Will Sean Durzi be a No. 1 Defenseman With Coyotes?

 Could Sean Durzi be a legitimate number one defenseman with the Arizona Coyotes?

The 24-year-old was traded from the Los Angeles Kings to the Coyotes on June 24. This past season in just his second year in the NHL, Durzi flashed off his potential as he had nine goals, 29 assists and 38 points in 72 games. He was second amongst all Kings’ defensemen in points only behind Drew Doughty.

This upcoming season, the Coyotes have high expectations for Durzi that he could ultimately rise to the occasion as the team’s top defenseman.

“He's going to be on our No. 1 power play. At times, he'd get the second unit in L.A., and we figured this guy can be a difference-maker and can play on our first-unit power play,” Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong said. “He's also a volume puck-mover. Those guys are hard to find; he can move a puck and transition. We get excited about that. We feel there's still parts of his game that he can trim up to become an even better player defensively. There's the sure things that he'll buy into. We did our homework on what he's like as a person and a player, and we fell in love with the player and the person off the ice, so we were able to get a trade done for him and he's going be an impactful player for us this year.”

Aside from J.J. Moser, the Coyotes didn’t really have a defenseman that can lead a power play unit and dictate the pace of play with their speed and puck-handling abilities until they acquired Durzi.

At just 24-years-old, Durzi is just beginning to blossom into a promising defenseman as he still has more room to grow as a player.

The question is could Durzi eventually become that surefire number one defenseman the Coyotes are looking for?

Right now it's too early to tell but with an increased role, Durzi will have more of an opportunity to show that he is capable of being on a top-pair while anchoring the power play.

Year three will be critical for Durzi and a potential turning point in his career.