Phoenix Coyotes Hockey on AZ Vibe

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Monday afternoon, the Phoenix Coyotes hired Jim Brewer as Vice President of Marketing and Communications. To most Coyotes fans, this announcement may seem like more useless off-season news.  I mean the majority of you are waiting on the next off-season free agent signing, right?

Phoenix Coyotes fans should be treating this announcement as if another Don Maloney was hired.

Why?

In short, the hiring of Jim Brewer into the Coyotes Marketing and Communications department has the potential to bring further stability to the Phoenix Coyotes in terms of marketing the team and bringing in much needed corporate sponsorships.

On paper, Brewer brings some impressive credentials to the Coyotes. His resume in the press release (from the Coyotes about his hiring) weaves a story of not only someone who has extensive experience in marketing and communications but also someone who has:

1) Worked in a professional sports environment (The Suns)
2) Worked in startup/policy creation situations (ASU)
3) Worked in the corporate (Suns), non-profit (Phoenix Zoo) and governmental (ASU) fields

What does this mean and why is this important to the Coyotes?

From his experience with the Suns, Brewer knows how a winning pro sports team operates and what will be needed, marketing and communication wise, for the Coyotes to be successful.   This work experience alone sends a huge message that the Coyotes are serious about building a winning tradition.

Secondly, Brewer worked in a startup/policy creation position at ASU, these skills will come in handy as the Coyotes begin to take their steps to the next level on and off the ice.   Brewer has the opportunity to develop a new path for the Coyotes in the marketing and communications realm starting from where the team currently is.

Finally, Brewer has worked in the corporate, non-profit, and governmental fields.  This means that he more than likely has a wide range of contacts and has built numerous relationships over the years to draw on in terms of corporate sponsorships for the upcoming Coyotes season.  In addition, he knows how all three types of businesses work in terms of bringing in much needed income for the Coyotes.

Now as good as this signing may be on paper, Brewer’s hiring brings up some questions:

Question #1) Again, Brewer’s resume is indeed impressive. There is no point in arguing that. However, he has zero hockey experience and, from what I can tell, zero experience in situations where a pro sports market does not identify with the team or its players. How does he plan to tackle these challenges?

When it comes to hockey, Coyotes fans are not just going to want a team that wins or just offers various specials on tickets. Don’t get me wrong, fans love a winning team and being able to get a price break on Coyotes tickets in this economy.

The thing that fans want is to identify with players on the Coyotes roster whether they are marquee players or not.

For example, take Luis Gonzalez and the recent retirement of his #20 by the Arizona Diamondbacks (D-Backs).

The D-Backs have not been able to draw fans for the 2010 season for various reasons that aren’t important in this article.  All of a sudden, not only do they sell out the Gonzalez retirement game, but said game is now the eighth largest sell out in Arizona Diamondbacks history.

Why?

Fans had a connection with Gonzalez and the 2001 D-Backs roster. 

Following the number retirement ceremony, Gonzalez met with reporters (myself included) and stated that part of the reason for the team’s success in 2001 was because of the on field chemistry. He then stated that the other part of the Diamondbacks success was off the field, which helped with the fans connect with the team during the 2001 season.

Gonzalez said to the assembled reporters, “I always poured my heart and soul into the team, staying here and doing whatever I had to do to help…(whether it was) off the field, in the community, just to try to help promote the team or do whatever we had to do and I felt like it was part of the many hats I wore here when I played with the Diamondbacks.”

THIS is something that the Phoenix Coyotes severely lack in their team marketing.

Phoenix Coyotes fans and potential fans do not have players outside of Shane Doan and perhaps Paul Bissonnette to identify with. Regular fans of the Coyotes know that there is a great makeup and chemistry on the team. However, none of the casual fans or potential fans know anything about the team and how well they work together on the ice.

Over the years, Phoenix sports fans have shown that they can and will rally behind players on a team that they identify with.

So how can fans identify with the current Coyotes roster?

Here is an idea….

How about getting Fox Sports Arizona (FNSAZ) to create a show around Coyotes forward Paul Bissonnette?

Fans may or may not remember the ‘Eric Byrnes Show’ not too long ago on FSNAZ.

Here’s a sample of the ‘Eric Byrnes Show’:

Imagine Bissonnette taking over the ‘Eric Byrnes Show’ format. Do you know how potentially fun that would be?

Question #2) There is nothing written on how good Brewer’s marketing experience is in the online world. How does he plan to address this?  The lack of attention to the Coyotes online presence and online fan base has been a head scratcher for many years.  

When it comes to the communication aspect of the Phoenix Coyotes, there is not a whole lot of information coming out about the team other than box scores and your standard interviews.

One of the main reasons I started this Coyotes site was to report on aspects of the Coyotes that did not make it in the evening news or the daily edition of the Arizona Republic.  In this town, there is only a limited amount of space and airtime; Phoenix Coyotes stories are not always included in the final product of TV/Radio/Print.

This is not a negative or a slam against other media outlets in town, its fact.  There’s sometimes no room for Phoenix Coyotes news in the local TV/Radio/Print.

Fans, in some cases, literally have been screaming for additional coverage for years and gone as far as venting their frustrations on the local media.

(Example http://coyotescorner.net/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9007).

Phoenix Coyotes fans need more than just basic information about a game or players. Fans want information that supplements their game experiences as well as wanting to make a connection with the Coyotes and other fans.

Two prime examples of NHL teams that ‘get’ online marketing and communications are the Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks.

http://canucks.nhl.com/

http://oilers.nhl.com/

Poke around their sites and see the many and various ways fans can connect, contribute, and digest information about both teams. This includes podcasts, forums, deals for kids, and so on.

Now, I am not saying just open the floodgates open up to every blogger or wannabe writer that requests a press pass.  No, people that want to write about the Phoenix Coyotes for an upcoming season are going to need to show that they are serious about writing. In addition, they have to show the professionalism required to cover a pro sports team.

