2023-24 NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown: Arizona Coyotes

Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

For all the off-ice shenanigans surrounding the Arizona Coyotes, their work on the draft floor has been quite impressive.

It all starts with Logan Cooley, one of the best prospects in the game today. He’s the team’s future No. 1 center, and many scouts think that, just based on his development alone in 2022-23, Cooley could end up being the top prospect in 2022 redrafts before too long.

But it runs much deeper than that.

The Coyotes have a top-10 prospect pool, and it helped they drafted so well in Nashville a few weeks back. And while Cooley isn’t ready to make his mark just yet, a handful of others – such as Dylan Guenther and Victor Soderstrom – are ready to take the next step in their development.

The Coyotes have done quite a bit of selling over the past few years and currently hold nine picks in the first two rounds of the next two drafts. With their solid young pool, plus the already established core of Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, and Karel Vejmelka, the Coyotes are hopefully headed for better days sooner rather than later.

Biggest Strength

There might not be a prospect pool with as much size as Arizona’s right now. Other than Cooley, who is just 5-foot-10, the majority of the team’s top prospects are 6-foot-1 and taller, going as big as 6-foot-7. The Coyotes have drafted BIG the past few years, but they’ve also selected players who provide value far beyond size. But, if it all works out, this is going to be one difficult team to play against.

Biggest Weakness

The Coyotes addressed their biggest issues at the draft, taking a high-profile defender (Dmitri Simashev) and a potential No. 1 goaltender (Michael Hrabal). That being said, the Coyotes are lacking another potential top-pairing blueliner, and if Hrabal doesn’t pan out, there isn’t a goalie in the system with starting goalie pedigree yet. Even with decent depth at both positions, they’ll need more in the coming years.

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

*Logan Cooley (Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports)*

Grade: A-

1. Logan Cooley, C, 19 (University of Minnesota, NCAA)

Drafted: No. 3, first round in 2022

Before the 2023 NHL Draft class was added to the talent pool, no NHL-affiliated prospect was better than Cooley. The runner-up for the NCAA’s Hobey Baker Award as best male collegiate player, Cooley had an exceptional rookie campaign with 60 points – good for second behind Adam Fantilli. Cooley also shook off a slow start at the world juniors by scoring seven goals and 14 points for USA, earning him tournament all-star honors after winning bronze. Cooley is the future of this group, but Coyotes fans will have to wait a bit longer after he elected to stick with the Minnesota Golden Gophers for another year.

2. Dylan Guenther, RW, 20 (Arizona Coyotes)

Drafted: No. 9, first round in 2021

It was an eventful season for Guenther, who had 15 points in 33 games with the Coyotes to kick off the year. He then scored the game-winning goal for Canada at the World Junior Championship before his WHL rights were traded from Edmonton to Seattle. Guenther was sent back to junior and crushed goalies as expected, helping the Thunderbirds win the WHL title. He’s too good for junior and will once again compete for full-time action with the Coyotes.

3. Dmitri Simashev, D, 18 (Yaroslavl, KHL)

Drafted: No. 6, first round in 2023

Simashev’s late-season play really solidified him as one of the best blueliners in the 2023 Draft, especially during the MHL playoffs. Against his own age group, he can carry the load on the blueline and can be physically intimidating. There were some concerns about his play against men, but most can be attributed to him being 17-18 years old and forced into tough situations he hadn’t dealt with before. He has a deal in the KHL until 2025, but by then, he should be ready to challenge for a big spot on the Coyotes’ blueline.

4. Conor Geekie, C, 19 (Wenatchee, WHL)

Drafted: No. 11, first round in 2022

You can’t go wrong with a 6-foot-4 center that can skate well and knock everyone over. Geekie broke the 70-point barrier for the second consecutive season, scoring career-high 35 goals and 77 points. While it wasn’t a huge jump from his 70 points the year before, Geekie added more straight-line speed and defensive awareness this year. He’s not going to blow you away with his high-impact scoring in the NHL, but his frame and two-way play will make him an effective forward.

