Kobe Armstrong
Registered User
- Jul 26, 2011
- 15,156
- 6,023
For all the flak Arizona gets for being a poor hockey market, the state sure has turned out a disproportionate amount of NHL prospects over the past decade. While a lot of the best Arizona-born players are simply children of former NHL players who played in Phoenix, there are also a number of players and prospects who came up through the Arizona junior hockey system.
Overall I would argue that hockey in Arizona has become more viable than hockey in the Carolinas, Texas, or Atlanta (duh..) Now with the Sharks playing in Arizona for the start of the season and Arizona State having a great D1 program, I think we are just witnessing the start of the Arizona hockey boom.
Notable NHL Players:
Auston Matthews
Sean Couturier (son of former player)
Matt Tkachuk (son)
Tage Thompson (son)
Notable Drafted Players:
Jesse Ylonen (2nd rounder, son)
Todd Burgess (4th rounder)
Demetrios Koumontzis (4th rounder)
Mark Kastelic (5th rounder, son)
Notable Prospects:
Red Savage (2021 draft, son)
Matthew Knies (2021 draft)
Josh Doan (undrafted 2020 but is having a nice season, son)
Erik Middendorf (undrafted 2018 but is killing the USHL)
I'm sure I'm missing some but I think this is an impressive list for a South Western state.
Overall I would argue that hockey in Arizona has become more viable than hockey in the Carolinas, Texas, or Atlanta (duh..) Now with the Sharks playing in Arizona for the start of the season and Arizona State having a great D1 program, I think we are just witnessing the start of the Arizona hockey boom.
Notable NHL Players:
Auston Matthews
Sean Couturier (son of former player)
Matt Tkachuk (son)
Tage Thompson (son)
Notable Drafted Players:
Jesse Ylonen (2nd rounder, son)
Todd Burgess (4th rounder)
Demetrios Koumontzis (4th rounder)
Mark Kastelic (5th rounder, son)
Notable Prospects:
Red Savage (2021 draft, son)
Matthew Knies (2021 draft)
Josh Doan (undrafted 2020 but is having a nice season, son)
Erik Middendorf (undrafted 2018 but is killing the USHL)
I'm sure I'm missing some but I think this is an impressive list for a South Western state.