By Ken Knoph
(Phoenix,AZ) During the 2008 FNHL season the Phoenix Coyotes fired their GM. The team lacked vision, had no identity, and was in a downward spiral. The owners decided to bring in a fresh new face in GM Ken Knoph to change all of that. Mr. Knoph made a few trade before the trade deadline to start the rebuild of the Coyotes. However, he does not believe those trades were the first step in the rebuild. That step came in the 2009 offseason with his first ever draft selection as a GM with Defensman
Jeff Woywitka.
Jeff and Mr. Knoph are going into their 18th season in the league together. They became fast friends after the GM drafted him and have had one of the longest if not the longest tenured GM/draftee relationships in FNHL history (the second could be Knoph/Brassard who was drafted the following year). However, that could becoming to a final end. Jeff's contract ends after this season and will not make a decision on his future till the season is over. GM Knoph has and will respect Jeff's wishes, but has stated that if Jeff wants to keep playing he will be wanted here in Arizona.
Let's look at Jeff Woywitka's stats: in 1364 games he has scored 706 points, 188 goals and 518 assists. His 706 points currently ranks him the 11th all-time scoring Defenseman, which is 4th all-time on the among the team scoring leaders. He has been the teams Captian since 2022 after Jeff Taffe retired. Jeff has not won any major awards in his career.
If this is Jeffs last ride, he will be a sure bet Hall Of Famer when he hangs up his skates.
Charles Carmichael
Beat Writer
Arizona Tribune
10/21/2020 - 286 words
