Islanders Practice at Mullett Arena

Thursday's practice was all business for the New York Islanders.
Or shall we say, business in the front.
The Islanders got their first look at Mullett Arena, the temporary home for the Arizona Coyotes on the Arizona State University campus.
"It's good," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "Obviously it's smaller, but I think it'll have a great atmosphere. I think they've done a good job of putting things together and making everything as good as possible."

Mullett Arena has a capacity of 5,026, making it the smallest rink on the NHL circuit and the smallest since the Calgary Flames took up temporary residence in the 6,294 seat Stampede Corral from 1980-83. Lambert, who played at the Corral during his early years in the league, pointed out that the main difference was Mullett Arena being brand new and much nicer than the Corral, which was 30 years old by the time the NHL moved in.

Regardless, the small rink offers up one of the most intimate experiences in the league and it's certainly piqued the interest of the Islanders heading into Friday's game against the Coyotes.
"Everybody was intrigued," Brock Nelson said. "Everybody's seen some highlights and is talking to other guys around the league that have played here just trying to get a feel for what the setup is for the game. Obviously it's a little bit different, but it's definitely an interesting one for sure and one that you still have to go in and compete because it's important game for us."
Skating at the permanent home of the Sun Devils - ASU's Division 1 hockey team - definitely brought back some memories for the former college players like Nelson who played at the University of North Dakota. None of the current Islanders have ever skated at Mullett Arena, though Oliver Wahlstrom did play at ASU's old rink during his one season at Boston College.

"It kind of reminds me of Minnesota Duluth's arena," University of Minnesota alum Hudson Fasching said. "Kind of the same color scheme and the same bowl setup, so it definitely brings back memories playing in college."
University of Denver alum Scott Mayfield said it also stirred some memories, but when the puck drops, the focus becomes the 200x85 sheet of ice.
"It's another game," said DU alum Scott Mayfield. "We're worried about playing our game and playing hockey. It's just a little bit different. It's not a big stadium like we're used to but at the end of the day, it's just hockey."
The Islanders can somewhat relate to playing in a transitional rink after short stints at Barclays Center (2015-20) and a renovated Nassau Coliseum (2018-21). Those buildings were bigger and the Islanders future was more assured after the organization won an RFP to develop Belmont Park in 2017 and broke ground on UBS Arena in Sept. 2019. The Coyotes are in the process of trying to build a new arena in Tempe, where the city council recently approved the team's plan to develop an arena and entertainment district. After city council approval on Nov. 30, 2022, the plan
will be put to a public vote
on May 16, 2023.

"It's maybe a little bit different here, but we had the temporary setup," said Nelson, who's also old enough to remember the Islanders arena referendum in 2011. "Obviously you're not too sure how things are going to shake out and there's a lot of chatter about different things and different possibilities. Just keep yourself in the moment and make the most of it. I'm sure they're doing as best they can here to try to make this feel as much like home as they can. And once things get sorted out, I'm sure it'll be nice."
Fasching was part of the Arizona Coyotes organization from 2018-22 and offered his perspective on what that would mean for the organization.
"It's moving in a positive direction," Fasching said. "The new rink plans are something that will kind of create long term success for Arizona. I don't think it was ever really built to be successful the rink in Glendale, so I think this is kind of an intermediary solution towards longer success for this organization."