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Coyotes' Connor Murphy making up for lost time
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coyotes assistant coach Jim Playfair noticed a sense of urgency to Connor Murphy's play last season.
"The thing we like about Murph is he came in as a young player and played an aggressive game," said Playfair, who coaches the defensemen. "He had nothing to lose, so his attitude was just play and see where things fall."
That approach has always been a part of Murphy's game, but there was added incentive in his first full NHL season. Murphy is literally trying to make up for lost time.
During off-ice training for the 2009-10 season, Murphy suffered a stress fracture in his back that sidelined him for most of the season. He appeared to have recovered for the start of the 2010-11 season but then re-aggravated the injury. Surgery wasn't an option, so he spent much of the season in a body brace waiting for the break to heal.
The Coyotes selected Murphy with the 20th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. While playing at the USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp, he collided with goalie John Gibson and tore the meniscus in his right knee during a post-practice morning skate, necessitating arthroscopic knee surgery. He had another knee surgery days after winning gold at the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championships.
"I think the injuries had an effect; good and bad," Murphy said Sunday. "The upside is I learned how to take care of my body better, but I did miss some time and the experience you can only get from playing games in juniors. I felt like I needed to gain ground, so I've tried to push myself a little harder in off-ice training and the offseason, knowing I already had time off."
Murphy spent most of this summer in the Valley, skating and training with the help of Coyotes strength and conditioning coordinator J.P. Major. He worked on core strength, added weight (up to 215 pounds) and just got back from a weeklong power skating session in Toronto with the Coyotes skating coach, Dawn Braid.
"I really wanted to concentrate on being more fluid and more controlled with my stride; being stronger on my skates with quickness and explosion," he said. "That can help defend guys who are quicker and faster."
Braid focused on Murphy's backward skating, at one point making him skate backward for almost an hour straight as she broke down his posture, every body movement and his stride. She recorded videos of Murphy before and after the session, which he stores on his phone.
"It's really technical. She's trying to get everything in sync," he said. "You really can see the difference between the two, so I definitely think it helped."
Murphy played 73 games last season for the Coyotes, scoring four goals and adding three assists. He played in a variety of situations, including the penalty-killing and power-play units. That experience was invaluable, he said, but he also finished with the lowest SAT (shot attempt rating) -- minus 199 -- and one of the lowest relative SATs (minus 4.6) on the team.
"He's a young player with lots of room to grow, but he's got a real good professional approach to the game," Playfair said. "He's really aware of what he needs to do and he wants to be hard to play against; he wants to be a plus player."
The Coyotes don't have a set rotation on their blue line yet, in part because they are not sure which of their right-handed defensemen will play alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the team's top pairing. It could be Michael Stone, it could be Zbynek Michalek, or it could be a player they haven't yet acquired.
Murphy hopes it's him.
"I'm more defensive and he's an offensive guy who joins in the rush, so I do think I complement him," Murphy said of Ekman-Larsson. "The thing that matters is playing the most ice time and getting the most opportunities possible. You want to be the guy they trust in those situations, but you have to earn it in camp and by taking advantage of your opportunities."
To do that, Murphy is using Ekman-Larsson as a case study.
"Gaining weight can help with being harder to play against, but you want to be hockey strong," Murphy said. "You can bench 500 pounds and squat 1,000 pounds, but if you're weak on your skates, it doesn't matter.
"OEL is hard to play against because of speed and skating. His movements help him to be tight with a man when he's defending. You need to be able to close quickly and defend fast. For me, it's about finding that balance in my off-ice training to become a more consistent player."
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