Coyotes Street Hockey League Set to Drop the Puck for Third Season

The NHL regular season is still a few months away, but kids in The Valley can already start getting their hockey fix.

The Coyotes Street Hockey League (CSHL) officially drops the puck on Saturday, marking its third season of play. The program officially kicked off last fall, sporting 27 participants in its inaugural season, and it has grown to 60 players spread across four teams.

The ten-session season runs through Oct. 28, and is held at Burk Elementary School in Gilbert for kids ages 7-13. The program costs 59 dollars, and participants receive both a street hockey stick and a jersey. Those interested can still sign up to play - the registration link can be found here.

Zack Savage, Senior Manager of Hockey Development for the Arizona Coyotes, said the CSHL is a great way of introducing kids to the sport. No prior hockey knowledge or experience is needed, instead, participants simply need to show up with a positive attitude and a willingness to learn.

"We really wanted to find somewhere to bring these kids into that first step of hockey," Savage said. "If they're not quite ready for getting on skates, this is their perfect avenue. We took the ideas from an ice hockey league -- and what you expect from being in a league at a local rink -- and put it into these local schools."

Kids are taught the basic rules and functions of the sport, beginning with appropriate form, strategies, and sportsmanship. The first week of play is a street clinic, which covers the basics while allowing participants to ease into things with their teammates. Week two marks an evaluation to ensure the teams are built with appropriately equal skill levels, and gameplay officially begins in the third week.

Jonah Rodriguez, The Coyotes' Manager of Hockey Development, said the program's growth has been spurred by both returning participants, and friends of those kids who have returned to the CSHL.

"Parents after the first season came up and told me that we did a great job, and the kids loved it." Rodriguez said. "It was all about the details for me, just giving them a great experience, becuase I wanted them to associate hockey with having a great experience. A lot of them may not know the game that well yet, but they have a great time."

Rodriguez also said the team hopes to grow the league in the future, both with added locations and age divisions in the future - even potentially an adult league.

For now, though, the focus remains on growing the CSHL for kids who are interested in learning and playing the sport. The team wants to ensure all participants have a quality experience.

"It could be a kid that's never played before, or a kid that does play ice hockey and takes it seriously," Savage said. "It's a nice mix, the entire group is placed appropriately, and we have fun with that."

Rodriguez agreed, and said watching the program's growth in just a year's worth of time is proof of just how much fun the kids are having.

"It's been super rewarding, just to see the kids grow," Rodriguez said. "It's so nice to give back to them, and be that person who runs the program. I'm putting all of my effort into it to make it the best it can be for them."