On the surface, Dauphin’s return to Arizona might seem unlikely.
Brett Fera Laurent Dauphin doesn’t think the Tucson landscape has changed all that much since the last time he played here as a member of the American Hockey League’s Tucson Roadrunners. That was back in the 2018-19 AHL season.A high-level Arizona Coyotes draft pick a decade ago who played for the Roadrunners before being traded, then reacquired, then traded away from the organization again, Dauphin’s third tour of duty in the desert has started with a flurry.
Both Dauphin and Tucson head coach Steve Potvin said Dauphin’s maturity this time around makes him practically a different player. "Well, it’s a cliché but more mature, for sure," Dauphin said."Playing 40 games in the NHL last year, and playing at Bell Center in front of everybody, I don’t think you can get a more stressful situation. … So now I feel like every game is a little easier and mentally I’m more relaxed."
Dauphin is honest about the reasons he was willing to move the nearly 2,500 miles back to the Grand Canyon state. Additionally, Jean-Sebastian Dea, also a Montreal-area native and Dauphin’s Laval teammate last year, is a Roadrunner. The two signed similar free-agent deals a day apart.