Mullett Rock
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Mullett Rock
It's the new arena in the desert many preemptively looked down their noses at, but don't be jealous it has the best seats in the house
TEMPE, AZ — “Who’s paying Gary Bettman off for this? You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
Was this a line said online (and perhaps in print) after the NHL announced a three-year plan1 with the Arizona Coyotes to play at Arizona State’s new hockey facility, now named Mullett Arena?
Possibly.
Was it something a New York Islanders fan said to me in frustrated disbelief after watching the Coyotes take out his favorite team on desert ice Friday night?
Certainly.
Is it a sentiment fans of other teams around the league may share before it’s all said and done and the Coyotes either move into a big, new arena in the Tempe/Scottsdale area or work out another plan in its stead?
Based on how Coyotes fans have taken to the team and the unique setup on the Arizona State campus, it will be.
There’s something to be said for watching hockey in an intimate setting and being as close to the action as possible. For a lot of people, myself included, it’s how our collective hockey fandom began. Whether it was a community rink, a college or junior rink, or even an old hangar they slapped a rink down and just made it work, it’s those in-your-face settings where the speed, skill, and ferocity of the sport made us fans for life.
There was nothing like going to a game and seeing all of that up close and in person, especially at a young age. It ruled and denying that would mean I’d become a snob of the worst kind. Taking in Friday night’s game and soaking into the atmosphere brought all those reasons why I got into hockey right back to the forefront of my mind.
Everything about it made me think about those early days of what got me so into hockey and…I understand why this setup can work. It can create those feelings and build that love for the game that maybe wasn’t there before.
Think about the usual (terrible) criticisms lobbed at the Coyotes and the fans here: “They have no fans!” “No one cares!” “Hockey doesn’t belong there!”
They’re boring takes from boring people who can only dream of the day they have an original take on anything. It’s been done to death and solves nothing other than the need to grab the lowest hanging fruit and punch down at a subject.
What is happening is a new approach to helping establish a fan base while also giving the fans they’ve had for years a new place that’s (ideally) closer to where they live and more reassurance the team isn’t going anywhere than they’ve had since the Coyotes first arrived in 1996.
What a place like Mullett Arena does is give the Coyotes a home ice advantage unlike what other teams across the league have. It’s size and 5,000 seat capacity puts all of the fans right on top of the action. The building gets loud easily, and the fans make sure it stays that way when the team gets rolling.
Friday night’s game against the New York Islanders saw the Isles grab a 2-0 lead early in the first and the Coyotes looked like they didn’t belong on the ice with them. A late goal in the first period is all it took to get the Coyotes some momentum and, more importantly, the fans into the game.
“I think they like what they see,” Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said. “They saw it was a physical game, it was a high-paced game, a lot of goals. I think that for sure (the players) like when we have that kind of emotion, intensity in our building.”
Heading into Saturday night’s game against the Sabres, the Coyotes are 4-2-1 at Mullett. On December 9th, they beat the Boston Bruins, no easy feat in the first place, at home and for the first time since 2009. The B’s had a 19-game winning streak against the Coyotes that came to an end at Mullett. After completing a 14-game road trip while the finishing touches were made on the arena, they’re 3-0-0 with a win against the Philadelphia Flyers mixed in.
There’s no place like home, it’s true, but after more than a month away from friendly confines, it’s a huge sigh of relief to settle into their new temporary digs. For players who either played in Arizona before or who grew up in the area, it’s incredible to see.
“It’s great for the state to see hockey growing in general and for it to be growing out here, it’s nice,” Phoenix native and Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson said. “It’s a good thing to see, you always want the game to grow. I think they did a great job out here, it’s great to see.”
Thompson grew up in a hockey family with his father, Brent, a former Phoenix Roadrunners player in the IHL in the 1990s. Even though home was wherever dad played or coached, he calls Arizona home in the offseason. Arizona being able to claim Thompson and Auston Matthews as their own helps draw a spotlight on what the NHL’s presence in the region can do.
Vinnie Hinostroza played 140 of his 350 career games (and counting) for the Coyotes while they played in Glendale. Seeing the new building from afar gives him an idea of what the Sabres might be in for on Saturday.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Hinostroza said. “It’s obviously weird to play in a rink this size in the NHL, but I’ve watched some games and it seems pretty exciting. The fans seem to love it. It’s nice to see them pack this rink and be really enthusiastic about the games. You can tell they’re having a blast.”
Hinostroza loved playing for the Coyotes and likes the fans and seeing things taking a turn for the better. With Glendale roughly 20 miles west of the area, that they’re doing it closer to Phoenix is encouraging.
“There’s so many hockey fans in Phoenix and going to Glendale on a school night is pretty much impossible to go all the way out there,” Hinostroza said. “Having a home base in the city of Phoenix, closer to Scottsdale, it’s easier for everyone to get to. It’s going to grow the game in Arizona and it’s going to be good for the city and the sport.”
Hockey didn’t have to be hard to do right in Arizona. They had minor league hockey for ages in Phoenix. The Phoenix Roadrunners existed in multiple leagues dating back to 1967. Obviously, the step up from minor league hockey to the NHL is massive, but making it stick for good takes dedication and time. Mullett Arena is the first real step towards that end, and yet, it’s still not guaranteed. Not yet at least.
What they’re establishing in the area is a true base to build on and if/when the real new arena is built, and the NHL brings the draft and an all-star game to the area, the naysayers will diminish and the desire for others to want to see what makes it all work will grow. Getting to watch an NHL game in a setting like the one at Mullett Arena is what will spark a lifelong love for fans of any age who get to see it for the first time, or even the 10th time.
People don’t want to have patience when it comes to this, but there are passionate fans here already and there are diehard fans and giving them a permanent home will go a long way to making Phoenix a destination for fans and players alike. Getting to Mullett Arena to have the experience now should make it one already.
Edited to correct length of the agreement
Mullett Rock
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