside Rod Laver Arena – while also snapping a few pictures with the Stanley Cup – the Australian Football League is holding a semi-final game between Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Coyotes players were excited to attend the festivities on Friday, and we caught up with Zucker to test his knowledge of the sport prior to the game.

Here’s what he had to say:

Are you excited to attend the AFL game?
I can’t wait, it’s going to be so much fun. Any time you can have 100,000 people or close to it in an arena, it’s going to be pretty incredible. I’m looking forward to it, it’s going to be great.

We have been quizzing Australians about hockey lingo throughout the week, so now we’re turning the tables. We have some terms we’re going to quiz you on take your best shot at answering them.
This is going to be bad.

We’ll start out with AFL. What does that mean? 
I don’t even know what it stands for (Australian Football League) Well there you go, Australian Football League! I know they call it Footy, how about that?

Yes! You already crossed another term off the list. How about ‘Bump?’
Is that a tackle?

Yes! It’s a hip check. OK. Now take your best guess here. A ‘Clanger’
Is that where it hits the goalpost?

That’s a good guess, but it’s actually an unforced error by a player. Alright, your next word is ‘Falcon.’
Is that when they’re kicking the ball through the uprights?

Actually, it’s when you’re unintentionally hit in the face with the ball. OK, up next: ‘Sledge’
I feel like that may be some sort of huddle or something.

Good guess – sledge means trash talk.
I like that. I’ll have to use that one.

OK – last is ‘tribunal’
I think that might have something to do with the organization, or the fans around it, or something of that sort.

The tribunal decides the lengths of suspension for players.
Oh yeah, I can see how that goes. That makes sense.

Sept. 21 - Day 4

The Coyotes enjoyed some team bonding exercises on Tuesday night before golfing as a team on a somewhat blustery Wednesday. The weather didn't dampen their spirits, though, as the team had a ball while spending some quality time together.

With that now behind them, the team was back on the ice on Thursday, and we caught up with Zucker for to see how things have been going.

First of all, how was your day off?
It was great. I had a great time. It was a lot of time to get out there with the guys and just enjoy the day.

Did you win the contest?
I did not win the contest, but I ended up having a lot of fun.

There’s a worker at Rod Laver Arena that got a Kachina tattoo. What did you think?
Really cool. I think it shows how meaningful this game is here, and how much fun it is to have here in Australia. It’s having a good overall effect for everyone that’s involved with it. The whole aspect of growing the game and being involved in a new country is a lot of fun. It’s cool to see that.

You scored a goal on a nice one-timer from Matias Maccelli. Are you starting to find your groove?
Yeah, a little bit. That was just a great pass by Maccelli, though. He’s a great player. It was good to get that one, but overall it’s just good to get out there with the guys, get a feel for everybody a bit more, and keep going.

What’s on deck for tomorrow?
Tomorrow’s another practice, so I’m just going to lay low again and then we’re going to the AFL game tomorrow night. I’m looking forward to that – it’s going to be fun.

Sept. 19 – Day 2

With one day in Melbourne under their belt, the Coyotes hit the ice for their second day of training camp. The skate was just as spirited as Day 1, but the team has a little light at the end of their jet-lagged tunnel: A team bonding event where they can continue to build upon camaraderie that has already started to develop since departing Phoenix on Sept. 17. Here’s the latest from Zucker, who is already embracing a leadership role on the team:

First of all, how are you feeling today compared to yesterday?
JZ: I feel good. I had a good night’s sleep last night. It’s been an interesting transition just with the sleep, and being up early and all that, but it’s been great. I had a really good practice today. I felt good on the ice, felt better than I did yesterday, so that’s positive. Now we’re going to get into some team bonding for the afternoon and enjoy some time.

You mentioned how good practice was, and you guys have really been going hard. Is that typical at the start of camp?
JZ: It should be. The first couple of days are the primer to make sure guys get their wind back, get their battle back, and get back into their game habits, and their season habits. From there we start getting into some more systems stuff, which can kind of lag things down a little bit and make it a little slower, so it’s nice to get some pace and tempo those first few days and then get into that stuff a little later on.

How important is it to leverage some of this time to develop camaraderie?
JZ: It’s huge. It goes such a long way. I think this puts us at a massive advantage, having this team bonding, especially with some of the new guys: Myself, Dumba, Kerfoot, and the list goes on. I’ve been able to get to know the guys that are here, and especially for the young guys coming in, like Logan Cooley, just making sure that they get to know the guys and get everyone involved. It’s a massive part of it.

Do you already feel like you’re gelling together as a team?
JZ: Yeah, I think we’re moving that way. Having the long flight helped, and having some time before the season started in Arizona helped, and I think it will be good for the rest of the trip as well.

What are you most looking forward to this week?
JZ:I’m excited to go check out the AFL (Australian Football League) game. It’s going to be fun to see that. I don’t know anything about the sport, but it will be fun, I’m going to learn it and see it a little bit, so I’m looking forward to that, it will be great.

Monday, Sept. 18 - Day 1

The Coyotes landed in Melbourne around 7 am local time, and almost immediately hit the practice rink at O’Brien Icehouse to officially open training camp. Zucker spent some of the practice alongside Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley, helping to usher in the newest wave of Arizona hockey.

Here’s what he had to say about the day:

How are you feeling following the trip?
JZ: I feel pretty good, surprisingly. I got some decent sleep on the plane, and I think it was good to get out here and get moving a little bit. I went for a little walk when we got to the hotel. Now it’s just about trying to stay awake and try to get some good sleep tonight.

There was some input from sleep scientists prior to the trip – did you adjust your sleep schedule at all before departure?
JZ: I didn’t do very well on that front. Some guys were a little better than I was, but I got some good sleep, so I was happy with it. I just tried to stay up as long as I could on the plane, and I think I got a solid, I don’t know, eight hours or so, so I was happy with it.

There’s been a lot of talk about the team being able to bond early this year, even before training camp starts. Are you feeling that already with the guys?
JZ: Yeah, I think it’s good. Being able to stay up with the guys on the plane and play cards, and just having some good talks, you get to know the guys a bit more, and I think it was great, so I’m looking forward to the rest of the trip.

How did it feel to be back on the ice?
JZ: It was great. It was good to have an organized practice and not just the practices before camp, so I thought it was good. It was a good first day. It was just getting guys moving. We tried to get something good out of it, too. Not just go through the motions, we tried to get a good skate out of it. This is training camp, and we need to make sure we get better, and get ready for the season.

You were on the ice with a couple of the younger players, Guenther and Cooley, how did it feel to be out there with them and be that veteran presence?
JZ: It was great. They are two extremely talented players. They’re going to be big parts of our team, both now and moving forward. For me, I’m just hoping I can help them through anything they need, but also, they’re great players so they’re going to help my game. Any time you play with some of the great, talented players, it’s going to be good.

What’s on deck for tomorrow?
JZ: Tomorrow we’ve got some team bonding, and we’ve got another skate. A little team bonding, it’s not a trip, but we’re going out to play some games, and stuff like that. We were put into some teams today, we’ll head into tomorrow, and we’re going to have some fun with it.

Be sure to check back to arizonacoyotes.com for all of the latest from Zucker, who will be checking in with team reporter Patrick Brown throughout the week.