Tony Ferrari digs into the Arizona Coyotes and the prospect pipeline they've built during a lengthy rebuild, including their biggest strengths and weaknesses.

The NHL draft and opening of free agency are out of the way, giving us the perfect opportunity to look at each team’s prospect pools, continuing with the Arizona Coyotes.

In this series, Tony Ferrari digs into each team’s strengths and weaknesses, their latest draft class, where their positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for a shot at the NHL.

Introduction

For a team that's been rebuilding for about a decade, you'd think the Coyotes' prospect pool would be stronger than it is. They have some high-end prospects and added a couple more in the first round of this year’s draft. But overall, they lack the depth and quality that would be expected, considering they haven’t been in the playoffs since 2012, aside from the weird bubble playoffs at the start of COVID.

The last two drafts did a lot of heavy lifting in their prospect pool by adding Logan Cooley, Conor Geekie, Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But coming into the fold, but they still lack depth throughout the pool even though they’ve had 22 picks over the last two years. 

The Coyotes have seemingly drafted long-term development projects outside of the first round, often opting for size over skill and hoping to find NHLers rather than impact players. If a few of the hulking prospects turn out, maybe they find a diamond in the rough, but the sentiment over their last two drafts has been they’ve played it safe without much upside outside of the top picks.

Cooley is their top prospect by a mile, and he could be one of the best prospects in hockey. He has the speed, skill, and dual-threat ability as a scorer and playmaker to project as their No. 1 center. Had the Coyotes won the referendum for a new arena and district in Tempe, perhaps Cooley would be playing in their top six this fall, although he said that wasn't a driving factor. Instead, he will head back to the University of Minnesota to try to turn this year’s Hobey Baker finalist nod into a win and chase down the national championship he came one win away from last year.

Dylan Guenther no longer holds rookie status, but he was sent back to junior hockey halfway through last season, which makes him an exception for this exercise. He helped the Seattle Thunderbirds to a WHL championship as he showed he was a dominant force at that level. Guenther is a lethal shooter and should be a major factor for the Yotes this season, looking to be a catalyst on offense for a woefully mediocre squad.

Conor Geekie is the prize of their massive prospects, playing center and standing 6-foot-4 with impressive skill and developing offensive tools. His shot took a step this year, and his playmaking matured with more precise decision-making when passing to teammates. Geekie’s production didn’t jump the way the Coyotes had hoped, but his overall game improved.

Maveric Lamoureux is a 6-foot-7 defender who was a late first-round pick last year. Unfortunately, he dealt with a shoulder injury this year that caused him to stagnate developmentally. He lost quite a bit of weight while rehabbing, and he is on the path to return to form this summer.

Josh Doan, Carson Bantle and newly drafted Noel Nordh highlight the rest of the forward pipeline, and while all look like potential NHLers, none project to be impact players. The depth on the blueline is very much the same, with players such as Artem Duda and Jeremy Langlois having some interesting tools but questionable upsides.

Simply put, the Coyotes should have a better pipeline. They just haven’t done a great job of finding the talent they need through years of turmoil on and off of the ice.

2023 NHL Draft Class

Round 1, 6th overall - Dmitri Simashev, LD, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)

Round 1, 12th overall - Daniil But, LW, Loko Yaroslavl (MHL)

Round 2, 38th overall - Michael Hrabal, G, Omaha (USHL)

Round 3, 70th overall - Jonathan Castagna, C, St. Andrews College (Ont. HS)

Round 3, 72nd overall - Noel Nordh, LW, Brynas J20 (Sweden Jr.)

Round 3, 81st overall - Tanner Ludtke, C, Lincoln (USHL)

Round 3, 88th overall - Vadim Moroz, RW, Dynamo Minsk (KHL)

Round 4, 102nd overall - Terrell Goldsmith, LD, Prince Albert (WHL)

Round 5, 134th overall - Melker Thelin, G, Bjorkloven (Sweden Jr.)

Round 5, 160th overall - Justin Kipkie, LD, Victoria (WHL)

Round 6, 162nd overall - Samu Bau, C, Ilves Tampere (SM Liiga)

Round 6, 166th overall - Carsen Musser, G, U.S. NTDP (USHL)

Strengths

Cooley and Geekie give the Coyotes a pair of good center prospects, and they have a guy or two at each wing who could be effective players, but the deepest position for the Coyotes is in goal. Adding Michael Hrabal and Carsen Musser gives them a handful of possible goalies who could eventually play NHL games. Hrabal is the lead dog here, but Ivan Prosvetov and Musser are well-liked in NHL circles. Anson Thornton is an interesting netminder Arizona could develop with patience as well.

Weaknesses

Arizona's pipeline is lacking right-shot defenders in a big way. Lamoureux is a big blueliner but was viewed as a reach when they took him 29th overall last year. A season marred by injury means the Yotes have no defenders of note in their system on the right side. It’s bleak, but they can fill the position with NHL vets for now, and 22-year-old Victor Soderstrom is still working his way up the lineup after playing in parts of three seasons. He is a smart two-way defender with the skating to succeed at the NHL level and a competitive streak that keeps him in every battle defensively. Other than that, Arizona could benefit from a better long-term solution.

Next Man Up: Dylan Guenther, RW

After recording 15 points in 33 games with the Coyotes last season, Arizona sent Guenther back to the WHL. His rights were traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds, so he joined a loaded squad and helped them capture the WHL title and reach the Memorial Cup final. Guenther should be in the lineup for the Yotes this season full-time, and he should be given top six minutes without hesitation.

Prospect Depth Chart Notables

LW: Daniil But, Noel Nordh, Carson Bantle, Samuel Lipkin, Julian Lutz

C: Logan Cooley, Conor Geekie, Jonathan Castagna, Tanner Ludtke

RW: Dylan Guenther, Josh Doan, Miko Matikka, Vadim Moroz

LD: Dmitri Simashev, Artyom Duda, Maksymilian Szuber, Jeremy Langlois

RD: Maveric Lamoureux

G: Michal Hrabal, Ivan Prosvetov, Anson Thornton, Melker Thelin, Carsen Musser

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook, Prospects Unlimited and Future Watch print editions of The Hockey News.