The Arizona Coyotes have a chance to make a major statement in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Expect the Unexpected.
That is the Arizona Coyotes slogan leading into the 2023 NHL Draft on Wednesday according to general manager Bill Armstrong.
What it means is unclear but Arizona has a huge opportunity in the draft as they have both the sixth and 12th overall pick in the first round. Armstrong does not plan on overthinking any of these selections and will utilize a strategy that has worked for him in the past.
“We always look at best player, that's where we go, we take the best player and we'll figure it out from there and get too focused on position, it's not good,” Armstrong said. “I think you got to take the best player in the draft and we've always kind of done it that way.”
However, Armstrong is also searching for players with the right character who can ultimately help the team reach championship status in the future.
“Well, the biggest thing for us is we want players that are going to come to our identity, play the coyote way,” Armstrong said. “That's what we want. We want players that are never gonna rollover, they're not gonna die.
“They're gonna fight to win a championship and we're trying to do everything in our power to change culture and the one thing that changes culture is finding the right players, players that can win you championships that are impact players. So for us, it's all about the identity of the player and we want to be the hardest working team in the National Hockey League and with a ton of skill.”
The Coyotes had three first-round picks last year where they selected forwards Logan Cooley and Conor Geekie as well as defenseman Maveric Lamoureux.
This draft class is considered to be one of the deepest in recent memory. With two picks in the top-15, Arizona has a legitimate chance at selecting at least one future All-Star and someone that could impact the franchise in a major way. While it may be tempting to trade one of these picks, Armstrong is expecting to hold on to both of them.
“For us, we're a team that wants to draft,” Armstrong said. “We'll see how it plays out if our guy is not there at 12 we will see what the options are, but for us, we plan to draft at this point. We're excited about what's there.”
Armstrong made a big move Saturday trading for defensemen Sean Durzi in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick which truly marks a new era for Coyotes hockey.
“We've tried to set the vision and what we've tried to accomplish is in stages,” Armstrong said. “We went through the stage where we were taking on bad contracts and trying to create picks. Now we're at the stage where we're using those picks to draft and we're also using the picks to make us better whether it's acquiring players through those picks. So we're into the second phase now…”
The results of this draft could very well impact the Coyotes in a substantial way so it's critical that Armstrong nails these two first-round selections tomorrow night.