As an Editor, I personally have been in a situation where I needed to see if a writer was serious about covering a pro sports team not too long ago. 

In between the 2009 and 2010 Major League Baseball seasons, I had approached the Arizona Diamondbacks about sending a reporter to cover the team for home games during the 2010 regular season.  The D-Backs told me present them a proposal when I am ready.  I had a vision of what I wanted for the coverage and a writer in mind for the assignment.   I needed to see what this writer could do before I could approach the D-Backs for credentials.

Long story short, I built this writer a dedicated site, gave them assignments, tapped them into D-Backs press releases, and even offered them a cut of Advertising revenue for the site I built them.  They ended up flaking on the entire project without any notice or warning.

The point is that like my example above, people who are going to request credentials need to be serious about covering a pro sports team.  On the other side, the Coyotes need to start taking a long look at the local bloggers and wrtiers in the area for potential credentialling.  There are some really gifted writers/bloggers in the Phoenix area that deserve credentialing or are close to that level to where they should be credentialed.  Unless, the team starts taking a serious look at these writers, the fans need for more local team coverage will continue to suffer.

When it comes to the health and identity of the team, the Marketing and Communications of the Coyotes is probably just as important if not more important than what General Manager Don Maloney has done in terms of the player related stability of the franchise.

Like Don Maloney when he first became General Manager of the Coyotes, Jim Brewer is going to have to build a solid Marketing and Communications foundation that he can use to build and grow the Coyotes into a winning franchise for years to come.

But let’s face it, even with all the experience and connections across town, Jim Brewer has got his work cut out for him.

In case you haven’t heard by now, one of the best reasons to be on Twitter when it comes to following NHL players was taken away Wednesday. Phoenix Coyotes Forward Paul Bissonnette’s Twitter account (Twitter handle – paulbiznasty) went dead Wednesday after a derogatory Tweet was posted and aimed towards Free Agent Forward Ilya Kovalchuk.

Instead of summing up the events Wednesday, check out the original article from Pro Hockey Talk’s website written by James O’Brien.

As much as I love the trash talking by Bissonnette he crossed the line with his derogatory comments about Kovalchuk. It doesn’t matter if Kovalchuk and his lack of a bonified NHL skill set is going to become grossly overpaid by either the Kings or the Devils.  Nor does it matter that Kovalchuk’s contract will indeed become a Yashin-esque weight around the neck of whatever franchise signs him (It will. It is going to happen at this point in time).

No, the problem here is what he Tweeted was more than likely something that’s normally said on the ice but was taken into the public realm.

The problem is when trash talking moves off the ice and into a bigger realm like on Twitter, different rules apply. The spirit of the trash talking is the same. However, the execution of the trash talking in the public realm must be done without personal attacks as Bissonnette did in this case.

I agree with Justin Bourne’s Tweet in the Pro Hockey Talk article in the sense that Bissonnette’s attitude is exactly the kind of thing the NHL needs to market themselves better. Bissonnette’s Twitter account was quickly becoming a very popular destination for not just Coyote fans but NHL fans themselves. Bissonnette brought a human and personal face of not only an NHL player but it gave NHL fans a glimpse into an pro athlete’s life.  A life that was free of canned comments and other pre-rehearsed answers that are normally found in the day to day workings of a professional sports team during a regular season.

NHL fans LOVE this kind of stuff!

Based on past experiences with other players around the league who have done somewhat similar things as Bissonnette did with his Tweets, one can more than likely conclude that the Phoenix Coyotes not only made Bissonnette aware of his mistake but probably made him shut down his Twitter account as well.

If this is indeed the case, it’s the wrong course of action for the Coyotes to take.

Don’t get me wrong, what Bissonnette said was wrong in reference to his personal attack on Ilya Kovalchuk.

However, making him pull the plug on his Twitter account (if that is indeed the case) is not the correct solution to this situation. What needs to be done is to have members of the Coyotes front office along with the Coyotes PR staff sit down with Bissonnette and give him a crash course in what is and is not acceptable for NHL players to say publicly via Twitter. I’m not talking about heavy censorship or micromanagement but just educate him that personal attacks via social media are not acceptable. A personal apology to Ilya Kovalchuk might be in order as well….then again, probably not.  Settling it on the ice is probably the best way to go about it.

It’s fortunate that, in this case, one of the huge drawbacks of  Coyotes coverage in the greater Phoenix area is the the lack of media available to cover the team at this time of year.

Why?

This drawback has turned into a huge bonus for the Coyotes. Had this been an NHL market like Vancouver, Montreal, or even Toronto this incident would have easily been in the headlines for days and the Coyotes would have been put under huge media scrutiny like Vancouver Canucks Defenseman Shane O’Brien has over the past few seasons.

In this market, stories and situations like these are going to blow over very, very quickly due to the lack of local media attention on the Phoenix Coyotes in the off-season.

Now, where to move forward from here….

Sadly, Phoenix Coyotes fans have probably seen the last of ‘paulbiznasty’ on Twitter.   If this is the case it would be a HUGE mistake for the team and the NHL.  In a short amount of time Paul Bissonnette has become one of the best people to follow on Twitter.  He’s been growing a great grassroots base of fans from across the NHL.

Look at a few examples of the feedback from NHL and non NHL people about how they love his tweets:

Actor/Comedian Tom Green:

http://twitter.com/tomgreenlive/statuses/18392217467

@PaulBizNasty Let’s do it! I’m on tour so we will have to find a good time when I am back in LA. Yes. Everybody follow @PaulBizNasty

Mike Commodore of the Blue Jackets

http://twitter.com/commie22/status/16356783131

By the way @PaulBizNasty is Paul Bissonette from the Coyotes…new on twitter. Help him out. Good guy.

Bob McKenzie of TSN:

http://twitter.com/TSNBobMcKenzie/status/18492998430

@PaulBizNasty rapidly becoming one of faves on Twitter.

The Coyotes have been getting free publicity and exposure from his Tweets leading up to his Kovalchuk Tweet.

