Arizona Coyotes sign defenseman Montana Onyebuchi to entry-level contract
The Arizona Coyotes have signed defenseman Montana Onyebuchi to an entry-level contract, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Sunday evening.
Onyebuchi, 23, collected three goals and 10 points in 35 games with the American Hockey League’s San Jose Barracuda during the 2022–23 regular season.
The six-foot-three defender, who shoots right, also racked up 73 penalty minutes with the Barracuda last year. He’s collected 17 points and 210 penalty minutes in 81 career AHL games with San Jose.
Owing to his age, Onyebuchi’s entry-level deal with the Coyotes will run for two years and will expire in 2025, at which point he’ll be eligible to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent.
Congratulations to Manitoba’s, Montana Onyebuchi and his entry level deal with Arizona.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 2, 2023Onyebuchi spent five seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Everett Silvertips and the Kamloops Blazers. The Dugald, Manitoba product collected 19 goals and 75 points in 257 career WHL games.
The San Jose Sharks signed Onyebuchi to an AHL deal in 2021 and assigned him to the Barracuda. The Coyotes saw enough from him in his two years with AHL San Jose to give him his first NHL contract.
Onyebuchi will now vie for positioning in the Coyotes’ prospect pipeline, almost assuredly as a member of the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. The frequent fighter will battle for ice time against the likes of Michael Kesselring, Vladislav Kolyachonok, Patrik Koch, Cam Crotty, and veteran Steven Kampfer in Tucson.
The Coyotes have been among the National Hockey League’s busiest teams in this year’s unrestricted free agent period, signing forwards Jason Zucker, Nick Bjugstad, Alex Kerfoot, and Alex Galchenyuk, as well as defenseman Troy Stecher and goaltender Matt Villalta.
The Roadrunners finished seventh in the AHL Pacific Division during the 2022–23 regular season, just enough to qualify for the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. They fell to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the maximum three games in the best-of-three first round.