If center Mike Ribeiro lives up to part of the hype, the Phoenix Coyotes should benefit from his presence.
Though Phoenix is considered a small media market and extends limited coverage of the Coyotes, the media, which turned out Friday to meet Ribeiro, seemed to sing the party praise.
Nearly all questions referenced Ribeiro, a Montreal native of Portuguese decent, as an offensive savior and liberator to save the Coyotes’ anemic power play. Noted as a creative playmaker, his presence is expected to yield results on two levels.
First, the Coyotes desperately need help on the power play. Plus, Ribeiro’s playmaking ability tends to rise the level of play of those on the ice with him.
Of principal purpose, he was brought in to increase production on the power play and to increase goal totals.
With Washington last season, Ribeiro triggered the Caps’ man-advantage crew and helped Washington click on 26.8 percent of the power plays, the highest in the NHL last season.
Compared to the Coyotes’ standing as 25th on the power play, he is expected to have an immediate impact.
“I don’t have the ...
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Article written by Mark Brown
Phoenix Coyotes Hope Mike Ribeiro Rasies His Teammates’ Level of Play
July 12th, 2013 by Mark Brown Leave a reply »
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