Primer: Mike Smith of the Phoenix Coyotes

[jedusaur]

Most of hockey fandom spent the first round of the playoffs cursing this man's name. I spent the first round of the playoffs having my heart ripped in half like a squishy, bleeding wishbone. I do love the Hawks, and I did desperately want to see them advance, but... but Mike Smith.

Comments

[206fragilebones]

So this is pretty swell! Although, I take issue with the fact that you forgot to mention what a sassy motherfucker he is~! ;D Smitty tolerates approximately NO ONE in his crease Oliver Ekman-Larsson and other teammates not withstanding. Not opposing dmen, not forwards, not even refs.

boltschick2612 has some fic from his bromance days with Ryan Malone while he was still playing for TB.

Also! There are a few pictures with Smitty (and his kid) from when a bunch of the dudes were at the Diamondback's game earlier this week:

[jedusaur]

Ooh, love the pics! And thanks for the articles.

[littlesignsof]

Hey, I know him! Well, not like personally. But he's still great.

I just wanted to add some facts about the Coyotes practice facility, the Ice Den. It is actually one of the best-run ice skating facilities in Phoenix, especially when compared with the last place the Coyotes practiced, which was in Peoria and MUCH closer to the actual arena. Also, though, it's actually much more convenient for something like gameday skates because it's in Scottsdale where the majority of the players live. I mean, Jobing.com is 33 miles away from the Ice Den. However, my favorite thing about the Ice Den is how easy it is the meet players and get autographs. It's fairly small and intimate and the players are all super cool about stopping and taking pictures or signing things. Basically, super fan friendly (yes, for all twelve of us).

Although the 54 shot game was a little embarrassing, the Coyotes are REGULARLY outshot in games, regular season and post-season. But even though they're giving up shots, they're not giving up quality shots, which I think

[206fragilebones]

Oh god, that last place was awful! Badly managed, the ice was crummy...just not good. Ice Den has 3 sheets and a phenomenal hockey program set up too, which is awesome. It reminds me of a bigger version of the place the Pens practice at here in Pittsburgh. And you can't get autographs and meet the dudes there unless you wait outside for the drive by.

Tips even managed to get Bryz to buy in a little! Granted, he failed to fit in various other ways, but still. Barbs too, man! But I mean, Brutus is our backup guy. That's what we acquired him for 3 years ago, so it's nbd that he's not out there playing. He's actually never played in an NHL playoff game in his entire career. I think that too really speaks to the kind of coach Tips is, that he's got this guy who's with the team to basically never play, and he's still out there keeping Smitty grounded and celebrating every fucking win with him and Yands and the rest.

[jedusaur]

That's great! I'm glad to hear they've got a decent place to practice. Re: all twelve Coyotes fans: I hope you weren't annoyed by the "high school calc class on Senior Ditch Day" joke--I know local fans get that a lot.