Arizona Coyotes Center Depth Much Improved After Draft

The 2022 NHL Draft saw the Arizona Coyotes center depth greatly improve. They added centers Logan Cooley and Conor Geekie. With the third overall selection, the Coyotes surprised many onlookers by taking Cooley when projected first overall choice Shane Wright was still on the board. Wright fell to the fourth pick, taken by the Seattle Kraken.

Arizona Coyotes Center Depth Was The Focus

The Coyotes have not had a star quality center since the days of Jeremy Roenick. By drafting Cooley, they have a player who has that first-line star potential. He tallied 27 goals, 48 assists in 51 games with the U.S. National U18 team. He is committed to attend the University of Minnesota this fall. Cooley just turned 18 in May, so this will definitely help his development. He has mentioned he hopes to get to the NHL after a year at U of Minnesota.

General manager Bill Armstrong raved about Cooley. “He’s got some ability to really be dynamic off the rush, just the speed of him,” Armstrong said. “What we also like, [related to] the Coyotes and him fitting into that identity, is just that he’s relentless. He is an energy bug the whole time he’s out there.”

The Coyotes also added two other prospects in Jack McBain and Nathan Smith recently and they got some playing time under their belts. They both played in 10 games during the 2021-22 season. McBain collected two goals, one assist, while Smith had two goals, two assists. The Coyotes are loaded with centers, but as they say, you can never have too many centers. Besides Smith and McBain, the other young center on the roster is Barrett Hayton. He is due a qualifying offer on Monday, July 11th.

Conor Geekie Was Drafted at #11

The Coyotes pulled some draft capital moves to acquire Conor Geekie of the Winnipeg Ice in the Western Hockey League at the 11th spot. They traded picks 27, 35, and 45 to the San Jose Sharks to move up in order to select Geekie. He had some impressive stats with 24 goals and 46 assists in 63 games. He then added three goals and eight assists in 11 postseason contests. The combination of adding Cooley and Geekie transforms the Arizona center-ice position by adding offensive firepower, once they join the NHL team.

The overall focus (excluding Cooley) was to add size to the Coyotes lineup. Geekie is 6-foot 3, 196 and that contrasts him with Cooley who is only 5-foot 10, 181. Geekie does need to work on his skating ability, and he has time to do that. Both players may hit the Coyotes roster in a year, two at most. That promises to be quite exciting with the hopes of a new arena in Tempe down the road. Fans will certainly be looking for these two prospects to help the team move forward.

Don’t forget that next year the draft will be even better with the likes of Connor Bedard out there. The Coyotes have deftly stockpiled draft picks in hopes of having an even better draft next year. It’s Bill Armstrong’s goal to build the team down the middle and he is doing it. He also drafted some defensemen to his prospect pool.

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The Blueline Has Added Some Size in The Draft

The Coyotes selected six defensemen in the draft. With the 29th pick, they chose project D-man Maveric Lamoureux who stands 6-foot 7, 198. His smile when he was selected was awesome. Then, at #36 another blueliner was taken in a Russian named Artem Duda. He stands 6-foot 1, 187. The Coyotes scouting staff had no qualms selecting a Russian player. At the 94th pick, Jeremy Langlois from the QMJHL was taken. He is 6-foot, 182. Pick 131 was next and Matthew Morden was taken. He is 6-foot 4, 203. The last defenseman at pick 163 was Maksymilian Szuber who is 6-foot 3, 190.

Some of these prospects may not make the grade to play in the NHL, but some will. That’s why the draft is not a science but a crapshoot. You analyze the players as best as possible, but there are so many intangibles to consider, it makes it difficult.

Drafted Players Will Be at Prospect Development Camp

We’re excited to announce the roster for our 2022 Development Camp held at @icedenaz this Monday through Friday.

Details: https://t.co/tBNcD2T94z

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) July 10, 2022

The Yotes announced that they will be conducting their prospect development camp starting July 11-15. Only the Monday, Tuesday, and Friday sessions will be open to the public at the Ice Den in Scottsdale. On Friday night the traditional Black vs. White scrimmage will begin at 6 pm. NOTE: There is limited seating, and access will be by on a first-come-first-serve basis. Also, be aware that there is limited parking and carpool/rideshare is encouraged.

Let’s see what the new boys can do!