Ice Hockey – Janis Moser’s NHL Debut: Who Are These Bad Coyotes?

Drafted in the second round of the 2021 draft (60th position), Janis Moser is preparing to make her NHL debut on Wednesday night against the New York Rangers at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The international defender – nicknamed « The Wonder of Safnern«  in the Zealand but simply « not a word«  (jay-jay) so far in North America – has skated so far at the bottom rung, the AHL.

With the Tucson Roadrunners, the subsidiary of the Coyotes, the 21-year-old rear in both Worlds appearances (2019, 2021) has scored five goals and delivered seven assists in 18 games on the smallest rinks in North America.

« He had been good at training camp NHL, then he was very good in Tucson« , rejoiced the coach of the Coyotes, André Tourigny. For his part, Moser explained to azcentral.com that it took a few months to adjust to his new reality on North American rinks. « The daily work allowed me to focus on my adaptation and to feel more comfortable in the North American style of play. Finally, you get used to the smaller size of the rinks quite quickly.« 

In a few hours if all goes as planned, Janis Moser will in turn be skating in the best league in the world. Here are five things to know about the Arizona Coyotes.:

In 32nd position and good last in the NHL standings with 12 miserable points in 27 games, the Coyotes are clearly the dunces of the League. According to a recent study published by the specialist site Forbes, this is also the NHL franchise with the least financial value. Estimated at US $ 400 million, the Coyotes take the red lantern place of Forbes, far, far behind the New York Rangers, the highest-rated franchise on the circuit with a value of $ 2 billion. The average value of NHL franchises, on the rise, is $ 865 million, more than double that of the Arizona club.

Will go, will not go? Rumors of the Coyote relocation are rife. Houston, a big market that is not (yet) covered by the NHL? Or Quebec City, a very unlikely prospect that at least delights those nostalgic for the mythical Nordiques of Quebec? Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo has in any case always reiterated his desire to keep the Coyotes in Arizona. Yes, but until when? Just a few players ago, the City of Glendale threatened the Coyotes with double-locked the stadium and ejected the club if overdue payments of more than $ 1.3 million were not resolved on the spot. … Janis Moser’s team is in a difficult economic situation in Glendale and will no longer have a stadium available in this town next season: Arizona Coyotes look fornt a starting point for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Here is a franchise which for the moment is homeless for years to come.

Originally, it was the Winnipeg Jets. Relocated to the desert in 1996, the Jets then became the « Phoenix coyotes«  following a vote of the fans, who had the choice between « Coyotes«  and « Scorpions« , two nicknames related to the Arizona desert. In 2014, however, the franchise changed its name « geographical«  to become the Arizona Coyotes. The logo? A screaming coyote head. simply.

And since this season, the Coyotes have returned to their first love, the legendary “Kachina” logo of the 90s worn when they arrived in Arizona.

Stars? Which stars? There is nous since the retirement of historic captain, Canadian Shane Doan, in 2017. Finally Yes, there’s some left just one: Phil Kessel, scorer on the decline (4 goals in 27 games this season) and two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017. The American winger, who weighs $ 8 million per season, is flowing for days. peaceful in the desert since 2019. The anti-star, the Frenchman Antoine Roussel (32), has also been part of the Coyotes since this season. The best current meter? Clayton Keller, 17 points. The top two NHL scorers, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers), are already at 45 units each. A world of difference.

Swiss? Yes! Before Janis Moser, that should so playing his first game against the New York Rangers on the night of Wednesday through Thursday, there were three en NHL: Montheysan Goran Bezina (3 matches in 2003-2004), the current coach of the Swiss team Patrick Fischer (27 matches, 4 goals and 6 assists in 2006-2007 with a certain Wayne Gretzky as coach), as well as goaltender David Aebischer, who played his last NHL game for the Coyotes in 2007-08 (one game only). But at the time, the club was still called Phoenix Coyotes. Drafted by the Arizona franchise in the 7th round of the draft in 2019, Valentin Nussbaumer (Davos) is one of the club’s hopes and participated in some pre-season training camps with the Coyotes.