The Auston Matthews effect is in full swing.

Youth hockey participation in Arizona increased by 17 percent over the last year, growing from 3,874 participants in 2016-17 to 4,519 in 2017-18, according to statistics released by USA Hockey. The rise of Toronto Maple Leafs superstar and Scottsdale, Ariz. native Auston Matthews was surely a factor.

It's more than just youths who want to be like Matthews, though. There are now 8,617 overall hockey participants in Arizona, up 11 percent from last year, and 109 percent in the last five years.

The first three years of that five-year span can't be credited to Matthews since he wasn't selected first overall until the 2016 NHL Draft.

Shane Doan, who spent 21 years playing hockey in the desert, has also left his impact on the state.

"It seems that wherever an NHL team goes, the minor hockey does better and it has done that since we have been here," Doan told Arizona Sports' Craig Morgan. "For me as a parent, I have seen the Junior Coyotes program go from being somewhat obscure to being capable of being competitive; one of the top 20, 25 programs in the country. That is exciting."

Doan's son, a ninth-round selection of the WHL's Kamloops Blazers in 2017, was a member of the Junior Coyotes program.

The Arizona Coyotes organization is playing a big part in the rapid growth of hockey in the area, donating more than $300,000 to local rinks, $450,000 to high schools over the next two years, and 2,100 sets of equipment to youth programs.

There are now 10 rinks and 15 sheets of ice in Arizona, compared to just three sheets of ice in 1996, when the Coyotes first arrived from Winnipeg.

The city of Tucson, where the Coyotes' AHL affiliate plays, has seen the largest growth. Hockey participation has increased by 433 percent in the eight-and-under age category over the past year, and 296 percent among all ages.

In 10 to 20 years, it's possible Arizona could become a hockey-talent producing factory, rather than just where the occasional diamond in the rough is found like Matthews.

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