Roughly a month before the Tucson Roadrunners begin training camp ahead of the 2023-24 season, itβs clear the Southern Arizona AHL team will have a new look this upcoming season β and itβs not just because they are going back to their black kachina jerseys after a one-year hiatus.
Itβs been an offseason full of roster movement for the affiliate of the NHLβs Arizona Coyotes. That includes the Coyotes resigning Roadrunnersβ record-writer Michael Carcone. But in signing Carcone to a one-way contract, itβs likely he wonβt be coming back to the Roadrunners in 2023-24.
Thereβs also the Henderson Silver Knights signing former Tucson captain Adam Cracknell to a one-year AHL contract. Forward Bokondji Imama signed a two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators, while forward Laurent Dauphin elected to play in the Swiss National League as forward Jean-Sebastien Dea requested to be released to play in Europe.
Finally, restricted free agent forward Jan Jenik hasnβt signed his deal that was reportedly offered in July.
During the Q&A portion of βA Night with Steve Potvin,β a fan-centric event earlier this month at Rudyβs Texas B-B-Q that allowed fans to meet and receive an up-close hockey lesson from the Roadrunnersβ head coach, Potvin didnβt have any details to share on the status of the 22-year-old from the Czech Republic.
Potvin said, βThatβs what this league is aboutβ in terms of the roster movement overall and players at this level, in particular, finding their next professional opportunities.
βWe saw some players get rewarded with some contracts in the NHL and weβre really proud of them,β Potvin said. βWe saw our former captain continue his career; you donβt get the opportunity to do that if you donβt do the right thing. So weβre proud of those guys for doing the right things last year. They were good leaders for us and they were rewarded.β
On the other hand, the Coyotes signed a slew of returning Roadrunners to two-way deals as the team: goalie Ivan Prosvetov, forward Nathan Smith, forward Travis Barron, defenseman Cameron Crotty, forward Ryan McGregor and defenseman Steven Kampfer will all be back this year.
The Roadrunners also signed former San Diego Gulls and Rockford IceHogs forward Hunter Drew to an AHL deal.
Additionally, the NHL club signed former Stockton and San Diego forward Justin Kirkland, former Milwaukee forwards Zach Sanford and John Leonard and former Ontario Reign goalie Matt Villalta to two-way deals. Those also come alongside the Coyotes signing former San Jose Barracuda defenseman Montana Onyebuchi to a two-year entry-level contract.
βWeβre really excited to get to know the players that are coming in,β Potvin said. βAnd you know what, this is a little bit early to say because those guys are good players that have been in the American league for a little bit now that are knocking on the door and I want to be very respectful of their opportunity that they have here coming into camp.β
Preseason back-to-back
In early October, the Coyotes/Roadrunners organization will be very busy.
Last week, the Roadrunnersβ preseason game was announced. Tucson will play at the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m.
Then, on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 3 p.m., the Arizona Coyotes play the Anaheim Ducks in their preseason finale. The matchup between the Coyotes and Ducks will be on the Roadrunners home ice in Tucson Arena.
βI feel more for the staff thatβs taking care of the equipment, they have to transition from team to team and building to building so thatβll be tough on them,β Potvin said about the busy weekend. βBut you know what, itβs great to have the Yotes here in Tucson and we want to continue to grow the game here and keep bringing that energy to the TCC.β
The Tucson trip is the Coyotesβ only preseason game in Arizona. They start the preseason on Sept. 22 in Australia against the Los Angeles Kings, then they play the St. Louis Blues in Wichita, Kansas, the Dallas Stars just outside of Austin, Texas, in the suburb of Cedar Park, and in Palm Desert, California, before the NHL clubβs preseason finale in the Old Pueblo.
Roadrunner-friendly schedule
This season, 28 of Tucsonβs 36 home games will be on the weekend β the highest number of weekend games the Roadrunners have ever had.
βItβs just a smart thing to do,β Potvin said. βObviously, during the week, itβs hard to get to games, and I think the league average diminishes significantly during the week. So it just gives the organization an advantage to create a little bit more energy for the teams, maybe collect a little bit more financially, and itβs just a better environment for the fans to be able to watch a game with more people in the building.
βSo I think the objective was right and we honestly we succeeded there.β
One of the few weekday games is the return of the school field trip day game, a 10:30 a.m. puck drop on Tuesday, Oct. 24 against San Diego.
And while the Gem and Mineral Show will take over TCC again in February, the Roadrunners donβt really have a daunting βgem show road tripβ this time around. Tucson only has four road games in February, taking place on consecutive weekends with the AHLβs All-Star break in between. In fact, Tucson will play 10 of 15 games at home from Jan. 15 to Feb. 24.
Last season, Tucson went 1-6 on its Gem Show trip. On previous Gem Show road trips, the Roadrunners went 2-4-0-0 in 2022, 2-4-0-1 in 2020, 2-3-0-1 in 2019, 5-1-0-0 in 2018 and 1-5-0-0 in 2017.
βI like the job that (Tucson general manager) John Ferguson and (director of hockey operations) Jake Wagman did on trying to eliminate the unnecessary days on the road,β Potvin said. βI think weβre eight days less on the road than we were last year, so thatβs an advantage.
βBut on the other hand, I donβt look at our schedule as a negative when youβre on the road a lot. Of course we want our players to be with their families and their friends and be a little more comfortable at home but the relationships and the bonds that youβre able to build while youβre out on the road are very significant,β he added. βAnd honestly sometimes when youβre going through a tough period during the season and we head on the road we just start to play better because of the time you get to spend together.β
The Roadrunners home opener is Saturday, Oct. 21, when they will host Coachella Valley, the AHL Calder Cup runner-up this past season, at 7 p.m. in Tucson Arena.