Arizona Coyotes, Tucson Roadrunners are creating a culture together

For the Coyotes organization, consistency is everything.

That’s exactly why Tucson Roadrunners head coach Mike Van Ryn has modeled his system of play after the one installed by first-year coach Rick Tocchet with the Coyotes.

By playing similar styles in the AHL and NHL, the Coyotes are hoping to forge a continuity between the levels of organization. They want to create a culture.

For Van Ryn’s Roadrunners, who entered play Tuesday occupying first place in the AHL’s Pacific Division, the system has worked wonders for the organization’s budding stars.

“We mimic each other pretty well, as far as our systems go,” Van Ryn said of the similarities between the Coyotes and Roadrunners. “For us and our guys, it’s a big learning experience for them. It’s probably the toughest year of their lives for a lot of them, especially the young guys.

“We want to make sure that the environment is a fun one. … An athlete that’s enjoying themselves while being pushed is one that’s going to come to work just as hard the next day. We’re going to push our guys as hard as we do and as hard as Rick Tocchet wants to push them up there — and as quick as he wants them to play up there.”

Tucson entered play Tuesday with a 31-18-4-1 record, the second-best mark in the Western Conference and three points ahead of second-place San Diego in the division. For a team in just its second year of existence, the Roadrunners have elicited excitement in the Old Pueblo.

The Roadrunners’ race for the AHL playoffs was the driving force for Coyotes President of Hockey Operations and General Manager John Chayka at the trade deadline, as the organization made several moves to bolster the roster in Tucson.

Chayka brought in forwards Carter Camper, Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Jordan Maletta, as well as defenseman Trevor Murphy, to help their AHL club make a run for the Calder Cup.

“Certainly those guys have played very well and they’ve added some depth for us,” Chayka said of the deadline moves. “That’s a tight division right now — I think it’s five points from first to fifth — and only four make it.”

Chayka expressed the importance of establishing a winning culture in the minor leagues, and suggested the experience of a playoff run could have a significant impact on the organization’s young players.

For the Coyotes’ next wave of young players – including Dylan Strome, Nick Merkley, Lawson Crouse, Laurent Dauphin, Kyle Capobianco, Adin Hill, among others – playing big games with the Roadrunners could have a strong impact on their careers.

“They’re going to play a lot of meaningful games down the stretch,” Chayka said. “And that’s going to be very important for our young players — playing those tight, closely contested games and how to win those games.

“We’re hoping that they play well enough to make the playoffs and that’s very important to their development.”

The moves also allowed Tucson to better absorb the losses of some players who would be called up by the Coyotes. Dauphin and Hill — as well as Roadrunners captain Andrew Campbell — have been recalled in recent weeks.

“It’s given us some depth because Campbell has been up and obviously Dauphin has been up,” Van Ryn said. “It’s allowed us to play with a strong lineup still. And who knows what’s going to happen, or how many young guys are going to get called up? It allows us to not dip very much in this month.”

Specifically, Camper has given the Roadrunners a massive influx of offense. In just four games with his new team, the 29-year-old center has tallied eight points

“Camper has come in and provided some scoring for us,” Van Ryn said. “And with (Dauphin) leaving that’s a point-per-game guy coming out of our lineup. We’ve added Murphy to the back end and he’s a real strong, puck-moving, skating defenseman.

"It’s allowed us to keep moving on rather than dipping down, so we feel fortunate that they’ve done that for us. … We’ve just got to do our best to try and get into the playoffs and then who knows what’s going to happen.”

Before being recalled by the big club on March 6, Hill was part of a dynamic goaltending duo with Hunter Miska in Tucson. Once Antti Raanta returns to action for the Coyotes, the Roadrunners will once again have one of the more formidable goaltending duos in the AHL.

“They’re two young guys,” Van Ryn said of his goaltenders. “I think that they’ve both had successful years and I think they’re right now playing their best hockey of the year. Our goalie coach John Elkin has done some good work with them and they’re playing well right now.

“They’ve been real keen on their development and they’ve both gotten a lot sharper. It’s been a good evolution for them and we’re hoping for that to continue.”

Tocchet’s system of play has taken some time to take hold with Coyotes players, but it has started to yield the results the coach had envisioned before the season. The wins and losses at the AHL level show the same holds true for the Roadrunners.

“As you develop and organization and go through a rebuild like we have here, you really want to create a way of play and a style of play along with what it means to be a Coyote," Chayka said. “I think Rick Tocchet and Mike Van Ryn work very well together in having that collaborative nature so that everyone understands the way we play.

“Those guys, they both play a very aggressive style. They play fast, they attack fast, they defend fast and it’s one of those things where they’ve both been able to limit their chances and shots against. Those are all the kinds of things that Rick Tocchet talks about at this level, and when guys come up to the NHL they know what it takes.”

Tocchet said he had contact with Van Ryn before the start of the regular season, and the Roadrunners coach was quick to express interest in his system.

“We talked in the summer and we want to be very consistent. He likes my system, but I told him that he could tweak whatever he wanted to do, and he’s a smart guy that’s done a hell of a job done there. We have contact all the time. He asks me questions, I ask him questions. It’s been a really good relationship between us.”

Even judging from the players who have bounced back and forth between Tucson and Glendale this season, the consistency is beginning to take hold.

“There’s no disconnect and I think that’s important,” Tocchet said. “The (defensive) zone systems, the practices, things like that are really similar between me and (Van Ryn) … The players that get called up, it’s seamless. They know what to expect up here, because that’s what they’re doing down there.”

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