Examining the Coyotes 2017 Draft

Earlier this week when researching the Arizona Coyotes players set to make the leap to professional leagues I discovered something rather notable. To put it mildly the Coyotes did not do great in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The Coyotes got better because of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, but they got better mostly through trades.

Draft Picks:

23rd - P.O. Joseph - 0 NHL games. Traded with Alex Galchenyuk for Phil Kessel.

44th - Filip Westerlund - Unsigned. Played 23 games last season in the SHL with Frolunda HC and Timra IK.

69th - MacKenzie Entwistle - Traded to the Chicago Blackhawks with Jordan Maletta, Marcus Kruger, Andrew Campbell, and a fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft for Jordan Oesterle, Vinnie Hinostroza, Marian Hossa, and a third-round pick in 2019.

82nd - Cameron Crotty - Unsigned. Played 38 games for Boston University last season.

108th - Noel Hoefenmayer - Unsigned. Played 68 games with the Ottawa 67’s.

126th - Michael Karow - Unsigned. Played 39 games last season for Boston College.

128th - Tyler Steenbergen - Played 63 games for the Tucson Roadrunners last season.

190th - Erik Walli-Walterholm - Unsigned. Played 29 games for Djurgardens IF J20 in SuperElit and 31 games with Djurgardens IF in the SHL.

Trades:

The 7th overall pick and Tony DeAngelo were traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Antti Raanta and Derek Stepan.

The 35th overall pick was traded to Philadelphia for the 44th, 75th and 108th overall picks.

The 66th overall pick and a conditional second-round pick was traded to the Florida Panthers for Dave Bolland and Lawson Crouse.

The 97th overall pick was sent to the Minnesota Wild with Martin Hanzal and Ryan White for Grayson Downing, the 23rd overall pick, a second-round pick in 2018, and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2019.

The 159th overall pick was traded to the San Jose Sharks along with Maxim Letunov for a fourth-round pick in 2016 and Detroit’s third-round pick in 2017 (69th overall used for Entwistle).

Conclusion:

The Coyotes have made changes to their scouting department since the 2017 draft and continue to make changes. Looking back it’s not hard to see why those changes needed to be made. Arizona hasn’t had the best luck in drafting and its a positive that the team is taking active steps to address discrepancies in a key area.

Of the players drafted by the Coyotes in 2017, Tyler Steenbergen probably has the best chance of making the NHL. But the Coyotes were able to trade picks and drafted prospects in part to acquire Phil Kessel, Jordan Oesterle, Vinnie Hinostroza, Lawson Crouse, Antti Raanta, and Derek Stepan.