Let me say this again with more clarity.

THE COYOTES HAVE BEEN GETTING FREE PUBLICITY FROM BISSONNETTE’S TWEETS.

FREE.

Money may be tight with the team but shutting down his Twitter account is not something the Coyotes can afford now can they?  To keep this account shut down would be a practice in idiocy and an EXTREMELY poor business practice.

Now is not the time to shut his account down. Let him re-open it and continue doing his thing. What’s the worse thing that can happen?  More people wanting to come to Phoenix Coyotes games at home and on the road?

Wow. What a mess USA Hockey has made at the 2010 IIHF World Championships in Germany. From a Silver Medal in the Vancouver Olympics earlier this year to being sent….er….’relegated’ to the losers bracket in the World Championships, it’s clear that USA Hockey is using a formula for fielding IIHF Tournament teams that no longer works.

Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat here…. I’m not putting the results of the USA Hockey team at the 2010 World Championships at all on the players. They answered the call to play for their country and they should be commended for that. Do not blame the members of the USA Hockey team (coaching staff included) at all for this outcome.

The outcome of the US Men’s Hockey team in the World Championships rests solely on the management team. Their ineffective model of putting teams together at the last minute and expecting winning results is no longer useful in modern international competition.

This model for scotch taping together teams with the best available players and expecting to win is like playing the lottery. Every once in a while you’ll hit a winning combination but the odds say that the majority of the time you will lose.

Then add into the mix that the USA Hockey team is playing on an Olympic/International rink (which is much larger than an NHL sized rink) that they rarely play games on to begin with. USA Hockey teams have zero chemistry in a system that they have to adapt in a matter of hours or days along with playing against competition that has an established chemistry in established systems.

The sum of all this is an outdated system that just doesn’t work anymore in modern international competition.

The more I watched the opening games of the World Championships (didn’t watch a single game of Team USA in the relegation round), the more I was reminded of the 2002 FIBA World Championship that was hosted in Indianapolis, Indiana as well as the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Team USA Basketball tried playing an NBA game with NBA players on an international court against international teams that have been together for years and they failed miserably.

After these embarrassments, USA Basketball hired Jerry Colangelo to revamp the program. The number one change that Colangelo made to the team is something that USA Hockey needs to take a long look at possible adoption into their program:

USA Basketball asked for a Three Year Commitment from their players until the Olympic Tournament in 2008 with the goal of becoming and playing as a team.

You all know the result of the USA Men’s Basketball Team in the 2008 Olympics. A Gold Medal.

If USA Hockey is going to change their format moving forward, here are two proposals of ways to build an actual USA Hockey ‘Team’:

Proposal #1 – Do exactly as USA Basketball has done and get a three year commitment from NHL players until the 2014 Olympic Tournament in Sochi, Russia (this includes playing in the World Championships every year leading up to the Olympic tournament). Make the team large enough to be able to account for players that can or can’t play due to the World Championships interfering with the NHL Playoffs.

Proposal #2 – Have a solid team of USA College players committed to play World Championship/Olympic tournaments. Add NHL pros as they are available/not-available when its time to put together rosters for the World Championships or the Olympics.

It’s clear that USA Hockey is going to have to come up with a new format for putting together competitive teams in future Olympic and World Championship tournaments. It’s also clear that the majority of the world has caught up with or has increased their level of play exponentially over the years. (Italy took the USA to the Shootout in the RELEGATION ROUND!!!! HELLO!?!?!?).

I personally have no problem with the people who make up the USA Hockey management team as they, for the most part (Atlanta Thrashers President Don Waddell excluded), have established themselves in the NHL with winning programs over the years. Surely this brain trust can come up with a plan to solidify USA Hockey as a TEAM in international competition moving forward.

USA Hockey is a point in their existence where they need to look at adopting a hybrid of the USA Basketball program as scotch taping teams together at the last minute is not working in the World Championships anymore. This scotch taping model eventually will not work in the Olympics in the coming years as the rest of the world is getting better and better in international competition.

The outcome of USA Hockey in the World Championships was a pathetic display the representation of our country on an international stage and I’m embarrassed to be an American hockey fan at the moment. This is a broken program that needs to be fixed.

Last night the Glendale City Council voted unanimously to guarantee the NHL up to $25 million dollars of non-taxpayer insurance to cover any potential losses. The vote by the Glendale City Council also allows Glendale City Manager Ed Beasley to close a deal with the NHL and create a Community Facilities District to help cover potential losses the Coyotes may incur moving forward. This vote also paves the way for the Coyotes to find a buyer and stay in Arizona for the long term. All that’s left now is for the Coyotes to find an owner.

Over the course of the whole Coyotes ownership ‘saga’, Coyotes fans have had a crash course in both the wonders and pains of Canadian Hockey Journalism. I am talking about the good, the bad, the biased, and the terminally putrid Canadian Hockey journalists.

In regards to the coverage of the Coyotes ownership issue, some of these journalists have taken it upon themselves to exchange objectivity for paper sales or for their own agendas. In other cases, some good journalists have presented their stories with very little to no research at all and presented it to their viewers/readers as ‘fact’.

Don’t get me wrong, there are many fine writers and reporters in the Canadian Hockey media that more than deserve the attention of the Coyotes fans. Many of the Coyotes faithful know who they are (if you want me to post a list of stuff you should read and who the good journalists are, hit me up on Twitter @azvibesports and I’ll put up some great people for you to read).

The problem with the coverage of the Coyotes story so far is that the bad eggs get paid by entities that allow their writers to:

1) Produce and publish articles and or segments with very little to no research and then present said articles/segments to the public as ‘the whole story’.

2) To write and publish articles that isn’t based on fact but personal bias

3) Use their influence on their readers/viewers to push their own agenda.

