Eric Bechtol embraces the many hats he wears for the Tucson Roadrunners.
He’s part seamster, the quickest between-period double-stitch to save a set of ripped shoulder pads this side of the Mississippi.
Part mechanic, too, able to tame a finicky skate sharpener into submission on a moment’s notice.
He’s part psychologist, helping a newly-minted professional hockey player figure out why something — anything — just doesn’t feel right, and how they can get to the bottom of it together.
And he’s a little bit “crazy uncle” — his words — sharing with the 20-somethings who stop by his Tucson Arena office to hear stories about the hockey stars he’s worked with and insight on how to become a self-sufficient adult.
In all, though, Bechtol, the Roadrunners’ equipment manager for all five of the team’s American Hockey League seasons in Southern Arizona, is 100% rink rat.
“I just love being around the rink. This is what I’ve done since I was 4 years old growing up in Michigan,” said the native of Kalamazoo.
The Roadrunners’ 4-1 home loss to the Colorado Eagles on April 25 marked the 1,800th game in Bechtol’s quarter century in professional hockey. That includes eight years as an assistant equipment manager with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and a decade with the minor-pro Kalamazoo Wings. He spent a year in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga and another with the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush before moving to Tucson five years ago.
“It is definitely been a few games, that’s for sure,” Bechtol said. “You look back on it and you think, ‘Man, did that go fast.’
“I’ve always felt like one of the young guys,” he added. “Now I’m like, ‘wait, I’m the old guy,’”
Bechtol is one of four Roadrunners staffers who have been with the team since its first game in 2016. That includes president Bob Hoffman, video coach Brady Morgan and assistant equipment manager Ryan Andrus, effectively Robin to Bechtol’s Batman in the bowels of Tucson Arena.
“Eric’s really been such a great role model,” said Andrus, who started his gig at age 19. “That was really the first time I moved away from home. Eric really helped me not just in hockey with learning how to sew, learning how to work a locker room, dealing with the daily grind of pro hockey, but also away from the rink in learning how to become an adult.
“It was learning how to pay bills, learning how to manage life. He’s really been a great father figure.”
Bechtol is humbled by the idea that he could have that kind of impact. He calls himself a bit of a “proud dad” when talking about not only his own kids — Caden, Hannah and Gavin — but also the players who have made their way through the Tucson Arena locker room.
“Yeah, it’s a proud dad moment when a guy like Lane Pederson, (Michael) Bunting, (Conor) Garland, they get to the next level and they stick and make a difference,” Bechtol said, pausing a few times while getting choked up. “I think about the times they walk by the door on their way out yelling, ‘Love ya, E, see you tomorrow!’
“Like the credit card commercial, you can’t put a price tag on that.”
Defenseman Jalen Smereck isn’t the only player who lights up when Bechtol’s name is mentioned.
“I call him ‘Easy,’” said Smereck, a Detroit native who has played parts of all five of his pro seasons in Tucson. “He’s from Michigan, so I’ve built a really good connection with him over the past five years. He’s helpful — he’s everything. He’s the No. 1 fan behind the bench. He’s just there. Always there. He’s into the game just as much as the guys are.”
Tucson head coach Steve Potvin said it’s hard not to appreciate how Bechtol and Andrus take the Roadrunners’ successes and failures “very personally.”
“Players are always looking for an edge. You hear this quote a lot: ‘It’s a game of inches.’ There’s nobody that understands that more than our (equipment) staff. It’s a real selfless job,” Potvin said. “(Bechtol) knows that the equipment measures really result in comfort, and with comfort comes confidence.”
Bechtol admitted that in the effort to ensure the players don’t worry too much. there’s the occasional need for misdirection.
“They bring you a piece of equipment they want fixed or repaired, and you say ‘Oh, yeah, no problem, we’ll get that done and it will be ready to go for you tomorrow,’ Bechtol said with a chuckle. “Then you walk to the side wondering, ‘Yeah, I don’t know how I’m going to put that back together.’ But you ‘MacGyver’ your way through it. You figure it out.”
Andrus said he thinks that’s how Bechtol has had such staying power; it’s his ability to stay calm even when it feels like things are going haywire all around.
“Practices, games, traveling, it can wear on you after a little bit, and having a positive attitude is something he brings to the rink every day,” Andrus said. “He’s been one of the leaders of our team and one of the leaders of our culture, and really drives what the organization has been like.”
Andrus said it’s hard to put into perspective what it would mean for his own career to reach the 1,800-game mark.
The Roadrunners’ regular-season finale Sunday against the Ontario Reign, a 2 p.m. faceoff at Tucson Arena, will be Andrus’ 299th game.
“He’s got six times that in his career, and I don’t think he’s thinking of stopping anytime soon,” he said.
Bechtol echoed that sentiment. He doesn’t plan to put the rolls of tape in a drawer or flip the switch to his skate sharpener off for good any time soon. But whenever that time does come, the Bechtol name might just keep on going in professional hockey. His son, Gavin, has served as equipment manager in Rapid City the last three seasons. The Rush are the ECHL affiliate of the Coyotes and Roadrunners, too, so when a player heads up or down, father and son find time to chat.
“I’ve been lucky to have my kids grow up in the rink with me. They’ve always kind of been a part of what’s going on, even though they excelled in other sports,” he said.
Bechtol’s wife, Nicki, owns a master’s degree in sports management. Daughter Hannah found success growing up on the volleyball court, and Gavin played baseball. Caden, the youngest, was a 6-foot-6-inch, 300-pound football player at Sabino High School who would have ended up on scholarship at Northern Arizona be it not for some nagging injuries.
Caden now has his sights set on becoming a commercial airline pilot in the Phoenix area, and Hannah is working toward her nursing degree in Florida.
“That same proud dad moment with my players, I’m also the same with my kids, of course,” he said.