5. Daniil But, LW, 18 (Yaroslavl, KHL)

Drafted: No. 12, first round in 2023

Speaking of size, you might start to see a trend here. But is as creative and speedy as you’ll find a 6-foot-5, 203-pound winger to be. There’s so much finesse you don’t see out of guys with that size. He was a point-per-game player in the MHL and even had a pair of goals in 15 KHL games. This coming season will be about being a true game-breaker and making the best decisions with the puck.

*Maveric Lamoureux (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)*

6. Maveric Lamoureux, D, 19 (Drummondville, QMJHL)

Drafted: No. 29, first round in 2022

Thought 6-foot-5 was big? Try 6-foot-7. This hulking blueliner can beat you with physicality, but it’s his defensive zone play that makes him so difficult to play against. He’s a solid puck-mover that can manipulate attackers into thinking he’ll make one more before jumping in the other direction. Lamoureux is as good as anyone in Arizona’s system at stopping a rush directly at the blueline, and if he can’t, he’ll lay you down before you get close to the goalkeeper. Lamoureux is the type of player teammates and coaches love.

7. Michael Hrabal, G, 18 (University of Massachusetts)

Drafted: No. 38, second round in 2023

At 6-foot-6 with incredible athleticism, Hrabal has the perfect size for the NHL, and his ability to carry the load even when his team gets outshot is quite something. The NCAA-bound keeper did more than his share of heavy lifting with both Czechia and the USHL’s Omaha Lancers. He seems to play better the more shots he faces. Hrabal might be the goalie with the best shot at being a starter among the 2023 NHL Draft class.

8. Josh Doan, C/RW, 20 (Tuscon, AHL)

Drafted: No. 37, second round in 2021

Even Doan is a big dude at 6-foot-2, and he isn’t afraid to use it. That wasn’t the case in his first junior season with the Chicago Steel, but he really started to develop into his own in his draft campaign in 2020-21. Eyes were definitely rolled when the Coyotes took the son of their most famous player, Shane Doan, but the 21-year-old has developed into a solid young prospect. He had 38 points for the offensively challenged Arizona State University squad last year and turned pro after his sophomore campaign. Doan had six points in 14 regular season games with Tuscon, where he’ll return for next year. Doan continues to improve his stock each year and could be a solid middle-six forward in the near future.

9. Artem Duda, D, 19 (University of Maine, NCAA)

Drafted: No. 36, second round in 2022

After getting into his first 14 pro games with CSKA Moskva in the KHL last year, the 19-year-old is ready for the University of Maine next year. The 6-foot-1 defender has good size, can play a solid offensive game, run a power play and block shots. Against his own age group, Duda is among the best, and he would have been a standout at the world juniors had Russia not been banned. Now against college kids, it’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts to the quick pace of NCAA hockey.

10. Victor Soderstrom, D, 22 (Tucson, AHL)

Drafted: No. 11, first round in 2019

If Soderstrom is going to make an NHL career work in Arizona, it’s going to have to happen sooner rather than later. He’s been in the team’s system for four years but hasn’t managed to hold a full-time gig. This year was his most effective with nine points in 30 NHL games, but his 16:10 in average ice time was below his 16:19 set in 14 fewer games the year prior. He has the traits you look for in a defenseman these days – solid size, mobility and hockey IQ. It just feels like finding that game-to-game consistency is an issue. He’s ready for full-time duty this year, but it’s up to Soderstrom to show if he’s really a long-term option here.

Other notables: Jan Jenik, RW, 22 (Tuscon, AHL), Maksymilian Szuber, D, 20 (Munchen, DEL), Julian Lutz, LW (19), Ilya Fedotov, RW (19), John Farinacci, C (21), Miko Matikka, RW (19), Tanner Ludtke, C (18), Vadim Moroz, RW (19), Carsen Musser, G (18), Ivan Prosvetov, G (24)

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