There will be plenty of debate from outsiders as to what the right move was for Kyle Turris, the third overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Turris is going to be a great NHL player for many, many years to come. That is not the question.

The question is, in order for Kyle to progress, is it better for him to stay in the NHL, and not play meaningful minutes, sit in the press box and watch and learn? Or is progress accelerated by going to San Antonio of the American Hockey League, play for a team that is on a pretty good run lately, play on the power play and upwards of 20:00 per game?

There are those who will say this will be the best thing that happens to Kyle…when he looks back at it years from now.

Right now, he must be thinking many things, and going down to the AHL likely isn’t something he thinks will be one of the best things that is going to happen to him…in his lifetime!

There are those that thought, before the season, that the Coyotes would have been best suited leaving him in college at Wisconsin for another year. They wouldn’t be wrong. Nor would they be wrong in saying that the experience he is going through right now (the AHL) is the best way to develop Kyle or any other up-and-coming highly-touted prospect.

I believe it is a case-by-case, team-by-team situation that must be considered.

Wayne Gretzky is so good with young players. They will all look back years from now and really understand how he protected them, took pressure off of them and nurtured them. Some veteran, career coaches would never be that way. They may not be that patient and they may not be that secure in their jobs, in this business of winning hockey games.

Turris never thought for a minute that he would spend time in the AHL. Why would he?

If that were the case, why would he leave the University of Wisconsin?

That leaves us with this. And this is my opinion right now. This was not or would not have been my opinion two months ago. This IS the best thing for Kyle. He will be a much harder hockey player next season. He will come into camp a tougher player with more edge and less naivete. He has gone through a few tough moments this season, experiences that he would have to go through next year, if it were his first season. But it won’t be. This is. This is where the progress begins for a player that will be in this league, the NHL, for the next 20 years.

He was a healthy scratch his first game in his hometown against the team he grew up watching and dreaming about playing for, the Vancouver Canucks.

He had to be crushed. He wants to play and be a player that the coaches and his teammates will count on.

Now he gets the word he is going down to the AHL. There are many fine, young players in the AHL. It is a breeding ground, a place where stories unfold and later on in your career, they become more magnified, more fun to tell. I know. I was there. It was way more fun getting to the NHL with the guys you went to war with in the IHL (back then) or the AHL. Once you get to the NHL, it is ALL business. Every day. Every game.

We would have seen, and do get to see, the character of a person when they get sent down. Do they sulk? Do they mope around? Do they perform like they couldn’t care less? And even worse, do they go down and treat it with such a lack of respect that their peers know it? That is an insult, and no player likes to be insulted.

When I was rehabbing a torn ACL, I remember going down to Indianapolis of the IHL, with Darryl Sutter coaching. I had been in the NHL for almost three seasons. I made sure I went down there with a great attitude, helped out the young guys, and learned from Sutter. When I was in my first season of pro hockey, we were based in Milwaukee, and most of our players had only played in the higher AHL, not the IHL. Boy, did a lot of the players have poor attitudes. And we stunk because of it. I never forgot it. I swore I would never be THAT player if I went down, and I wasn’t.

So, you’re wondering about Kyle… or Kevin Porter or Viktor Tikhonov earlier?

Have no fear. They all have great attitudes and want to prove that they are NHL players.

Look at Tikhonov against Calgary. Two goals and raring to be a player. Porter is simply a great kid and is going to be a tremendous two-way player in the NHL. It will be all in good time.

Turris took this demotion the way you would expect. He wasn’t drafted third overall just based on his skill set. It is about character. It was about how much he wants it. He is oozing passion for the game, and it shows.

He scored two goals and added one assist in his first AHL game. He added an assist in his second game. In his third game on Monday, he notched two more goals and another assist. That’s the way to go down there and tell the hockey world that this is just a small bump in the road, and yes, every player is stronger for time spent in the minors. You appreciate everything about the NHL. It is the very best league in the world.

- Panger

If baseball is a “game of inches,” I wonder sometimes what hockey is. Centimeters? That’s pretty much where last night’s heartbreaker was lost. In the face off circle. A matter of inches or less wins or loses a draw. Inches in positioning and execution.