In some cases, these writers have had a partially nationalistic agenda in the reporting of the Coyotes ownership story. In other cases, writers have shown a lack of competent research with this story (or lack of competence in some cases). An example of one of the themes that Coyotes fans have had to stomach with some of the Canadian Hockey media is their overwhelming desire to have the Coyotes move to the Canada simply because ‘Hockey doesn’t work in Arizona’ (which is far from the truth).

Keep in mind that this is not a blanket statement painting all Canadian hockey journalists in a negative light. This is a statement of how poorly some Canadian hockey journalists, many of whom have a reputation of great journalism, have seen their reputations tarnished because of shoddy research or incomplete reporting of the Coyotes ownership saga.

If you want an example of incomplete or partial reporting, take a look at this CBC segment from Hockey Night in Canada’s ‘Hotstove’ from a few days ago:

The main problem in this video is that journalists sometimes just look at a few facts and report them instead of asking ‘why?’ All the people on Hotstove are respected hockey journalists but sometimes they do not do solid research on topics that do not pertain to the playing of hockey (like the business side of hockey). In the case of Glen Healy, who was reporting on the Coyotes ownership saga in this segment, he clearly did zero research before going on the air. The more Healy does things like this, the more he and CBC’s reputations take continued negative hits simply as a result of shoddy journalism. The same thing goes for the people on the iDesk who, at times, do not fully research the information they are reporting on when they go on the air.

This is a great story with so many angles yet the Canadian Media keeps wasting their opportunities to cover the story correctly with each passing day.

So…

How do you spot the good Canadian Journalists? They are the ones who don’t fall under the criteria explained above.

To all you Coyotes fans out there, don’t take all the examples of poor Canadian journalism you have seen (and will see) personally. This is especially when these journalists are attempting to paint their own distorted reality in regards to the Coyotes.

How should you as Coyotes fans react to this?

Just ignore it. These ‘journalists’ feed on the reaction of people reading/watching their work. The best thing to do is not give these sensationalists…..er….journalists the time of day.

To the Canadian reporters who are possibly expecting some information and background to the Coyotes story they have been missing up to this point:

You are the reporters…do your job.

The playoffs are but a few days away and already Phoenix Coyotes fans are coming together in a tremendous show of solidarity. This is coupled with the Coyotes fans overpowering urge to celebrate their team making the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

The thing is that the urge to celebrate may not be in most constructive of manners.

If you have been off line all day long then you haven’t heard about what Travis Hair from ‘Five for Howling’ has started almost by accident.

Watching Coyotes fans comments on Twitter today in response to the ‘Snakes’ story was an amazing thing to witness. This is a fan base that is WAY overdue for the postseason and all the benefits that go along with it. Even by this afternoon, this ‘Snakes’ momentum reached Canada:

The Phoenix Coyotes fans are about to write some new and extremely positive chapters into the history of the the franchise starting Wednesday night. However, it seems the Coyotes front office are looking like they are ready to squash any sort of fan based momentum to celebrate their team and possibly start a new tradition….in addition to the ‘Whiteout’.

That’s the impression fans (and myself) are being given at this moment in time.

If that’s the case, it’s NOT a good idea. If that’s not the case, then the team’s stance needs to be clarified.

Right now, both the Coyotes fans and the team are at an uncharted growing point now that the playoffs are about to begin. Neither the fans or the team have experienced the potentially overwhelming outpouring of positivity, fan unity, and excitement that will come in many forms during this playoff run. This is the time that both the team and the fans need to temper their actions with wisdom.

Coyotes fans have a great idea in theory (wanting to throw snakes on the ice), but the actual execution of the ‘Snakes’ idea needs to be re-worked. On the other hand, the Coyotes front office obviously can’t officially support something like the ‘Snakes’ idea, but they also can’t squash out ideas like this either.

I realize it’s been years since the Coyotes have last been in the playoffs and I’m willing to bet many of the Coyotes front office staff may not have been around back in 2002 when the team was last in the Playoffs. The Coyotes front office owes it to fans to let them come up with their own playoff traditions.

Coyotes fans, don’t ask or expect the team to support you in whatever you do with new playoff traditions….especially if it comes to throwing snakes on the ice. They won’t. You need to come up with something on your own that you all can get behind to support your team. The ‘Snakes’ idea is a good one but it’s only that….a good idea. This idea needs to be reworked with another goal in mind that still gets the point across without using snakes.

Then again, it’s not the first time a tradition like the ‘snakes’ was born. Check this video out of the Florida Panthers during their 1996 playoff run (oddly enough, Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski was on this Panthers team):

In reference to the Whiteout, the Coyotes, are leveraging a long standing playoff tradition from their former incarnation, the Winnipeg Jets. That’s great and the arena looks awesome when this happens but don’t expect fans to fully accept this as their own tradition. The Coyotes front office needs to give the fans the flexibility and the freedom to come up with their own traditions. Coyotes fans have put up with losing year after year and still have been loyal to the team. The least the Coyotes front office can do is (unofficially) allow Coyotes fans to come up with something fun to counter the Red Wings throwing Octopus on the ice.

Here is a prime example of why the Coyotes front office should not come down so hard on the Coyotes fans this post season:

In the 2006 Playoffs, the #8 seed Edmonton Oilers were taking on the #1 seed Detroit Red Wings and fans wanted to come up with something to counter the Red Wing fans throwing Octopus onto the ice. So what they did was throw a piece of Alberta Beef on to the ice. From there a playoff tradition was born and brought the fans together. No one in the NHL was able to foresee the Oilers beating the Red Wings (well, nobody except for me Giggidy) and look what happened….they went to the Cup finals and took the Carolina Hurricanes to seven games.

Furthermore, here’s what the fan reactions were during the second round of the Oilers 2006 playoff run (Noise level was between 110 and 114 decibels) after the momentum got going:

Exciting, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be nice if fans themselves could be allowed to show their support of the Coyotes in ways like this?

