MESA, Ariz. — Audrey Ju met some of her best friends through hockey, knows someone at every rink she goes to and has become close with numerous families in the tight-knit community.

The Arizona Coyotes’ move to Utah raised questions about the future.

The Phoenix area teenager isn’t worried. The NHL may be leaving, but the youth hockey programs across Arizona are on steady ground.

“Most of the programs have a strong foundation,” she said. “If the Coyotes had to leave, obviously I’m sad about it, but the Kachinas (girls hockey program) are all set up and the other programs have been around for a while.”

Still, the Coyotes’ move has left a void in the Arizona hockey community.

Lyndsey Fry is trying to bridge the gap on the youth hockey side.

The 2014 Olympian has established the Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation, designed to support boys and girls hockey programs across the Phoenix area.

The nonprofit honors former Coyotes director of hockey development Matt Shott, who helped forge the foundation for Arizona youth hockey prior to his death in 2021, and will start with grant opportunities and programming. The foundation is expected to start taking donations this month and Fry hopes to eventually create a $10 million endowment that will provide roughly $500,000 a year to support youth hockey programs across the Phoenix area.

“There’s just a lot of uncertainty right now and people are going through a lot of emotions in the hockey community with the departure of the Coyotes going up to Utah,” said Fry, founder and director of the Arizona Kachinas girls hockey programs. “I think that the thing that’s of most concern for a lot of people is, OK, what happens to the growth of hockey here? It’s been exponential since the Coyotes came here in 1996 and we want to make sure that that doesn’t slow down.”

Youth hockey in Arizona has been on the upswing since the Coyotes’ arrival, climbing from 4,949 players registered with USA Hockey in 2002-03 to 9,716 last year. The number of ice rinks in Arizona has increased from two to nine, including seven in the Phoenix area.

The state has produced numerous NHL players, most notably Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, who was born in California but grew up playing hockey in Arizona.

The Shott Foundation aims to keep that pipeline open.

When the Coyotes were still in Arizona, the NHL supported youth hockey in the state through the industry growth fund, which provided about $500,000 a year.

The Coyotes franchise can be reactivated — via NHL expansion — by owner Alex Meruelo if a new arena is built within the next five years, but it’s unclear if the league will continue the flow of money in the state through the IGF. Meruelo said at the Coyotes’ going-away news conference that he intends to continue supporting youth hockey in Arizona until the franchise is reactivated.

    Lyndsey Fry coaches during an Arizona Kachinas hockey practice at Arizona Made Ice Forum in Mesa, Ariz., May 1, 2024. The 2014 Olympian has created the Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation to support boys and girls hockey programs after the Arizona Coyotes moved to Utah. (AP Photo/John Marshall)
  

    Lyndsey Fry coaches during an Arizona Kachinas hockey practice at Arizona Made Ice Forum in Mesa, Ariz., May 1, 2024. The 2014 Olympian has created the Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation to support boys and girls hockey programs after the Arizona Coyotes moved to Utah. (AP Photo/John Marshall)
  

PHOENIX — Eric’s Family BBQ is among seven Arizona restaurants to appear on Yelp’s Top 100 BBQ spots in the U.S.

The restaurant, located in Avondale at Indian School Road and El Mirage Road, ranks No. 3 on the list. It offers a menu ranging from brisket and pulled pork to burgers and chicken sandwiches with side selections of fries, baked Mac N’ Cheese potato salad, corn, etc. If customers want something sweet to end their meal, the restaurant has a slice of pecan pie and banana pudding as dessert options.

Little Miss BBQ – Sunnyslope

The 20th-ranked restaurant on the list, Little Miss BBQ’s, located at N. 7th St. and Townley Avenue in Phoenix, offers a menu with many BBQ-meats such as turkey, sliced brisket and pork ribs. They have a selection of sandwiches that includes pulled pork, brisket and others, all served on a noble bread roll. The menu also offers a selection of burritos such as the green chile burrito.

Caldwell County BBQ

Caldwell County BBQ, located at Nunnely Road and Power Road in Gilbert, made the list at No. 37. The Texas-inspired restaurant offers a selection of meats like their ‘El General Paton, a sandwich with one-third of a pound of brisket and pork, with sausage. The restaurant serves made-to-scratch like the Lemon Poppyseed coleslaw and Caldwell potato salad.

Smoky Mo

Smoky Mo in Tucson makes the list at No. 54. Opened since 2018, the BBQ place menu offers many sandwiches, burgers, wings, ribs, tacos, etc. Sides include fries, coleslaw, collard greens and more. The restaurant offers a rotating list of daily specials, which include brisket fries, Kansas City fried catfish and half-pound burnt ends.

Holy Smokin’ Butts BBQ

Another Tucson restaurant, Holy Smokin’ Butts BBQ makes it on the list at No. 64. This family-owned restaurant is also Texas-inspired, and it’s been open since 2016. Holy Smokin’ Butts offers wood fired beef brisket, pulled pork, pork ribs, sausage, turkey, tri-tip, along with a specialty blend hamburger.

Word of Mouth Grill

Word of Mouth Grill in Tempe ranks No. 71 on the Yelp list. Another family-owned joint, Word of Mouth Grill is located at the corner of McClintock Drive and Elliot Avenue. Meats are cooked on a double chamber smoker and an open flame Santa Maria grill with mesquite wood. While mesquite smoked meats are all popular on the menu at Word of Mouth Grill, the restaurant also features a unique vegan pulled pork.

Colt Grill

Colt Grill is the final Arizona restaurant to appear on the list, ranked at No. 80. Located at the heart of Sedona, it’s hard to beat the atmosphere at this popular BBQ joint. On top of an extensive menu of burgers and smoked meats, Colt Grill offers events such as whiskey tastings and meat smoking classes.

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ARIZONA — Former Arizona Cardinals RB Jonathan Ward is in the Steel City – for now.

Ward was invited to Pittsburgh Steelers camp on a tryout basis, according to All Steelers’ Noah Strackbein.

“The older you are, the less time you have in the league,” Ward told Strackbein. “At the same time, it’s just football. Coming out and sharing the gems that I’ve picked up over the years with the younger guys, it’s just a blessing. And that also gives me an advantage too because you get a little bit of a player and a coach in the same aspect.”

Ward – 26 – entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2020 with the Cardinals. He remained with the team through November of 2022, where he was released after landing on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

Ward eventually signed with the New York Jets’ practice squad a week after leaving Arizona, only to be released a week following that. Ward has since then bounced up and down off the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad. He was a free agent entering this offseason.

Ward has played in a combined 15 games the last two seasons, logging just ten total touches on the offensive side of the ball during that stretch. He’s primarily carved out a role on special teams, playing more than 40% of snaps on that side of the ball in each of his last three stops.

Strackbein noted Ward has “impressed” at camp, displaying burst, toughness and blocking abilities.

With Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren establishing a nice 1-2 punch in Pittsburgh’s backfield, Ward may again have to show value as a core special teams player to remain with the Steelers moving forward.