The Arizona Coyotes continue to exceed expectations through the first half of the season as they currently hold a 21-18-2 record while still competing for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. This may have everybody else satisfied but not coach André Tourigny who has high expectations for his team. 240115 Practice_Tourigny “It’s different from last year. We are in a different spot, we are a different team, we are a better team, we are better players, we are better on special teams, we take less penalties,” Tourigny said. “We are really not satisfied of anything. We are not satisfied with our home record. We want to be better, we are really competitive. “Having said that, are we disappointed, no that’s not what I’m saying. What I'm saying is we look at everything and see a lot of growth in our game. We think we are in a good spot in-term of a young team. A lot of people are gelling together. We are achieving new things all the time, but we are still looking at it that we still have a lot of growth.” Tourigny is known to be a ‘players coach’. Over the past two and a half seasons, he has built a strong culture and foundation that has all the players fully bought in. While Tourigny never throws any of his players under the bus and sometimes showers them with praise, he speaks the truth and demands high-level play. This is shown through his words and intense practices after some losses, helping re-energize the team in a way. There is a reason that Tourigny was given a contract extension this summer without even making the playoffs through his first two seasons with the Coyotes. Every year, the Coyotes seem to improve under the tutelage of Tourigny and play with a passion that is clearly a direct correlation of great coaching. Toruigny likes to take things one game at a time and never gets too high or too low. He has done so much to build up this young team and should only continue to dig the Coyotes past their rebuilding days and into a promising future.