The last thing the Phoenix Coyotes need to do here is be the bad guy when the fans have more than earned the right to celebrate this post season with new traditions. I fully understand the Phoenix Coyotes have to make a statement denouncing the ‘Snakes’ movement for multiple reasons. I get that and I agree with it 100%. However, the team needs to ensure that fans desires to create new traditions with the Coyotes are not squashed. If this behavior to create new conditions is allowed to grow and nurture, you never know what will happen.

To the Coyotes fans: Watching how all of you connected today in solidarity was exactly the right thing to do this time of year. Watching this happen is exciting and is one of the many reasons why the playoffs is one of the best times of year to be fully alive! This is exactly how you all should be celebrating the Coyotes first playoff birth since 2002. You deserve it after all those losing seasons.

That said, the ‘snakes’ idea needs to be taken back to the drawing board.

You’ve got plenty of time before Wednesday to come up with something new.

When it comes to the days leading up to the Oscars, the Golden Globes or any major Hollywood TV, Movie, or Music awards shows, there are many promotions for awards categories that go on that many are not familiar with. When voting season comes around all the major movie/record/TV studios place ads in major industry publications to let award voters know who would be a great choice for any given award. Entertainment industry executives use carefully created ads and place them in locations that will get the maximum return from voters.

Some examples of these ads are in the two images below.

It should also be noted that these ‘For your consideration’ ads are in no way a prediction of what is going to come for the given awards ceremonies. No, these ‘For your consideration’ ads are nothing more than the entertainment industry version of political ads letting voters know who they think the best candidate(s) to win the awards ‘election’ are. Just as in any election, it is up to the voters to decide whom the winners will be.

Here’s two samples of these ads that have run in the past (you can right click each of the images and select ‘view image’ to see the full sized images:

So where am I going with this?

Imagine if this process transferred to the NHL and the upcoming NHL awards.

Picture NHL beat writers from around the league writing columns stating whom voters should vote for a given NHL Trophy from the individual team that they cover and why these players should be considered for said trophy.

These articles would actually serve as a better guide for the NHL awards as the NHL beat writers would have better first hand experience knowing who would most deserving of an award.  I mean these writers are around these players quite a bit over the course of a season are they not?

Wouldn’t you all like to read something like this as opposed to reading the yearly articles that pigeon hole a few popular players around the league into who should/shouldn’t win the NHL awards at the end of a given season?

I am not saying this method will be leveraged at all for current or future NHL Awards. This article is just for fun. In addition, this article was meant to serve as a way to promote more discussion of the NHL Awards.

Anyways….

I would now like to present, for your consideration, the following Phoenix Coyotes players for the following NHL awards:

For explanations of all the NHL Trophies, check out the NHL’s Trophies Page:

http://www.nhl.com/trophies/index.html

Selke Trophy – Vernon Fiddler – I wanted to do this award first as the Selke Trophy is probably THE most undefined AND improperly awarded Trophy in all of pro sports. For years, it seems like this award has been more of a media popularity contest as opposed to an award that truly focuses on the best defensive forward in the NHL.

I lost count of how many times over the years I came up with a truly defensive forward for a given team only to be countered with some form of a ‘not enough goals’ counter argument. I mean come on what does goal scoring has to do with a forward’s defensive skills?

Vernon Fiddler is truly one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL that no one knows about. This is mainly because of the team he is on and the lack of media coverage of the Coyotes outside the state of Arizona. Fiddler is a penalty killing specialist who can work with just about any line-mate he’s on the ice with. His dedication to his craft and his defensive skills continue to amaze me with every game. From blocking shots, to his ability to turn Penalty Kill time into repeated offensive chances (Fiddler has two shorthanded goals and a shorthanded assist this season), Fiddler plays responsible hockey in the defensive zone.

Oh, and if you want to add points into the discussion, this season he’s got 7 goals and 19 assists with a +9.

I would love to break down stats. However, since there is not a clear definition of what a ‘model’ Selke candidate is, I am just going with what I have seen in Fiddlers game this season.

In short, Vernon Fiddler is one of those key defensive specialists that teams drool over to have on their roster. He is a team player that specializes in keeping the puck away from his net as much as humanly possible. In addition, Fiddler is the type of player that is a key piece for any team to make a serious challenge for the Stanley Cup.

Lady Bing  – Radim Vrbata – The thing about the Lady Bing award for the Coyotes is that with the exception of a few players, the majority of the team displays great sportsmanship and play like gentlemen so it’s tough to choose just one. If I had to pick just one, it would be Radim Vrbata.

The Lady Bing Trophy is awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers Association to the player who represents the best ’sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high playing ability’

With only 24 penalty minutes this season Radim Vrbata has been a model of sportsmanship while maintaining a high level of excellence whenever he is on the ice. You would never equate fighting, dirty tricks or any sort of negative on ice attitude from Vrbata. He is just not the kind of player that would draw the attention and ire of the officials. He is a talented player that performs to the best of his abilities night in and night out like any model sportsman would.

Masterson Trophy – Radim Vrbata – Each team in the NHL submits a candidate every year for the Masterson Trophy, which again is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The Masterson Trophy, according to the NHL’s website, is “given to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”

I cannot think of anyone more deserving than Radim Vrbata to be nominated for this award. Given the challenges, he had after signing a Free Agent contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 2008.

Just 18 games in to the 2008-2009 season, Vrbata asked and was given permission to play in his native Czech Republic.

Many pundits speculated the reasons why Vrbata left the Lightning for the Czech Republic.  Some of the speculated reasons were Vrbata losing his passion to play hockey, complications with the pregnancy of his first child and so on.

The only public statement that was made regarding Vrbata leaving the Lightning were from Vrbata’s agent Rich Evans and Tampa Bay Lightning GM Brian Lawton. Both said that Vrbata’s reasons for going back to the Czech Republic was that it was a personal matter.

It was clear that Vrbata lost a step or two in his game between then and the time he was ready to come back to the NHL. Not wanting to take a chance with Vrbata on his return to the NHL, the Lightning traded Vrbata to the Phoenix Coyotes. Back in familiar territory, Vrbata a regained his previous form by being a solid contributor on the ice, being responsible on the ice, and his impact scoring department. Vrbata has been one of the key pieces of the Phoenix Coyotes success this season.

