Through his time in Los Angeles and learning from players like Drew Doughty, Sean Durzi has helped establish a winning culture for the Coyotes.
The Arizona Coyotes found their number one defenseman when they acquired Sean Durzi from the Los Angeles Kings this past summer.
Through the first half of the season Durzi has stepped up in a huge way as the team’s top defenseman, carrying big weight on his shoulders.
Through 42 games, Durzi has eight goals, 20 assists and 28 points while playing 22:23 minutes pergame, the most amongst all Coyotes’ players.
Coach André Tourigny is tasking Durzi with a lot of responsibility and some may be wondering how he has adapted so well to his newfound role?
It’s actually because of a unique circumstance with the Kings why Durzi is actually pretty familiar with serving as a top pairing defenseman.
“A lot of people have kind of said that to me and wondered how I've done it, but my first year when we lost Doughty, I got kind of the opportunity to step into that first power play role and play those kind of minutes, especially even in the playoffs and those big games,” Durzi said. “So it's not completely new to me this year and I've kind of had a little taste of it and I’ve been able to watch Doughty do it and kind of see how like he plays first power play and then how he's gonna play over 20 minutes a night and that kind of stuff.”
Through his two seasons in Los Angeles, Durzi had a chance to play and be around Drew Doughty, one of the best defenseman of this generation.
Over that time period, Durzi learned from Doughty and many other veteran players that have won Stanley Cups and really been through it all.
“I think all those guys who've kind of won down there, even the guys who haven't won but have gone on playoff stretches and it's not so much of what I learned individually, it's just about the team game and what it takes to kind of push to the playoffs,” Durzi said on what he learned with the Kings. “It's this time of year when maybe guys start feeling burnt out and you got to find a way to push through, but it's kind of taking it all in stride, never getting too down, never getting too high, being really even throughout the season, pushing when you have to and it's staying positive and then pushing your teammates. It's a bunch of stuff that kind of those guys have done a good job of.
“Obviously they've earned the respect to be able to do all that stuff, but it’s just something for me to strive for. I think they've done a really good job in their careers of pushing not only themselves, but making their teammates better and that's kind of the ultimate goal as a hockey player is how well can I make my teammates better? On and off the ice, whatever it is there's a lot that goes into being a good teammate. There's a lot that goes into being a good hockey team and the beauty of it is I've been able to play with a lot of good players, a lot of good leaders and we have a lot of great guys in this room that make myself and each other a lot better.”
The 25-year-old has helped bring that winning culture from Los Angeles to Arizona as the Coyotes are still fighting for a playoff position in the Western Conference, in large part due to Durzi’s presence.
Durzi is molding into an anchor at both ends of the ice. He is the quarterback of the Coyotes’ top power play unit and whenever Tourigny needs someone to step up defensively in their own zone late in games, Durzi is always there getting the job done.
Off the ice, Durzi is a great leader despite his young age. While Durzi is all about taking care of business, you can always he seem smiling and laughing with his teammates which truly showcases his charismatic personality.
It certainly seems that Durzi has found a new home in Arizona and this is just the start of the type of impact he can make for the organization.