One thing has been a constant for the Coyotes this year: they don’t blow leads in the third period. They just don’t. Until last night. A 3-1 third period lead somehow turned into a 4-3 deficit and the very real feeling that the huge win in Dallas was for naught. Phoenix lost three face offs that turned right into three third period goals. Until that point it was looking very much like a game that was going their way. You can hear the sense of this defeat in the tone of Wayne’s voice afterwards. It says it all.

Coach Gretzky:

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Listen, too, to his pre game comments regarding the team’s decision to send Kyle Turris down to San Antonio of the AHL.

Coach Gretzky on Kyle:

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Next up, Calgary on Saturday night. It won’t get any easier, that’s for sure. There is no local television coverage of this one, so check it out on the Coyotes Radio Network.

- Todd

Parity is everywhere.  It has been in the NHL since the lockout of 2004-05.

So by now the players, coaches, media and fans are all very much aware of how difficult it is to make the playoffs.

There are roughly 30 games left.

In the Western Conference, as of the writing of this blog, there are six teams within six points of the eighth and final spot. The 14th-place team (Colorado) is six points away with Nashville and LA, while Vancouver is only one point back and Phoenix, Columbus, Edmonton, Minnesota and Dallas all have the same amount of points, 53. Only two games ago, the Coyotes were holding the fifth spot in the West, only to lose two consecutive games by 2-0 scores, and three overall…..and Holy Jumpin!…right in the 10th spot.

Wayne Gretzky has been saying it for two months now. Don’t get too excited. You win a few and you are in the playoff picture. You lose a couple or three, and you are right below the line. You just can’t get too high, nor can you get too focused on the line that separates the playoff teams from the outsiders. You also can’t lose more than three games in a row. You have to manufacture points, no matter how tough.

You really have to learn from experiences. Last season when the Coyotes were looking strong and were right in the hunt, they narrowed down an actual number that was needed to make it. They openly spoke of “HUGE” must-win games, and when they didn’t win them, well, the morale, from everyone involved in the team, went south. You could see it on everyone’s faces and in their demeanors. How could you not show it? It was much too black and white. The problem with that is when you lose. What is there next? When you say it is the biggest game of their lives, and they lose, what do you do the next day? How can you get them to re-group and re-energize?

The game was in Vancouver, a must-win that ended up being a tough, hard-played, 3-1 loss. They played well. Very well. The next night in Edmonton, the Coyotes battled back to tie the score 4-4 in the third period, only to lose focus and the game 7-4. For all intents and purposes, the season, and the team morale, was done.

The lesson is much clearer now than it was then. You can’t give up. As the Coyotes lost steam and the playoff poise needed, the Oilers took that win from the Coyotes and battled so hard, they came from below the Coyotes and nearly snuck in. They missed it by just three points. I am sure they learned an awful lot from that experience. They will be in the race until the bitter end this season, I guarantee it.

The Coyotes will too, as Wayne Gretzky has an uncanny knack of keeping things in the present. He also learned from last season and that is why he analyzes the game so well, especially after losses. He breaks it down as a simple matter of fact.

The last few games, losses at San Jose and vs. Buffalo, the power play has gone 0-13.

The effort and spirit of the team was excellent. The execution on the PP was not. He doesn’t take away all the good things that were done, he gets right to the point.

Big players that get on the PP have to be big players. They have to be difference-makers at important times. He will play the heck out of Olli Jokinen and Shane Doan in games at Nashville and at Detroit.

He will also put rookie Kyle Turris on a line with Jokinen and fellow rookie Mikkel Boedker, as they ended the last game against Buffalo with many good chances.

It doesn’t get any easier for Gretzky and company, but maintaining an even, business-like approach for every game, and for every morning the team wakes up and looks at the standings, will be essential when it comes to making the playoffs.

- Panger

The players admitted to me in game and after that for whatever reason, they came out flat on Saturday night against the Dallas Stars.  Still, I think the real reason we saw what we saw had more to do with Dallas, than the Phoenix Coyotes. They were routed by Detroit in their last game, their head coach wasn’t pleased and he let them know it.