By the way….Vrbata leads the Coyotes in goals so far this season with 23.

Norris – Keith Yandle – One of the biggest surprises this season in the NHL has to be the emergence of defenseman Keith Yandle as a solid, play-making defenseman.  When thrust into top three minutes at the beginning of the season due to injury, Yandle not only stepped into the role, he stepped up his game many levels to the point to where he is on the cusp of becoming an elite defenseman in the NHL.

To his benefit, he is 6th on the Coyotes in points (tops among all defenseman) tallying 11 goals and 23 assists. His average time on the ice this season is over 20 minutes (20:05 to be exact). He has been solid on the point and a great asset to the power play unit (5 goals and 11 assists on the power play. I know that may not be a lot. Just keep in mind that the Coyotes do not score that many goals to begin with).

The drawback is that 1) he is on a team with deep defensive talent so his skills are not always in the spotlight like a Chris Pronger, and a 2) lack of media exposure locally and nationally that prevented other people around the league from seeing how Yandle has really taken his game to another level.

IMO, Keith Yandle along with Rob Scuderi were wrongly not chosen to represent their country in the Men’s Hockey tournament at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics partially for reasons #1 and #2 above.

Vezina Trophy – Jason LaBarbera – Ok, just seeing if you were paying attention. According to the NHL’s website, the GM’s around the NHL vote on the Vezina. The Vezina Trophy consideration from the Coyotes is Ilya Bryzgalov. His stats are worthy of being, in the very least, a finalist for the Vezina.

As of today, here are his stats:

- Leads the league in shutouts with 8
- 5th in the league in Goals Against Average with a 2.28
- Tied for second in the league in wins with 39 (1 behind league leader Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils)
- Tied for 7th in the league (with three other people) with a .921 Save percentage

Hart Trophy – Ilya Bryzgalov – This is the MVP trophy of the NHL awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.  The way I look at MVP candidates is to take away the potential candidate for the award out of the lineup and imagine how the rest of the team would fare without that person in their lineup.

So imagine if we took Bryzgalov out of the lineup and put…say…. Bob McKenzie of TSN in his place.(Nothing against Mr. McKenzie here.  Just trying to explain my point.)  How many games do you think the Coyotes would have won this season with Mr. McKenzie in net?

Not many at all.

Bryzgalov was and is the MVP of the Coyotes this season.  There isn’t another person on this roster or in the NHL that comes close.

Jack Adams – Dave Tippett – After watching every game this season, the most common thing said by the TV commentators for opposing teams was that Tippett was either the front runner for the Jack Adams or the voters should just hand the award to him right now.

With the other worthy candidates in the league, Dave Tippett stands above the rest of the Jack Adams candidates right now as he has taken a Coyotes team that wasn’t expected to reach anywhere close to single digits in the Western Conference standings this season to being on the verge of their first playoff birth since the 2001-2002 season.

Given about a week from the time he was hired as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes to the start of the regular season, Tippett put his defensive minded system into place and made an immediate impact. The Coyotes immediately started the season at or near the top of the Pacific Division standings. As you can see now the Phoenix Coyotes are ending their season in the same manner.

Tippett and his coaching staff have been fine tuning the system over the course of the regular season. This system has worked so well, other teams want to model their teams around the work ethic, team chemistry, lack of egos, and other factors that make up the successes the Phoenix Coyotes have had this season. Tippett lets players know where they stand with him and he is not shy about letting the public know his pleasure or displeasure in regards to the play of his team on the ice.

Many of the Canadian media were scratching their heads the other day. They were pondering why so many people were making a big deal over the Canadian Women’s Gold Medal Winning hockey team’s post game Gold Medal celebrations on the ice of Canada Hockey Place (also known as GM Place).

It’s pretty simple.

It was one of the worst displays of sportsmanship…ever.

The Canadian Women’s hockey team Demolished, annihilated, and humiliated the majority of their competition in the tournament. This was a Canadian team that out scored their opposition 41-2 in the preliminary round of the Olympic Tournament.

Just to be clear…

The Canadian Women’s hockey team scored 41 goals in the opening round…41 goals.

This was a celebration by a Canadian team who beat up on opponents that were not even close to their talent levels. Their post game celebration was a huge slap in the face to all the other teams in the tournament. We’re talking about teams who gave their all in the name of sportsmanship only to have their faces rubbed in the dirt first by the amount of goals Team Canada scored on them then in the media with this celebration.

The Women’s team should have made their celebrations private and out of the eyes of the world media. Instead, the entire world got to see a celebration by a dominant Canadian team that fed on opponents that gave them little to no resistance on the road to a Gold Medal.

If anything, this post game celebration was the final nail in the coffin for Women’s hockey in the Olympics.

Consider this sport as good as dropped from the 2014 Olympics.

Some of you have been asking why we at AZ Vibe do not do articles about the Phoenix Coyotes Booster Club. Well, before the season began, we were going to do a huge article about what they do and how people could join. Then something happened that reversed our desire to give them any form of press coverage…ever. This is all thanks to the president of the Booster Club, Heather Schroeder.

Before I begin, I want to state that this editorial is not about the Coyotes Booster Club in general or the people who belong.  In what I have seen from people who belong, it is a great organization..

This column is about the person who runs it and their inability to run it in a professional manner along with the damage that it does to the Phoenix Coyotes brand.

Let’s all go into the ‘Way Back’ machine to the days before the Coyotes Bankruptcy trial started…..

During the playoffs last season, I was given the opportunity to write for an NHL team that was not the Phoenix Coyotes. It was not anything too intense. Just posts every now and then where I would offer my insight about how this given team was doing and what I thought was going on.

