On any given evening the Alltel Ice Den is buzzing with activity as players in the Coyotes Adult Hockey League (CAHL) compete in one of Arizona’s largest adult recreational hockey leagues.
Not only have the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes turned the desert metropolis of Phoenix into a strong hockey fan base, but players young and old are taking to the ice in droves. We caught up with Todd Bisson, hockey director at the Coyotes Ice Den, to talk about the tremendous growth of adult recreational hockey in the Phoenix area.
An Ontario native, Bisson has been involved in hockey his entire life. Bisson developed his passion for hockey near Niagara Falls and had a four-year career at Canisius College. He spent three years in the ECHL playing minor pro hockey before hanging up the skates for good.
Bisson moved to the Phoenix area in 2004, taking a job with the Coyotes as their youth hockey director. In January of 2007, Bisson was named as the adult hockey director.
The opening of the Ice Den in 1998 marked the beginning of recreational hockey in Scottsdale. With the many amenities and close proximity to Phoenix, the Phoenix Coyotes’ choice to make the Ice Den their permanent practice facility was an easy one. This association with the NHL hockey franchise helped establish and grow adult recreational hockey, according to Bisson.
“It has been a great partnership for sure. There are many former NHL players that play in our adult rec league. We do a lot of cross-promotion with the Coyotes to attract and bring in new players into our league,” he said.
With more than 600 players registered and 37 teams spread across all skill levels, the CAHL is one of the largest adult recreational leagues in the country. The CAHL has five divisions based on skill level and runs all year long, including a fall/winter season and a summer season.
“At the Ice Den, we have two NHL regulation sheets of ice and we run at full capacity almost all year round. The leagues are very competitive and registration is limited due to the high demand,” Bisson said.
While the league continues to grow exponentially, much of the increase has come from overall attraction to hockey.
“We’ve done some internal promotion here with the youth program to get the parents out onto the ice, but the growth has really been due to the overall attraction to hockey. Interest in hockey is at an all-time high here and the Phoenix Coyotes are a big reason for that,” he said.
All the success locally is being noticed nationally as well. The CAHL and Ice Den have been chosen multiple times to host the USA Hockey Over-30 National Tournament, including the next one in April of 2008.
“It’s a great exposure event for us to host the national championships here. It is very involving from our perspective as we have to help organize and prepare for over 50 teams from throughout the country for the week-long tournament. It’s a great thing for us to showcase our world-class facility and organization, so hopefully we will continue our partnership in hosting the tournament in the future,” Bisson said.
All the growth does come with some challenges. Chief among them has been educating new players and preparing them to compete in the CAHL.
“Our beginner leagues are not really beginner. We usually require one or two years of playing experience even at the beginner level. Brand-new players will usually need to go through a full program including skating lessons and hockey lessons before they are admitted into the league. Because the teams are very competitive, even at the beginner leagues, it’s important that each player has learned the basics for the safety of everyone involved. I usually oversee the evaluations at the beginning of each season to ensure that players are registered in the correct skill level,” Bisson said.
Another challenge has been finding the necessary ice slots for all 37 teams.
“At the moment we are in a good spot, but anticipating the future growth, we have already started planning now. For us, customer service is always our number one priority, so we are always trying to anticipate our customer’s needs even before they become an issue,” Bisson said.
For Bisson who played hockey for the majority of his life, he relishes the challenge ahead in his new role as director.
“I don’t play recreationally anymore, but what I love now is coming to the rink and watching the players in our league have fun,” Bisson said. “I find it just amazing that all these players choose to spend their free-time outside of work to come here and play hockey.”
Story courtesy Red Line Editorial.
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