So … off we raced to a scoreless tie after one, two and three periods. And after OT.  Goaltending was sharp at both ends.  And if not for Steven Reinprecht’s brilliant shootout goal to keep the Coyotes alive, we wouldn’t have seen Kyle Turris and his game winner.

Two points as this team hits the road. They had better make certain that these lack luster starts to games does NOT continue.  They must be aggressive on their forecheck and remember to fall in love with their team speed.  The rest will follow.

Listen as Coach Gretzky describes the game:

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It will be a grind … a true test of this team’s mental and physical make up.  And we will be there every step of the way!  See you in St. Paul on Tuesday.

- Todd

It seems like months ago when Kyle Turris was a healthy scratch in what was going to be his first ever NHL game in his hometown of Vancouver, doesn’t it?  There have been clear indications of late of just how special this kid is. And last night, the poise and patience he displayed with the puck was beyond his years. Two goals in a four point game after back to back heartbreakers? Welcome to the NHL. There will be more to come, no doubt.

Listen to Coach Gretzky’s comments:

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I know it’s only December, but it sure is nice to wake up and look at the Western Conference standings and see that line for 8th place and realize that you are above it. Now, let’s see how long it lasts!

Check us out on the Coyotes Radio Network Saturday night vs Columbus!

- Todd

What’s a penalty?  You can stop, rewind, freeze the play then and do it all again.  You can watch Shane Doan’s hit on David Backes time and time again in the 1st game of the Coyotes 3 game road trip that began in St. Louis.

It is a hockey hit. It is not a hit from behind, nor is it a boarding infraction.  It is a battle for a puck, 2 players, and they actually brace themselves, nearly stop, and Doan is stronger on his feet and catches Backes not quite as well prepared for a hit and unfortunately, gets injured on the play.

It is not the Mike Van Ryn injury. It is not a case where a player is facing the boards and vulnerable, and gets drilled from behind.  It is a hockey hit.

Doan gets a 5 minute major and it is a case of an overreaction to the far too many bad hits in the game. There should not have even been a penalty called.

In the meantime, veteran defenseman Ed Jovonovski and Derek Morris both get blatent high sticks to the eye area, and there are no calls. In both cases, the puck was close to both players.  From the broadcast booth, it is a much easier game, I understand that.

Here is another issue I have been having.

We know the sticks have “weak points” after a stick on stick, or a blocked shot to the shaft of the stick.  So a player blocks a shot, and the defending player is strong on his stick and the opposing playerks stick snaps, as a result of the puck hitting it originally.

Penalty. For slashing. For slashing? Or for having a stick that is already weakened by a puck?  Just because a stick breaks, doesn’t mean its a penalty.

There has to be some reward for a player that is strong on the puck. You can ask any top player about an opponent that is soft on the puck or a player that is hard on the puck. It is a strength. It is an asset that you have from an early age and likely a big reason why a scout rated you high or even just had you on the radar.  So, why do we take that away?

Just because a player falls down, it doesn’t mean it is a penalty on the nearest player around him.  Let’s get back to some on ice hockey sense.

See the play develop. Use common sense. Get the flow back into the game. I personally don’t enjoy a specialty teams game, where the flow and pace gets going and then the whistle blows and 10 guys are on the ice looking around, wondering where the infraction took place. It likely had no bearing on the play anyway.

It is a far more entertaining game when there is constant flow, back and forth action where chances are exchanged.

The honour of battling through checks and sometimes sticks is what separates the soft perimeter player, to the guy you want in the trenches in close games. Let’s not confuse the two types of players.

Call what the penalty is. Not what you think it was, as you may not have seen anything but a player falling down. They have big cushy pads on. They can handle it.  The other part about honour, or lack of it, occurred in Chicago with 2 seconds remaining in a 7-1 Blackhawks win.

A scrum in front of Hawk goalie Cristobal Huet, and Enver Lisin gets poked at by Brent Sopel and then Kyle Turris and Hawks rookie Kris Versteeg pair up.  Both have their gloves on, and then Versteeg pops him square in the nose. He said after the game that Turris, the 19 year old 180 lb offensive minded kid “challenged” him. He is kidding, right?

I spoke with Turris about it. Not a chance he challenged him.

Wayne Gretzky wasn’t amused with Versteeg, and in a 7-1 humiliation with 2 seconds left, it wasn’t impressive and didn’t leave the Great One with a good impression.

The Coyotes next face Versteeg and the Hawks on Jan. 6 in Phoenix.

You can be sure the Coyotes will be ready for the game and not just for what happened at the end of the game, but the lack of preparation to begin the game.

- 40

The best thing about last night’s game in Chicago?  It’s over and it’s only one game.  Right?  Perhaps.  But only if this team responds on Wednesday night in Dallas.

Kris Versteeg’s scrap with Kyle Turris at the conclusion of the game is what Wayne is responding to midway into this post game presser.

Wayne’s post-game:

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To be honest, this one was over by the conclusion of the National Anthem.  The Coyotes didn’t come to play.Let’s see if they pay the price in Dallas.

- Todd

As you will hear, still no word on Kyle Turris and his status for tonight’s game. It will be a game time decision. Plus, more reflections on the now Hall of Fame career of Glenn Anderson, the Team Canada logo story and thoughts on this evening’s game here at GM Place in Vancouver.

Listen:

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See you on AZ TV!

- Todd

Still no decision on Kyle Turris for tomorrow night’s game, but it looks like the kid is not going to play. Still, as you will hear, Wayne and his staff still haven’t made the decision.

Listen:

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Stay tuned. See you on AZ TV tomorrow night.

- Todd

Make no mistake, this is captain Shane Doan’s and the rest of the veteran players’ team in Phoenix.

It proudly displays the faces of Doan, Olli Jokinen, Ed Jovanovski, Derek Morris and Ilya Bryzgalov on the cover of its media guide, and it should.

You don’t just anoint the franchise to four rookies if you are saying you are a playoff team and a team that will compete for the Stanley Cup. The good teams in the NHL all know that is just too much responsibility and it clearly would show a lack of respect for just how good this league is and just how good the veteran, proven players are day in and day out.

That being said, the time is now for many franchises to showcase their top prospects to the rest of the NHL.

The Coyotes, because of some poor regular season showings and some terrific drafting, have a cupboard full of high end prospects. These kids are certainly the real deal. They have uncanny hockey sense and a burning desire to be great players. They train hard, eat well and practice like it will be their last one in the NHL. It is infectious.

I like the message that was sent last week to the four players. General Manager Don Maloney sat Kyle Turris, Kevin Porter, Mikkel Boedker and Viktor Tikhonov down before practice
at Alltel Ice Den in Scottsdale and sent a very simple message.

It went something like this:

You all are going to be terrific players.

You deserve to be here in this lineup.

Don’t back down…ever on the ice.

Hold your own in scrums, don’t shy away. It doesn’t mean fight. It means be there, with your chin in the middle of it. The military will be right behind any one of you…no matter what happens.

Head Coach Wayne Gretzky also sat down with them. His ability to read the right situation and say things at the right time is as uncanny as the magical passes he slid across the crease to Jarri Kurri. He gives these kids, and the rest of the players, so much confidence by saying something so simple.

The other day at practice, there was Gretzky at center ice with Turris. The conversation was calm and directly to the point.

“Have fun out here. Don’t press. You are here for a long time. The best thing about being in the NHL is it is fun, so have fun. ”

You know that Gretzky will put these kids in an environment to succeed. He was so good last season with Martin Hanzel and Peter Mueller. You sometimes have to “hide” players on
the road against veteran teams. They may not see the last three minutes of a close game. That’s the process for the long run. They have to build confidence along the way.

This season, the Coyotes will need all four of these freshman to be players. They will have off nights and they will be stars of games.

The moxie will have to be there too. The other teams have to know they won’t wilt away when the going gets tough.

I believe that won’t be a problem.

For gretzky.com, I’m Darren Pang.