About that time, I was keeping an eye on the how the Phoenix Coyotes as a team were progressing.  I started really paying attention to the team after Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney made a statement at the end of the 2008-2009 season.  He basically said that more veterans would come into the mix for the 2009-2010 season. My gut told me that something special was about to happen here with the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2009-2010 season. I took a leap of faith, turned down the offer to write for the NHL team, and decided to start writing about the Phoenix Coyotes.

Then the Bankruptcy trial started….

AZ Vibe took a neutral stance during the trial. This was partially because we could not appropriate resources to properly cover the trial and partially because two people were doing a damn good job covering the trial via Twitter; Brham Resnick of Channel 12 News and Heather McWhorter of the Save the Coyotes Foundation (Click their names for direct links to their Twitter accounts. These two people are ‘Must Follows’ for Phoenix Residents if you use Twitter.)

I took this time to start investigating ‘how things worked’ in the current structure of media coverage in the greater Phoenix area. I’ve done many studies like this for Canadian media coverage as well as various markets in the United States (Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, Texas, and so on…). In addition, I began going out meeting Coyotes fans in person and online to see what their opinions of Coyotes media coverage in the Phoenix area.

The majority of fans were not happy about the coverage in the local media and wanted more info about the team than the crumbs that publications like the Arizona Republic offered.

It was about this time that I met Heather Schroeder, head of the Phoenix Coyotes Booster Club, and started talking with her in general about the need for more media coverage for the Coyotes.  I also stated that I wanted to possibly interview her before the season began.

Anyways, armed with what I had learned about what the fans wanted/needed for Coyotes coverage, I went to the Phoenix Coyotes and requested press credentials for the upcoming year. In addition, I wanted to schedule some time with Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney as I had numerous questions about the team, the signings they made in the offseason and so on.

The Coyotes denied AZ Vibe press credentials and access to the team for the upcoming season with the reason being that we were not an ‘established’ media outlet or affiliated with an established media outlet.  (Editors Note: We have been recognized as ‘established’ media by numerous organizations such as the PGA Tour, ASU, Major League Baseball, and so on.) I was not too happy about that (for lack of a better sugar-coated phrase) and began questioning if this was even going to be worth my time and effort since the Coyotes clearly did not want additional local coverage of the team (or so I thought).

I made it known on my personal Facebook account, and via the AZ Vibe Twitter account, my frustration about the Coyotes response to my press credential request. At this time, I was considering dropping our Coyotes coverage completely and moving back to the NHL team, I had an offer to write for.

Ms. Schroeder was a part of my friends list on Facebook and following this news and she reacted very negatively by dropping me as a friend. At the time, I did not think or care too much about this.  Shortly after this, I received a message from a Coyotes fan, who shall remain nameless, with some very eye opening news that Ms. Schroeder was speaking badly about AZ Vibe.

I was shocked how someone who supposedly was a representative of the Phoenix Coyotes would go to such extremes over an issue (the questioning of AZ Vibe continuing coverage of the Phoenix Coyotes) she knows nothing about.

After that moment, coupled with fan responses about their experiences with Ms. Schroeder, AZ Vibe took a ‘No Phoenix Coyotes Booster Club’ article policy.

It was not long after this drama and with the encouragement of many Coyotes fans; I decided to move forward with my coverage of the Coyotes this season…..even without a press pass.

To all the Coyotes fans who have given me encouragement during this time, I humbly and sincerely am grateful for your kind words then and even now. You all continue to give proof that not only does hockey work in Phoenix…you all continually show that you are the perfect examples of what awesome fans are!

That’s it. That’s the story and the reasoning why we won’t publish any Phoenix Coyotes Booster Club articles on our site.

Finally, to the Phoenix Coyotes:

I am not the type of person who is going to pull punches when I see things wrong with your organization.

Having Ms. Schroeder not only as the head of the Phoenix Coyotes Booster Club but as a direct representative of the Phoenix Coyotes is doing severe damage to your brand. If that can’t be seen, then you CLEARLY are not looking close enough.

If Ms. Schroeder is going to continue to be a representative of the Phoenix Coyotes, it is high time the leaders of the booster club, specifically Ms. Schroeder, were taught manners by the Coyotes. In addition, the members, specifically Ms Schroeder, also need lessons on how to act with members of the media and community especially in the areas of libel and defamation of character.

As fans have seen over the past 8 games, the Phoenix Coyotes seemed to have lost the edge to their game (before their game with the Nashville Predators last night) that had made them so successful. At times they played some very solid hockey while beating some very good teams around the league. However, there are other times the Phoenix Coyotes played like a team that swapped uniforms with a group of average joe’s.

It’s hard to track when this started as it can be pin pointed to many moments in time such as injuries, schedule, teams played and so on. However, when you really look at when this slide started it’s almost as if a light switch was turned on and the Coyotes game fell apart at the seams.

So what happened? What caused the games to be so disappointing?

I’m going to break down some of the things that caused the Coyotes the loss of their momentum and the solidity of their overall game.

1) Defense – For the first part of the season, the Coyotes had one of the most tightest and toughest defense in the NHL….but then it took a nose dive.

- Not knowing where their opponents are/were on the ice. The Coyotes, at times, were so focused on the play in their defensive zone they didn’t see what was going on around or behind them. With the goals they allowed, opponents just snuck up behind the defense un touched and scored practically at will.

Just watch Tomas Holmstrom (#96) of the Detroit Red Wings in the example below. He was the first one to start this trend. The Coyotes opponents that they played following this game clearly studied the tape of Homstrom’s antics as multiple teams used this tactic in recent games.

- Playing the puck and not the man or their zone/area - One of the biggest problems that went hand in hand with the Coyotes worst losses of the season was the fact that they chased the puck around in their defensive zone like a dog chasing its tail. In the process of the Coyotes chasing or watching the puck, the opponents got in open positions and scored.

Here’s an example with the Vancouver Canucks Alex Burrows – Watch how the Coyotes in front of Bryz stand and watch the puck instead of taking the man.

