The Arizona Coyotes announced its partnership with Equality Health Thursday morning as the orgnization continues to introduce hockey to new demographics.
The Arizona Coyotes continue to grow the game of hockey in the Valley through its new partnership with Equality Health.
The Coyotes organization as well as members from Equality Health announced the new partnership Thursday morning at the Irene Lopez School in Phoenix. Equality Health will now serve as the official partner of the Coyotes and the Arizona Coyotes Street Hockey League.
“Today was a tremendous day,” Coyotes president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez said. “I mean this is just such a trailblazing partnership that we have with Equality Health. Not only are they going to sponsor our race to pack the curriculum, which last year I think touched over 7000 students, over 260 clinics that we did at schools, over 60 we did at communities and I've actually challenged Equality that we want to double all that with them, but also the sponsorship of the street hockey league, which is the largest sponsorship of a street hockey league in the history of the NHL.”
Equality Health will now help organize street hockey games as part of the Coyotes Street Hockey League which is a Valley-wide ball hockey league with the main initiative in helping kids get into hockey.
At the event, Coyotes veteran forward Nick Bjugstad talked and played ball hockey with some of the kids at the Irene Lopez School.
“A lot of these kids haven't tried hockey or tried street hockey so just to be involved in it I think there are a lot of smiles on their faces today,” Bjugstad said. “They were kind of schooling me. I was trying to get some offense going and I was getting beat up on. These kids were great today. Very exciting just to be a part of it and be a part of the community and try to grow the game of hockey down here in the desert.”
Gutierrez strongly feels that initiatives like these will ultimately help grow the game of hockey in Arizona and bring the sport to a demographic that would have never otherwise even thought about watching or playing hockey.
“When we talk about impact, this is what we talked about when we say you're identifying fans and waiting,” Gutierrez said. “We know we made fans today. They may never get on the ice, but they are now following the Coyotes and this is what this is all about and as I've said over and over again, these partnerships are so amazing because they're not just partnering with the Coyotes as a hockey team, they're partnering with the Coyotes as a community leader, as an organization that's aligned around using this platform to make a difference in people's lives.”
Professional hockey teams are not only judged for their on-ice performance but also on how much of an impact they have on the community. The Coyotes continue to introduce hockey to new people, increasing popularity for the sport in the Valley.
