With the start of the season quickly approaching, the Arizona Coyotes have been making moves. Earlier today, the team announced that they had assigned Dylan Guenther to the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL, had placed Zach Sandford and Ivan Prosvetov on waivers for the purposes of being assigned to the Roadrunners, and placed Travis Boyd on waivers.
The decision to start Guenther in the Roadrunners may come as a surprise for some fans. Guenther is one of the Coyotes’ highest-rated prospects, and he was expected to be a big piece for the Desert Dogs this season.
But just because Guenther is starting the season in Tucson doesn’t mean he will be there for the full season. Adjusting to the NHL can be a process, and the AHL allows players to get up to speed and gain some confidence.
Guenther probably should have been in the AHL last season but couldn’t due to the CHL-NHL agreement. If Guenther had finished the season with the Roadrunners rather than the Seattle Thunderbirds, there is a chance that he could have already been up to speed.
The other moves are less surprising. Zach Sanford split last season between the Nashville Predators and Milwaukee Admirals and signed a one-year, two-way deal this past offseason. Two-way deals aren’t a perfect indicator that a player will end up in the AHL, but Sanford’s chances of starting with the Coyotes seemed low.
Ivan Prosvetov also split last season between the NHL and the AHL, and most people expected him to go to the AHL. The Coyotes already have two goaltenders, Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram, and few teams carry three goaltenders.
The Travis Boyd move is a little surprising, especially given his time in Arizona. When he first signed with the Desert Dogs for the 2021-22 season, Boyd found a spot on a line with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, which saw him set career highs in goals (17), assists (18), and points (35). He had similar numbers last season, too (15-19-34), but he lost his number-one spot to Barrett Hayton midway through the season, and his place with the team is unclear.