"The NHL is stocked with robots. Their noses are broken, their teeth are capped and their mouths are clenched in states of perpetual humility.

Every so often, the assembly line stops, and out pops a rare exception.

It happened in Phoenix in 1996, when the newly born Coyotes traded one of their automatons (Alexei Zhamnov) for Jeremy Roenick. He was a brash young star from Chicago, a slick-skating loudmouth who came to the Valley and made people care about hockey.

Some 16 years later, he remains proof that the sport can work in the desert.

"Hockey is entertainment," Roenick said. "And I wanted to give people their money's worth. I didn't buy into the NHL mentality. I didn't want to be one of those robots."

The Coyotes will honor Roenick on Saturday, adding him to their Ring of Honor after two stints and six years of service. We are not alone in our embrace."