….and again with Burrows…

- Mental errors in coverage – At times the Coyotes seemed to have been playing like individuals in that they seemed to be taking it upon themselves to do their own thing defensively and not play Tippett’s system.

Here’s an example of the Coyotes not playing Tippett’s system defensively. This mental lapse led to a goal by the Vancouver Canucks….

2) Bryzgalov – Coyotes Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has been rock sold in the first part of the season. However, even when he was at his best he had two main weaknesses. The first weakness in his game is in the shootout where he seems to have problems with glove side stops.

The second weakness in Bryzgalov’s game is the most important one:

- His Inability to stop 3 hole and 4 hole pucks

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Goaltender’s Holes, check this out:

Hockey 101 – The Goaltender has 5 ‘holes’ or areas he must cover during a game. The Holes are as follows:

1 Hole – Glove Side High – This is the area between the goaltenders mask and his glove arm
2 Hole – Glove Side Low – This is the area between the goaltenders glove arm and his leg
3 Hole – Stick Side High – This is the area between the goaltenders mask and his stick side arm
4 Hole – Stick Side Low – This is the area between the goaltenders stick side arm and his leg
5 Hole – The Area between the goaltenders legs

One of Bryzgalov’s problems this season has been his inability to stop stick side pucks which are his three and four holes. I’m not sure if he’s just not paying attention or he simply can’t stop these pucks. Of the soft goals he’s let in this year, many of them have been via the 3 and 4 holes.

Example #1 with Patrick Eaves of the Red Wings

Example #2 with Tyler Meyers of the Buffalo Sabres

3) Transition game

This is a sample of the Coyotes at their worse when the opponents are in transition from their offensive zone to their defensive zone. This video also has elements of ‘mental errors in coverage’.

4) Offense….or lack thereof

There were many reasons why the Phoenix Coyotes were unable to score consistent offensive numbers from players who should have been on the scoresheet on a regular basis for the first part of the season. One reason was because of the lack of chemistry with so many new player on the roster. Another part of the offensive woes was related to the inability to establish and maintain the offensive zone.

When the Coyotes happened to establish their offensive zone they seemed to not want to go to the net or sit in front of the net. Not sure why that is but let’s take a look at what happens when you don’t and do put players in front of the opponents net.

No players in front of the opposing goal tenders

San Jose Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov was able to see every shot that the Coyotes threw at him. Can’t win many games if the goaltender can see EVERY shot.

On the flip side, when you put players in front of the opposing team’s goaltender, things like this happen…

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo was not able to react to the play and the puck due to the body in front of him.

It’s is time to go to the land of make believe.

Better yet, it’s time to go to the land of ‘probably will happen’ and lets imagine what changes the Ice Edge group would need to make if/when they became the owners of the Phoenix Coyotes….

What changes would need to be made right off the bat?

Now keep in mind that no changes to the front office or staff would be made and no blowing up of the rosters like a hockey version of Jerry Jones or fans when they play NHL 10.

Here’s some changes that would benefit the Coyotes right off the bat:

1) Pour money into marketing the team online – If you take a look at other teams around the league and how they present the informational portions of their website (specifically the Canucks, Oilers, and the Kings) they take great care to make sure the fans get the information they need/want without showing everything that goes on behind the proverbial curtain.

Right now, I know that the Coyotes can’t do this because of budgetary reasons and that is understood by this author.  However, if there’s one thing where money should be spent with new ownership it’s these areas.

Here’s some samples of what the Coyotes could do to not only market the team better but get in touch with their fan base on a closer level:

Form/Message Boards – The Coyotes NEED a forum to connect with the fan base that they have.  Right now there really isn’t a centralized method for all Coyotes fans to interact with one another.

Expanded Game Coverage – The Coyotes are doing a pretty good job of reporting on the goings on before and after the game.  However, all the angles aren’t being covered (this includes FSNAZ Broadcasts as well).  An example of this are healthy scratches for the game reported before the game.  Another example would be injury updates during and in between games.

Fan Interaction -  Give the fans a chance to interact with the team that they love to follow and have a passion for.  Right now the Pro sports standards are the Vancouver Canucks (http://forum.canucks.com/).  Poke around this site.  Wouldn’t you like to see this done for the Coyotes?

2) Promote hockey in Arizona -If you haven’t heard by now, the Coyotes were offered the opportunity to host the 2011 All Star Game.  However, I don’t see any final decision on this happening until the NHL finds new owners.

In the mean time, don’t you think it would be a great idea for the Coyotes to host the World Junior Championships or even the Memorial Cup?  Imagine the youth hockey players in the state coming to these events to see what you can do if some kid has the talent to play hockey professionally.

I know the Memorial Cup may not be a possibility because the host cities of the tournaments are ones who have CHL teams in them and are given an automatic entry into the Memorial Cup tournament.  However, if something could be worked around, wouldn’t it be cool to see the Memorial Cup hosted in Phoenix?

3) Be more open to Coyotes Bloggers in regards to access to the team and other ways to innovate for coverage of the Coyotes – Coyotes fans know that when it comes to media coverage compared to other NHL cities, the local mainstream media just doesn’t come up to par for fans.  For the most part it’s because of lack of space or time in the newspaper or TV.

In addition, sport journalism coverage is down across the board in all of the pro sports.  This is a trend that is happening more and more in all the major pro sports.  If you want to read more about this and what some teams are doing to counter it, check this article out:

http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/63034

Anyways, it would behoove the Coyotes to start allowing bloggers to cover games as the mainstream media does.  I mean it can’t hurt to have qualified Coyotes writers (and there are quite a few competent Coyotes writers other than this publication) covering games, can it?.

I understand that this may be a new avenue for the Coyotes to explore as the Diamondbacks went through a similar experiment this season.

Anyways, this is just a few things off the top of my head that the Ice Edge (or whomever the new ownership might be) group could spend some money on to better help market the Coyotes and expand their brand awareness.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to go after some potent offensive talent as well….