Stepan and his family returned to Arizona from Minnesota in September. Now, he's happy to see his hockey family on a daily basis.
"Obviously, it's super great to be back in the facility and be back with the guys," Stepan said. "I love that stuff. Being able to get back at the rink and see the trainers, just being back in our building. I hope hockey's around the corner, but for now, we're just part of a training routine at our own rink, which is nice."
Christian Fischer, signed to a two-year contract October 19, spent the majority of his off-season in the Valley after visiting family and friends back home in Chicago following the playoffs.
"I think it's awesome," Fischer said. "Anytime you can be together as a team. It's always better to work hard, to train, and to sweat with your own teammates that you're going to be battling with here over the next few months. So, by starting that process earlier than later, it's going to be beneficial for team chemistry and relationships."
Fischer said that the workouts help ease the transition for new Coyotes, such as free agent acquisition Tyler Pitlick, who signed a two-year contract October 9.
"To be able to skate and get those guys comfortable, and at the same time be able to train with them before we get into games, it's always beneficial," Fischer said.
Jordan Oesterle, lauded for his consistent playoff performance in August, was able to enjoy the fall weather in his home state of Michigan before returning to the Valley. He says being back on the ice bolsters the hope that the team will have live games sooner than later.
"It's been great," Oesterle said. "Honestly, it makes it feel like hockey's around the corner. It's nice to have that home base feel again, where you're going back to the rink daily and seeing the staff, the trainers and strength coaches. Seeing those guys on a daily basis is a breath of fresh air with everything that's been going on in this world in the last seven months. It's been nice getting some sort of normalcy with going to the rink every day. It's been great being back and seeing all the guys."
More players are expected to join the workouts next week.