Hockey fans in Utah have recently learned that the Arizona Coyotes will be relocating to their state. I’m sure one question fans have is: What are they getting in the former Coyotes organization, what do they have, what do they still need and where are they in the contention cycle?
To highlight this, I’m going to focus on the core players either on the roster or in the pipeline who are age 25 or under, who can be part of the foreseeable future in Utah.
Centers
Logan Cooley, Barrett Hayton, Conor Geekie, Jack McBain
Cooley may be the most important player currently in the Utah organization. Having an elite NHL player or two is a near necessity for winning a championship. Clayton Keller is excellent but isn’t an elite NHL player. Cooley is the organization’s best shot at that type of player based on his talent level and how he’s played at various levels the last few seasons. As a 19-year-old rookie, he recorded 44 points in 82 NHL games. He’s a dynamic skater, puck handler and passer who can make a lot of high-end skilled plays at a top pace. He’s not that big but competes well. He has the makings of a potential star No. 1 center that Utah can build a winner around.
Hayton and Geekie are both very good young centers. Hayton is a several-year pro who hasn’t lived up to the billing of his fifth overall selection in 2018, but is a middle-six center in the league. Geekie is a recent top-15 pick still in junior hockey, but was very good in the WHL this past season. Geekie is a bit bigger than Hayton, Hayton is a little more skilled, neither are great skaters, but both compete well and make a lot of plays with the puck. The hope is they can be the 2/3 punch down the middle, in some order, with Cooley leading the charge for this organization.
Wings
Daniil But, Josh Doan, Dylan Guenther, Clayton Keller, Matias Maccelli
This is the strongest position for Utah currently. Keller is a star who was a high pick from the beginning of the current rebuild. He’s a dynamic forward with high-end skill and hockey sense who plays with pace and will be a high-producing forward for a while.
Maccelli has developed phenomenally — after being a fourth-round pick in 2019 — into a legit NHL scorer. He went that low because he’s not that big or fast, but has overcome those issues because of how good his puck play is. Maccelli is super smart and skilled with the puck and can run an NHL power play off the flank. To go with Keller and Maccelli are top-tier young prospects in Guenther and But.
Guenther’s first full year as a pro went very well. He was a productive AHL player before coming up to the NHL and scoring 35 points in 45 games for the Coyotes. He’s a big winger who skates well and while he can make plays, it’s his elite shot that defines his offensive value and should make him a valuable top-six wing on a good team with a chance to be a legit top-line winger.
But was a high first-round pick a year ago. He had a strong year versus men production-wise even if his ice time wasn’t amazing on a top KHL team. The toolkit he has looks like an NHL player. He’s huge at 6-foot-5 and maybe taller. He skates quite well for a guy his size. He has very good offensive skills and he’s able to finish chances well. But is a year or two away from the NHL, but he has the potential to be a top-six wing as well.
Josh Doan is a high second-round pick from 2021, and the son of organization legend Shane Doan, who looked quite good as a rookie pro as well and is showing indicators he could be a middle-six wing in the league given his skill, size and compete level.
Between Keller, Guenther, But, Maccelli and Doan, Utah has a potential large part of its future on the wing built out already especially since that’s a position that can be more easily plugged in through free agency.
Dmitri Simashev, the sixth overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft, has the potential to be a major-minutes, all-situations defenseman in the NHL.
Defensemen
Sean Durzi, Maveric Lamoureux, J.J. Moser, Dmitri Simashev, Juuso Valimaki
Utah has some good young talent at defense, but between its forward and blue-line situations, there is a need for more on defense in terms of building a contending group.
It made a good initial step last summer though drafting Dmitri Simashev with the sixth overall pick. He will play in Russia for another year, but he’s a big, athletic defenseman who has some skill and competes hard. He has the potential to be a major-minutes, all-situations defenseman in the NHL.
Lamoureux has some offense/puck-moving questions, but his massive frame, plus strong skating and physical play could make him a second or third-pair defenseman.
Moser and Durzi have played big roles on the recent Coyotes teams. I don’t know if on a contender they are going to be the leaned-on type of defensemen they were this season given that neither are amazing skaters. Both are very smart and competitive players, though, and Durzi has the creative mind to run an NHL power play well.
Goaltender
Michael Hrabal
Utah used a high second-round pick in 2023 on Hrabal, who is one of the better goaltending prospects in hockey currently. He doesn’t project as a true impact starting goalie, but he looks like a future NHL goaltender given his massive frame, good quickness, and hockey sense. He projects at least as a tandem starter with a chance to be a legit starting goaltender.
Projecting NHL Utah’s future
Utah has spent quite a few years rebuilding, starting way back with picking Dylan Strome third overall in 2015, and after a lot of seasons of losing in Arizona a new fan base in Salt Lake City could be in position to benefit from the assets it has accumulated.
It has a desirable group of young forwards. It has a strong potential top center in Cooley, and a good nucleus of talent to build a contending top-nine group around. Even though it didn’t have a good season overall, Arizona still finished middle of the pack in the NHL in goals scored and has room to grow with the development of its young forwards.
Utah has some good young blueliners, but continuing to build out its group of young defensemen is still a priority for this organization. It remains to be seen how Simashev is going to be as a pro as he develops, even if he’s a highly promising player. Maybe a second-round pick like Artyom Duda hits, but for now this is the area of the organization that needs more high-end depth. Utah has another high pick this season in a defense-heavy class; maybe the team will pick up another top prospect there.
Overall, this is an organization trending slowly in the right direction. If it even got average goaltending this season it could have pushed for a playoff spot. I can see the team becoming a legit playoff contender over the next two to three years, and if it acquires or develops one or two more premium young players they could form a core that can be a contender down the line.