Negotiations for the Tempe Entertainment District are ongoing between the Tempe City Council and Bluebird LLC, a development company formed by Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo.
But starting Thursday, when the Coyotes practice here for the first time, and for the foreseeable future, they will play their home games at ASU's arena. They play their home opener against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, TVAS, TSN3, SN NOW).
There are few people on campus more excited about the ability to call the Coyotes co-tenants than the players and coaches in Arizona State's Division I men's hockey program.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some guys here getting the opportunity to see guys like that skate and the opportunity maybe to pick their brains if you run into them," Doan said. "Obviously, they're the highest of the high. That's where everyone wants to end up, so if you get an opportunity to visualize, see what they're doing, it's something we have to take advantage of.
"We talked to our team about just embracing the moment of being in this facility and being able to use all of the assets it has, and I think you've got to consider that one of its greatest assets is being around NHL players."
That is not limited to the Coyotes. Players from the other 31 NHL teams will soon be making their way through Mullett Arena too.
"Right when the news broke that the Coyotes were coming to play in this rink that was our first thought, just being able to see
[Connor] McDavid
or
[Sidney] Crosby
or any of those guys come into this rink for a morning skate or practice," said ASU defenseman Jackson Niedermayer, the son of Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman
Scott Niedermayer
. "It's definitely exciting knowing all 32 teams are going to come in here, and hopefully we see and talk to some of them and learn a lot from them."
Niedermayer said he has friends at ASU who aren't associated with the hockey program but can't wait to catch some NHL games on campus.
"There is a buzz around campus with us and them moving in," he said. "It's kind of like a partnership."