Arizona Coyotes Prospective Draft Pick: Jakob Chychrun

The Arizona Coyotes stood pat in the NHL Draft Lottery and will pick 7th. Jakob Chychrun is a defenseman for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting and a potential draft candidate for the Coyotes front office.

Howlin’ Hockey is evaluating possible Arizona Coyotes draft options for their two first round picks this NHL draft, which are situated 7th and 20th overall.

This edition of draft evaluations features a top defensive prospect, ranked as the #4 overall prospect according to NHL Central Scouting and the #9 overall prospect according to hockeyprospect.com.

The pronunciation for Chychrun is ‘chick-rin’.

Physical Make Up

Jakob Chyrchrun sizes up at 6 foot, 2 inches and weighs in around 190 pounds. He is a left-handed two-way defenseman hailing from Boca Raton, Florida, but he is a Canadian citizen and represents Canada in international play. He was born on March 31, 1998, making him 18 years old.

Junior Hockey Stats, Trends and Other Insights

In his second season with Sarnia, Chychrun played 62 games and recorded 49 points (11 goals, 38 assists). He also accounted for 51 minutes worth of penalties.

Chychrun appears to have excelled at the stretch and drop pass from a young age. He has elite instinct at when to execute a drop pass and knows how to leverage the sideboards to his advantage. Another point to note is Chychrun’s elite snapshot. In much of his highlight reels, his best goals appear to be one-time feed that aren’t exclusively shot in a slap fashion, but rather a sleek snapshot.

Commonly, NHL defensemen will use their size to their advantage by taking a slapshot. It appears as if Chychrun has found a different way to create offense and if it translates into NHL-level play, he will soon become one of the league’s premier young defensemen. This isn’t to say he doesn’t have an elite slapshot (he does), but rather that he has two elite shot types to generate offensive outputs.

Chychrun has a high potential ceiling offensively, much along the lines of his draft peers in Mikhail Sergachyov and Olli Juolevi. He sniffs out offensive opportunity and pinches down to create and extend offensive momentum. However Chychrun had a fair share of PIMs tied to his name.

If he wants to succeed in the NHL, part of his future development has to be consistently shedding down those penalty minutes.

Some other commentary and scouting on Chychrun’s game from professional analysts include:

"“While usurpers such as Olli Juolevi and Mikhail Sergachev threaten his top defense prospect throne, Chychrun just keeps on humming with the Sting. The big, beastly two-way player has seven points in his past five games and now ranks fourth in OHL scoring among D-men.”- Ryan Kennedy, The Hockey News on March 8th, 2016"

More from Howlin' Hockey

"“An unyielding two-way defenceman, Jakob Chychrun is a rising star with a toolbox bursting at the seams. Consistently displays elite four-way skating ability and is not afraid to throw his weight around physically. Plays with poise and composure through high pressure situations and, with the puck on his stick, can direct the play up-ice. Exhibits a particularly potent shot that works its magic on the power play and on the forecheck. Excellent first pass and uses his vision and awareness to keep the puck moving in the direction of the opposition’s tail or to a teammate with more time and space. Defensively adept at tracking the puck and staying a step ahead of the opposition. Proactive with his stick and body, exerting pressure on the opposition and forcing them to make hurried decisions.”- Curtis Joe, Elite Prospects"

"“A highly talented kid who makes an impact in every aspect of the game. He has impressive size and strength, solid overall mobility and the hands and smarts to rush the puck. He also possesses a strong point shot, sees the ice well and has ability to move the puck. Defensively, he plays with strong defensive gaps, and has the ability and nastiness to play it physical.”- Future Considerations"

Most Comparable NHL Player: Aaron Ekblad

To be compared to a current NHL player, a junior hockey player has to be truly outstanding and Chychrun’s comparable NHLer is indicative of superior defensive talent.

Aaron Ekbald‘s play is a little bit more snapshot-centric, but the comparative sizes and skill between these two player is noticeable. Both have a knack for creating space and knowing when to take some power off their shots to get the desired duckling action on the shot.

Here’s some of Ekblad’s highlights from his junior hockey career:

Like I said, Ekblad’s shots are typically more of a slapshot, but both have strong sets of hands and offensive skillets. To better understand Chychrun’s skills, here is his season’s OHL highlights:

I think the biggest similarities are perhaps their elite passing and stretch pass skills. They have great vision on the ice and it helps them deliver the puck precisely. They seem to know exactly how much power to put into their sticks.

How Chychrun fits in with Arizona Coyotes

Should the Arizona Coyotes tab Chychrun, expect him to slot in with Michael Stone in the second defensive pairing to start the season off.

Some would say Chychrun is NHL ready, but with no history to help guess whether new Coyotes GM John Chayka will send him back to the junior level or not it’s hard to say. Either way, if selected I see Chychrun making the roster out of training camp.

Next: Grading Draft Prospect Olli Juolevi

Likelihood of Chychrun Being Drafted By Arizona: B+

Chychrun’s tapes and stats make him arguably the top defensive prospect in the 2016 NHL Draft, but Juolevi seems to already be a better fit than Chychrun.

However, should Juolevi be off the board by the time the 7th pick comes around, I’m sure Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka will be very inclined to grab Chychrun and run.

Home/Coyotes News