GILBERT, AZ — Calvin Rycerski is just six years old, but after just a few times on the ice, he's well on his way to mastering hockey.
"Skating backwards, stopping, sliding,” Rycerski explained when asked what he's learning at the rink.
He's one of hundreds of kids ages 4-10 sharpening their skills through Shott's Tots and Little Leighton's youth hockey clinics, part of the Learn to Play program once sponsored by the NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
When the team left for Utah in 2024, the program could've folded. But stakeholders made sure that didn't happen - in part, to honor Matt Shott.
Shott was an executive with the Coyotes who dedicated his career to growing youth hockey in Arizona. After his passing in 2021, coworkers and other hockey advocates wanted to help his legacy live on, starting the Matt Shott Arizona Legacy Foundation.
With it, Shott's Tots was born.
"When you see kids on the ice, and you get to share something you’re passionate about, and you see them light up about it, it’s pretty electric," said Garrett Niederkorn, the VP of Business Development for the Shott Foundation.
As he helps introduce the game to the next generation, he shares a mission with many hockey lovers across Arizona - getting an NHL team back to the Grand Canyon State.
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors chairman Thomas Galvin recently met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to discuss the idea, and other local stakeholders in the sport are hoping to give Arizona its best shot at bidding for a new club following the Coyotes' departure.
It starts with a strong youth program.
“This is also part of the runway to growing the game and potentially even getting an NHL team back," Niederkorn said. "If things go well, I don’t know how the NHL couldn’t look at this as a market and say, 'Hey, we want to be back there.'”
As interest grows in hockey in the desert, Shott's Tots is looking to foster a love of the game in kids of all ages. For coaches and clinic organizers, that includes making drills more than just fundamentals.
"We got to do all the fun stuff," Rycerski said. "Every other one it was just boring stuff.”
"He loves the training and learning and fundamentals, but they get out some rings to play with and some bubbles, and they do all kinds of stuff,” Rycerski's dad, Tom, explained.
Clinics also include dodgeball, other games, and engaging activities.
Multiple clinics in the Valley still have open registration through the Shott's Tots website.
And just maybe, the next Auston Matthews, Tage Thompson, or Josh Doan could be growing up in Arizona.
