Yotes Notes From Melbourne: Training Camp, Preseason, & Jenik Signs Deal

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Yotes Notes are back, and the very first edition is a truly special one!

It took nearly 21 hours of travel time last weekend (including a stopover), but the Arizona Coyotes have officially kicked off training camp in Melbourne, Australia. The team is set for two preseason games against the Los Angeles Kings as part of the NHL Global Series on Friday and Saturday (Saturday and Sunday in Australia), which will be broadcast at 9 pm MST on NHL Network, ESPN+, Go9/Now, and ESPN Australia.

It has been a whirlwind of activity for the club since it first arrived Down Under -- highlighted by four practices at O’Brien Icehouse and various team building activities -- and will now culminate with two games at Rod Laver Arena, home of the Australian Open.

On to the Show!

NHL, AFL Taking Melbourne by Storm this Weekend
Both the NHL and the AFL (Australian Football League) have generated quite a buzz around Melbourne this weekend, and the AFL actually got the spotlight first on Friday night (Thursday in the US). Though the Global Series technically kicked off its activities on Friday afternoon, the Australian Football League’s preliminary final between Collingwood and Greater Western Syndney was held on Friday night at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

David Proper, the NHL’s Executive Vice President of Media and International Strategy, said the league was aware there could be a semifinal game in town the same weekend of the Global Series, and it embraced it with open arms.

“We thought that having a weekend of sport here was a good thing,” Proper said. “There’s going to be at least 100,000 people there tonight, and if we’re lucky, a couple of them will be interested in hockey, and frankly, we hope the same thing in reverse. We hope the fans that have come out to see hockey will also be excited about the ‘Footy’ game.”

Coyotes General Manager Bill Armstrong said the team has been blown away by the support shown from local residents, who showed up to Friday’s fan festival with their jerseys, hats, and scarves on full display.

“It’s such an honor, to be honest with you, because you walk around and you realize that there’s Yotes fans and there’s Kings fans in Australia,” Armstrong said. “It’s such a great thing. You just see the excitement from us being here, and people meeting us.”

Camaraderie and Team Building Take Flight
Arizona players had a day off on Wednesday following two grueling practices, and the players took full advantage. First, they each participated in a team bonding event on Tuesday night, and then enjoyed a round of golf the following day.

The Coyotes underwent quite a transformation over the summer, highlighted by the acquisitions of Jason Zucker, Alex Kerfoot, Logan Cooley, Sean Durzi, and Matt Dumba. The team chemistry is already starting to shine through, and head coach André Tourigny said that’s become evident both on and off the ice.

“It’s going very well,” he said. “We’re happy about what we’re seeing, but as a coach, we’re applying the plan and we’re building a foundation. It’s not, for us, about knowing exactly each player, how they score or how they make plays, it’s more than that … We want them to focus on compete level and those kinds of things.”

Jenik Signed to 1-Year Deal
The Coyotes signed forward Jan Jenik to a one-year, two-way contract on Wednesday, keeping the 23-year-old in Arizona for another season. The former third-round pick (2018) has four goals and one assist in 17 career NHL games, and 84 points in 110 games with the Tucson Roadrunners.

Tourigny said Jenik still has some areas of his game to develop, such as puck management and discipline, but his work ethic has impressed him and can help propel him to the next level.

“Jan is a really feisty, passionate, hard-working young player,” Tourigny said. “He has really good hands, he’s physical, he can be a pest to play against, and he has tremendous work ethic. He brings a lot.”

On Deck: Coyotes play two games in Melbourne, but also two games in the US
Tourigny said the team in Melbourne is solely focused on the two upcoming tilts against the Kings, but the Coyotes are actually playing two additional preseason games this weekend. Their expanded training camp roster will split and face the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at 12 pm MST in St. Louis and 5 pm MST in Wichita, Kan.

The two teams squared off in a preseason game last year as well, a game the Blues won 5-4.

“We will watch those games, no doubt about it, in the sense that we’re already set up to view them on the plane on the way home,” Tourigny said. “We’ll look more about how our players played, like we did for the Rookie Faceoff Tournament … It will be the same. On the flight back, we’ll watch the three games, look at who played well and what we can improve in our play, because moving on we’ll have the two groups together.

“We’ll stay in the present for the two groups this weekend, though, and we’ll focus on that.”

Check back for the most up-to-date information on arizonacoyotes.com throughout the weekend.