HWB is reaching out to local fans bringing their thoguhts and opinions about their home team to HWB readers. Here is one of them from guest writer Jenna @ Hipchecks.com.
The Coyotes season has not been off to as great of a start as we thought it would be. I am thinking we need to change the marketing campaign from Don’t Blink to Don’t Panic. As several people have pointed out, this is not the worse start. It’s not great and there is still a lot of hockey to play yet.
The biggest problem seems to be the penalties. I don’t know what they have in the penalty box this season but it must be pretty good since the guys love to take a 2 minute rest. Beyond that, we can’t string together a consistent 60 minutes and we seem to have lost our physical edge. The Coyotes are a much better team when they play aggressively. They seem to have forgotten how to finish a check.
The Coyotes are finding ways to get a point here and there but I would much rather take the win in regulation. The team seems to be starting to gel a bit now. Tippett put the Czech line back together for the win against Chicago and Wolski has remembered he has skills. I am hoping we can string together some wins. LaBarbera put up a good game Wednesday and gave Bryz a much needed rest. This could be a turnaround point.
Enough about the on ice problems, what about the attendance? Personally, I think it sucks right now. I can give you all the excuses in the world for. Trust me, I know them all and have recited them quite a bit. I can also tell you I have yet to buy a single game ticket. I used to be a season ticket holder. Why haven’t I bought a ticket? I can’t afford it. I have not received a raise in three, going on four, years. The economy is brutal right now.
A couple of the players have made comments about the attendance. Paul Bissonnette stated on twitter that he thought it was dress like a seat night while Ray Whitney gave extensive quotes to some news story. The difference is Bissonnette was making a joke and has made it apparent how much he appreciates the loyal fans. Whitney just threw us all under a bus. Maybe if Whitney could score a few more fans would show up. Just a thought.
The fact that we don’t have an owner doesn’t help attendance either. It’s very unstable right now. I know I have talked to a lot of people that are waiting for the whole mess to sort out. There is no easy answer. With an owner, we can have a real marketing department with a real budget. There is almost no advertising now except at the market that already watches the game. We have guys that should be out in public. Shane Doan is like the Steve Nash and Kurt Warner of hockey. He is already in the community a lot but he is no where near the Steve Nash or Kurt Warner level in Phoenix and he should be.
Speaking of the ownership situation… Did anyone see the interview with Hulsizer during the Chicago game? It was quite positive. He has already talked to the coaching staff about making the transition and he referred to the assistant GM as “our GM”. He is already thinking about the team as his. I also liked the way he spoke about hockey and owning a team. It’s not about the money for him. He is very passionate about this sport and wants to see it prosper in Arizona. He said a deal is imminent. I believe we will hear the big announcement by the end of 2010.
If you would like to write a guest article about your home team, please contact any member of the HWB team and we would be happy to make that possible.