Hockey Hype Australia spoke to members of the Arizona Coyotes organisation – General Manager Bill Armstrong, Head Coach André Tourigny, and players Nick Bjugstad and Nick Schmaltz about the team’s NHL Global Series experience in Melbourne.

Bill Armstrong

Hockey Hype Australia: Walking into the rink today, there were a lot of Coyotes jerseys. Did the organisation have a gauge on that before they arrived, or is it something that has excited you and surprised you?

Bill Armstrong: That has surprised us. And that is a great thing to see – the Coyote jersey. We’re an organisation that’s got a little bit of buzz now because of our young guys coming in. L.A. was probably there a couple of years ago where you get some excitement about some of the players and where the organisation is going and we’re kind of at that stage right now.

So when we see players come up to us and they got the Kellers on the back, but now they’ve also got the, you know, the Cooley’s on the back and the Guenther’s on the back, it gets you excited because they’re following your team and they’re excited about where we’re going.

Hockey Hype Australia: I know you’ve had Sera Dogramaci over as part of the NHL Coaches Program back in July, so you have a little bit of an attachment to Australia, could you see yourself coming back to Australia?

Bill Armstrong: Yeah, I mean the NHL, this is the great thing about the NHL – we can travel. And I think they’ve really expanded the Global Series as much as they can and it’s great. I think it’s great for us to be over and play now. Australia is not that close to Arizona, so there’s a little bit of a flight that you must take. But, you know, at this time of year, it’s the perfect time to come over and play. And I would love for the NHL to come back here and kind of dive into this market. It’s exciting.

Hockey Hype Australia: I saw that Matt Dumba slept for 13 hours during the flight. Did you get as much sleep as him?

Bill Armstrong: I slept probably more than him! So, you know, I have that unique ability to sleep on planes. We had sleep doctors come in and fly kits and we were ready for it. So we’re hoping to fight that jet lag on the way back just as well as we fought it on the way there.

André Tourigny

Hockey Hype Australia: It’s obviously a different pre-season to what you’re used to back in the U.S., how has the team embraced coming to Australia? I know you spent some time in O’Brien with the First Nations team, the Kaurna Boomerangs, how has the team handled all of that – growing a brand, not just the training?

André Tourigny: Absolutely. We loved it so far and, you know, we were expecting a great thing coming here, in terms of great experience and everything. I’d say the guys are really pleased about what did happen from the beginning since we land since the zoo, the team builder, and the golf day and the day with the First Nation and now we’re going to the football game. So, all in all, I think it’s an unbelievable experience for us. We had a great time doing our job, which is practicing and growing our game and all of it. But, I think so far it’s, it’s a home run, no doubt about it.

Hockey Hype Australia: You had Sera Dogramaci come over as part of the NHL coaching internship program back in July – so there’s some connection to Australia. Can you see the organisation coming back to Australia and really building its brand here in the future?

André Tourigny: That’s a good question. It has to be that kind of a set-up early during the training camp because of the time change, you know, we will have to when we will go back home, there is 17 hours there of difference. So during the season it will be extremely tough because the reality of our schedule is we will play 82 games, all in about 169 days. So every second day, so that travel will not, will not be possible during the season. But, the same kind of a setting, absolutely, it’s a blast for us where as a human being and I think I’m privileged to be here and the chance to experience what I have what I could experience this week. I really enjoy myself.

Nick Bjugstad and Nick Schmaltz

Hockey Hype Australia: You guys are obviously improving and building every season. What’s it like to have another high-end talent like Logan Cooley come into this system.

Nick Bjugstad: Yeah, he’s obviously a high prospect, but you see his work ethic every day. His mentality, and his approach – and it’s not easy to come into the league when you’re a young player, let alone 19. So, I think for him what separates him from probably a lot of 19-year-olds is kind of how he handles his business. He’s a hard worker and doesn’t seem like’s going to want anything handed to him. So that’s an impressive thing I’ve seen so far this week. Nice kid, he went to the University of Minnesota. So I automatically like him, I don’t know about Schmaltzy. Yeah, I think he’s gonna, he’s gonna do well in this league for sure.

Hockey Hype Australia: I know this week that both teams, the Kings and the Coyotes have been participating in youth hockey clinics with teams like the Kaurna Boomerangs. What’s been the response that you’ve seen from hockey fans in this country, and has that surprised you?

Nick Schmaltz: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I honestly thought there may be a couple of hockey fans over here, but not many. I mean it’s way the heck away from the United States and Canada where it’s probably the biggest. And, you know, it’s pretty cool to see that the game is over here. And I think this will only help enhance that. So looking forward to it, it’s pretty cool. It’s too bad we weren’t able to skate today, but a lot of fans showed up for that. It’s pretty cool to see all the support.

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