The Arizona Coyotes didn’t have to look far to occupy a bench position on their training staff, and officially added Jay Varady just before the start of the season.
Varady is already an extension, in some respects, of the template. He coached the American Coyotes Hockey League team, the Tucson Roadrunners, to a 70-45-11 record from 2018 to 2020, and after the abrupt end of the game with the arrival of COVID-19, he came here to help the Coyotes around the bubble for the NHL playoffs last year.
His familiarity with the Coyotes’ hopes of gambling and lately betting in Tucson was an advantage when the team entered education camp this year, and before the end, Varady received a full-time job at the NHL after two decades as coach.
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“You have all those extra players, so you want an extra coach, almost, to stay, those guys have staff compatibility. So, in the bubble, it was more commonly my lead role, which allowed me to spend more time with Rick. “Tocchet’s staff, ” said Varady. ” As we approached (this) season, we didn’t know if the American (hockey) League was going to disappear. It was just a transition to a season that was going to be full.
“I was excited about this opportunity and enjoyed each and every moment. “
Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said having Varady this season had been a resource.
“In fact, I like to run with him, he’s a very passionate guy, and he needs to teach and he needs to learn too,” Tocchet said. “He pushes the barriers and gets off the beaten track. “
Varady’s relationship with players such as Michael Bunting, Lane Pederson, Adin Hill and the taxi team players who have played for him in Tucson in recent years is with Tocchet, who calls Varady an “advantage. “
Varady has organized taxi squadron trainings, small organizational sessions that take position regularly after the main team has finished their paintings on the ice.
“He can communicate with the boys. The guys on the taxi crew, he helps keep them motivated,” Tocchet said. “Help me because I have so much to do. He helps keep those boys motivated and explains things to them as well. “
Varady’s stay in Tucson has allowed him to form an intelligent relationship with the Coyotes’ coaches, and now that he’s in Glendale, the organization’s most sensitive player progression officers are just steps away from gila River Arena.
Varady thanked Tocchet for being very inclusive with Tucson coaches and player progression staff, so everyone is in tune with the plan to bring those minor players with them.
“I think that’s the big problem, just the continuity of the whole group,” Varady said. “Everything about the players, from the progression team to the American league team and the NHL training staff, is a plan and a mission, and I think it’s helping players here in Arizona. “
Contact Jose Romero at Jose. Romero@gannett. com. Find it on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.