Arizona Coyotes assign Jason Demers to conditioning stint
By James Reeve
The Arizona Coyotes could have Jason Demers back in the line-up sooner rather than later after assigning him to a conditioning stint.
Jason Demers could return to the Arizona Coyotes line-up within a week or two after spending some time with the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL.
Demers registered an assist for the AHL club in his first professional game since suffering the injury – a 3-2 loss to the Colorado Eagles.
The Coyotes defenceman has been sidelined with a knee injury since the early stages of the season, with the Dorval, Quebec native playing just 18 games before joining the then-growing list of injuries the team would suffer.
OFFICIAL: #Coyotes Assign Demers to @RoadrunnersAHL for Conditioning https://t.co/HUoEVmt1oW
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) March 2, 2019
Having been participating in practices for some time now, the next step towards having Demers back in game action is to give him a chance to play games at a lower level to help ease him back into things.
Demers follows Christian Dvorak as the most recent member of Rick Tocchet‘s team to spend a conditioning stint with the Roadrunners, with Dvorak now having played three games in the NHL since then.
The 30-year-old right-hander is a key part of the Arizona Coyotes roster, usually playing alongside captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson when healthy.
Having Demers back in the line-up in time for the final push towards the playoffs will be massive for the team.
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The Coyotes have one of the deepest defensive corps in the league, a group that has helped the team maintain a six-game winning stretch and is keeping the team firmly in the hunt for the post-season.
Adding Demers to that group will only add to the team’s strength in depth and should help the team keep some players fresh down the stretch – potentially seeing some players rotated in and out of the line-up to keep them healthy.
If the team is able to make the playoffs, having Demers around not only on the ice but off of it will be so valuable – with Demers being extremely vocal in his support of the team during his time on the sidelines.
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What do you think of this news Coyotes fans? Are you pleased to see Demers back on the ice and potentially back in a Coyotes jersey soon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!