Coyotes at the World Championship Part 1

Several Arizona Coyotes are participating in the IIHF World Championship this season in Finland. Some like Dysin Mayo and Karel Vejmelka are making their debut, while others like Harri Säteri and J.J. Moser have played in multiple games.

Harri Säteri

Team Finland

Säteri was a late waiver pickup for the Coyotes, and he didn’t have a stellar time with the Desert Dogs. But, Säteri made a name for himself playing internationally and has had the most visits to the IIHF World Championship among the Coyotes’ players.

Säteri was in net against Latvia and stopped 16 of 17 shots for a 2-1 win. Jussi Olkinuora has started two games for Finland, including today’s game against Team USA, and it will be interesting to see how who gets more starts as things continue to move forward.

J.J. Moser

Team Switzerland

The Coyotes drafted J.J. Moser in the second round of last year’s draft, and it didn’t take long for the defenseman to make a name for himself. He was sent to the Roadrunners after training camp but looked great in his callup and seems to have earned a spot with the Coyotes’ moving forward.

Moser was quiet in Switzerland’s first game, but it didn’t take long for him to get on the board. He had a goal and two assists in his team’s 6-0 win over Denmark.

Alex Galchenyuk

Team USA

Galchenyuk returns to the IIHF World Championship for the first time since the 2013 tournament, and he definitely has something to prove. He signed a one-year, $750,000 deal with the Coyotes this past offseason, and he was far from the most consistent player.

Alex hasn’t lit the tournament on fire yet, but he is still producing. He had assists in the first two Team USA games and he scored the team’s lone goal in today’s 4-1 loss to Finland.

Karel Vejmelka

Team Czechia

Vejmelka was an excellent find for General Manager Bill Armstrong. He made the jump to the NHL admirably for a player in a lower European league, although he showed that he still needs to work on his consistency and probably isn’t ready to be a starter yet.

Vejmelka has played in one game so far, and the results are anything but great. He allowed four goals on 18 shots and was replaced in the second period.

Dysin Mayo

Team Canada

Mayo is the third player on this list to make his NHL debut with the Coyotes this past season, playing 67 games with the Desert Dogs after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. This year, he will be making his World Championship debut, although Canada’s GM Shane Doan and Assistant Coach André Tourigny will be familiar faces for the young defenseman.

Mayo isn’t Canada’s biggest star at the tournament, but he has done pretty well. He had a goal and an assist in Canada’s 6-1 win over Italy and is a +5 in three games, whatever that is worth. His role is pretty limited, playing less than ten minutes in two of his three games, but he is doing a job at playing well in that limited time.