The ice in Arizona is uncommon. Outside, it can typically be found in the northern parts of the state, in areas such as Flagstaff or Show Low.

But at different ice rinks, such as the Ice Den in Chandler, where NHL greats like Auston Matthews played before stardom, the sport of ice hockey is growing every year. With an NHL, AHL and NCAA Div. I program all in the state, as well as increasing youth programs, more and more hockey players are coming from the state.

In the last few years, Oswego State has boasted three players from Arizona. Derek Brown, who is from Peoria, Carson Vance, who calls Tempe home and Cameron Berry, who graduated last season, but is from Chandler. All three played for the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes, an AAU program, at the Ice Den in Scottsdale.

With the lack of junior hockey in Arizona, all three players had to travel throughout the country to play in different leagues, such as the North American Hockey League and the United States Hockey League. Vance played in numerous cities, going as far as Soldotna, Alaska, while Brown went to Odessa, Texas. Berry came the closest to the northeast playing for the Philadelphia Little Flyers in the Eastern Hockey League.

“For them to continue onto college hockey, they typically have to move somewhere far away from home. I think the distance from home is irrelevant,” Oswego State head coach Ed Gosek said. “They’re used to being away from home.”

Growing up, Vance and Brown played together. They were both born in 1996, and since there is a lack of kids that play hockey in Arizona, with “only five to 10 elite kids,” according to Vance, “that’s who they grew up with and played with.” 

“[Vance] and I always played together until he left a year early to go play juniors, then I went a year after,” Brown said.

Also in 1996, the Phoenix Coyotes, which are now the Arizona Coyotes, relocated to the state after playing as the Winnipeg Jets from 1972-1996. Both Vance and Brown went to games when they were younger.

Vance mentioned that their parents “probably watched the inaugural season,” and “then they were on the ice two years later.” 

Brown said the Coyotes were the reason he started to play hockey, especially because his dad has season tickets. He told his dad he wanted to play and eventually got to opportunity to.

“My earliest memory was when they were at the [Phoenix] Suns arena in downtown Phoenix,” Vance said. “You could hear the pucks hit the stick, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so cool.’”

Both of them played different sports growing up, dabbling in baseball, soccer and football. Brown also enjoys the casual game of golf. “But hockey’s always been No. 1,” Vance added. 

“The biggest thing is when I say I’m from Arizona, everyone’s like, ‘They have ice there?’ I’m like, ‘Well, yeah. The rink’s inside,’” Vance said. 

A lot of the two players’ memories come from when they played in younger levels of hockey, like squirt, pee-wee and bantam, anywhere from 10 to 16 years old. Both of them played on the same pee-wee hockey team that went to a tournament in Quebec that lasted two to three weeks. It was the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, which can be compared to Quebec’s version of the Little League World Series but for hockey, Vance said. All the games were also televised.

Within the length of the tournament, players live with host families. Vance and Brown ironically lived together with the same family. The couple they lived with were named Katie and Carl, who, to the 12-year-olds’ dismay, did not speak English.

“Our first night, we were in their Jeep and they kept asking, ‘What do you guys want for dinner?’” Vance said. “And we were like, ‘Spaghetti! Spaghetti!’ They were so confused.”

Brown added, “That’s basically all we had had for two weeks.”

Growing up, Vance and Brown played with some impressive players, like Matthews, who made it big in the NHL. They also shared the same coaches, such as famed skating coach Boris Dorozhenko. 

“You see what they do differently, and whatever they do they’re just working a little bit harder,” Vance said.

Vance played squirt hockey, age eight or nine years old, and Matthews “worked hard just like any other normal player.” But, after playing with Brendan Lemieux, who plays with the New York Rangers, Vance “thought Brendan had the best chance to make it.”

“Auston was a year younger than us but he always played a year up,” Brown said. “I just remember him being on the ice all the time. He was always out there.”

They also played with guys like Alex Tuch, who plays for the Vegas Golden Knights, Daniel Sprong, who is under contract with the Anaheim Ducks and Jake DeBrusk, who is on the second line with the Boston Bruins. Vance played with Kyle Connor from the Winnipeg Jets in the USHL.

“Jake was probably the bigger surprise to me than Auston. Watching him, Jake was a weird skater,” Vance said. “It’s cool to see your friends in the NHL.”

“It’s weird how things played out,” Brown mentioned.

For these two Arizona natives, traveling is just normal to them now. They have been able to help other players from far distances as well, and make connections with them. Even though they are the same age, they have been able to help guys like Charlie Pelnik from North Carolina or Jeff Solow from Florida. 

Though he is not on the team anymore, they assisted younger players like Colton Fletcher who is from Alaska. Vance said one of the biggest comforts is the teammates you have on your new team.

“A lot of these guys can play juniors, but they’re only a couple hours away from home,” Brown said. “Guys like us and Fletcher, they’ve traveled before. It’s an adjustment, but you get used to it.”

But the nicest thing for Brown and Vance—and the coaching staff for Oswego State—is the way hockey is spreading to non-traditional areas of the country. Brown added “everyone now knows about Arizona hockey.”

“Non-traditional areas, whether it’s Arizona, Texas, Florida or even the Carolinas, USA Hockey is doing a great job of getting people involved with the sport,” Gosek said. “We don’t really care where they’re from. East coast, west coast, north of here, south of here, if they can play and they can help us, we’re on them.”

---

Photo/Graphic by Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian