Phoenix Coyotes Preseason Countdown: 24 Days

Twenty-four days remain in the preseason countdown and hockey love is in the air. Today, I’m thinking of another kind of 24; the 24 that is Kyle Chipchura. I’m thinking back to last season, when Chippy shared a very special on ice moment with Zenon Konopka of the Minnesota Wild.

Chipchura is usually an effective fighter but he clearly came into this match with an axel to grind. Moving effortlessly from zone to zone…. to zone, this ice dancing exhibition could easily serve as an audition tape for "Battle of the Blades." Set this clip to the music from Bolero and the windmill movements of both players add an element of danger that signifies Man’s struggle versus gravity.

Any-who, that was a great "fight" and I remember tweeting that Chippy left the game due to a bruise on his embarrassment bone. Looking ahead to this season, with Torres swimming with the Sharks, the Coyotes will be relying on Chipchura to be excellent in his role as a utility player. Differing only in shots, face-offs and PIMs, his stats are fairly similar to that of former Coyote Boyd Gordon.

"Gordon is a player we didn't want to lose," Tippett told NHL.com, "but Chipchura had a very good season for us last year so we feel he can fit that role on the fourth line."