The Arizona Coyotes might sit near the bottom of the NHL standings, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been impressive as of late.
One of the youngest teams in the entire league, the Coyotes young guns have managed to find their stride for the most part of the second half of the season and now they have a veteran star set to join the organization to help guide the young talent on the roster.
On Sunday afternoon, the Coyotes sent out a press release to the writers and teams throughout the league to let them know that 11-time NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is joining the team as a special adviser of hockey strategy and the move is effective immediately.
Here’s the release that they sent out.
NBA LEGEND CHARLES BARKLEY TO JOIN COYOTES AS SPECIAL ADVISER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sunday, April 1, 2018
GLENDALE, ARIZONA -- Coyotes Owner, Chairman and Governor Andrew Barroway announced today that 11-time NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley will join the Coyotes as a special adviser of hockey strategy, effective immediately.
Barkley will work closely with President of Hockey Operations and General Manager John Chayka and will be tasked with teaching and mentoring the club's younger players and assisting with hockey analytics strategy.
"Anything can happen in the NHL, and anything can happen with this team, so I'm excited to help this organization realize its full potential," Barkley said. "At first, I thought this idea was just terrible, but after giving it some more thought, I think this could be something really special.
"I want to teach these kids that you've got to believe in yourself," Barkley added. "I believe I'm the best-looking guy in the world, and I might be right."
In 16 pro seasons with Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston, Barkley averaged 22.1 points and 11.7 rebounds in 1,073 games, earning an induction into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2014. He also won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. Men's National Basketball Team.
"This idea emerged after we had Charles drop the puck for us back in February," Barroway said. "We use advanced hockey analytics to support our overall hockey strategy. Given that Charles is a television analyst, we knew he was a natural fit to serve as the special adviser of hockey strategy and help drive our analytics approach. He has an incredible pedigree and has proven to be successful at everything he's done, except maybe golf."
The Coyotes will finish their season with a two-game road trip through Calgary and Vancouver this week before wrapping up the 2017-18 season on April 7 vs. Anaheim. Tickets are still available at
ArizonaCoyotes.com.
Also, Happy April Fool's Day.
Alright, so Barkley isn’t actually joining the Coyotes organization despite his connections in Arizona from his days with the Phoenix Suns and this was all a giant April Fool’s Day prank brought to you by the Arizona Coyotes.
(H/T Twitter/ArizonaCoyotes)
