Arizona Coyotes Have A Lot of Options With Their 20th Overall Pick

The Arizona Coyotes have been a hot topic lately with rumors of a potential trade for the first overall pick. Assuming they keep their 20th pick, however, here’s a breakdown of the players whom will be available at the 20th slot.

Rumors are swirling around the Arizona Coyotes organization surrounding the franchise’s two first round picks and a potential trade for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first overall pick.

Every analyst around has been pushing the Auston Matthews to Arizona story for a few reasons, with the main one being that it might give Arizona the star its been needing for years in conjunction with a PR win.

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It would give hockey legitimacy in the desert.

But legitimacy would come at a very steep cost and that cost apparently means Arizona’s two first round picks and an NHL-ready prospect. Yikes. Moreover, while Coyotes fans seem to be on the fence over the issue, the organization seems to actually be taking this idea pretty seriously…

Assuming the Leafs and the Coyotes do the wise thing and stand pat, however, Howlin’ Hockey has a short list of players and trade options related to that 20th overall pick.

Next: Forward Options At 20th Overall

Arizona has a ton of forward depth in the organization right now, but it never hurts to restock the firepower that is about to depart the minors for NHL stardom.

A handful of projected 1st-2nd line forwards wait to be drafted around the 20th overall slot. Many mock draft boards have one player going 14th or 15th, but others have the same player going early in the 2nd round so figuring out which forwards will actually be available is not simple.

One immediate standout who may available at 20th overall is LW Max Jones.

Jones played in the OHL for London, where Max Domi and Christian Dvorak player junior hockey. Jones is considered a power forward, but doesn’t always play like one. He has Top-10 pick footwork, strong puck skills, is an outstanding penalty killer and has top-tier acceleration.

Here is his London Knights highlight reel:

Another notable forward in the area of the 20th overall pick is C/LW Luke Kunin, a University of Wisconsin product.

Kunin is described as an “an honest, clean player with very good speed and strength” who has elite scoring capabilities and “tremendous speed”. Kunin’s agitation skills are also a little Shane Doan-esque, which would fit right into Arizona’s hockey culture.

Here’s a short highlight reel of Kunin’s work in Wisconsin:

Other top forwards in this range include RW Julien Gauthier and Russian centerman German Rubtsov.

Next: Defensive Options At 20th Overall

Organizationally, the Arizona Coyotes have very little depth at defenseman. But that could all change after this draft, with Arizona in position to nab quality defensive prospects in the first and second round.

If Arizona doesn’t trade away the 7th overall pick, they are likely to use it on a defenseman, unless players like Alexander Nylander or Matthew Tkachuk are somehow still available.

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But the Coyotes may also be looking to begin restocking their future defenseman by grabbing a d-man with the 20th pick. Most draft boards have Arizona taking a defenseman and here are two defenseman to think about as Arizona’s 20th pick nears on draft day:

Dante Fabbro is a 6 foot tall, 180-some pound defenseman out of the BCHL.

Fabro is compared to Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook in that he is incredibly efficient and highly accountable. One Hockey News report relayed that “one NHL evaluator even told me that Fabbro is “basically like an NHL player already,” thanks to the way he processes the game and gets pucks through”.

He has incredible defensive vision and checks hard. For more see his highlight reel here:

Charles McAvoy Jr has basically the same build as Fabro. McAvoy worked his magic for the US National Development Program and at Boston University, notching 25 points with the Terriers over 37 games.

Mike Morreale of NHL.com commented on McCoy’s play, saying “the 6-foot, 208-pound right-shot defender already plays a pro-style game. He might not be flashy but consistently has been steady as a freshman playing a top-four role at Boston University.” McAvoy is known in his NCAA play as being a confident puck-carrier with the ability to use his speed when he needs it.

For more proof, watch McAvoy’s highlights below:

Other defenseman noted to be around but not necessarily worthy of the 20th pick include Samuel Girard out of the QMJHL’s Shawinigan, Markus Niemeläinen out of the OHL’s Saginaw and Logan Stanley out of the OHL’s Windsor.

Next: Goaltending Options At 20th Overall

The Coyotes have little goaltending depth behind Mike Smith and Louis Domingue. They should explore drafting a top-tier goaltender early on in the draft to ensure the franchise’s net minding future.

The consensus top two goaltenders available in this year’s NHL draft are Filip Gustavsson out of Sweden and Carter Hart out of Alberta, Canada. These two are both goalies with outstanding potential.

Both have been compared to Vezina-caliber NHL goalies and these comparisons are in no way overstated; these two will be NHL goaltending studs in a few years and the Arizona Coyotes need to consider drafting one of them if they want to be competitive through the best years of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi and Dylan Strome‘s careers.

Gustavsson is the top ranked European goalie in this year’s draft, sporting strong technical skills, footwork, size and vision. He is noted to have some consistency issues and is still growing, but every young goaltending prospect has these issues.

One unique characteristic about Gustavsson is that he plays really deep in his net and only gets aggressive when the net front presences in front of him begins to bear down into his crease. This style should immediately remind you of one Henrik Lundqvist, the All-Star goaltender of the New York Rangers.

They both can get feisty and defensive of their zones, but more often than not stay deep in their nets and play reserved.

Hart is not a huge, hulking goalie but his NHL comparison isn’t really either and look how the Washington Capital’s Braden Holtby turned out.

Not bad, eh?

Hart is incredibly agile, has an elite glove hand, and outstanding rebound control. His shortcomings are, most notably, his size and his ability to play the puck.

In most of the scouting found around goaltending reviews for this draft, Hart’s primary shortcoming is that his ability to play the puck is good on some days and really bad on others, which sounds a bit like Mike Smith.

Hart’s calmness and ease in net is relatable to Jonathan Quick and Carey Price‘s demeanors, but his overall style of play and abilities best mirror Holtby. With that said, if Hart developed well over the next 2-3 years, he will be one the NHL’s next Vezina winners.

Next: Trading The 20th Pick To Detroit

The Arizona Coyotes are almost always in trade discussions and most of the time, those trades depict Arizona as a seller and constant rebuilding franchise.

The Arizona Coyotes are eternally tied to bad trades, not signing the right free agents and not being aggressive enough when it comes to trades and free agency.

Maybe new general manager John Chayka looks to change that trend.

One tool that Arizona could finally employ could be in the form of moving a top draft pick for an NHL-ready player, set of players or some already proven and highly rated prospects. Tooling around the internet and Twitter, you could find dozens of fanbases providing trade options involving the Coyotes, but a few interesting options including the Coyotes stand out above the armchair General Managing fray.

Keep in mind, we all know about possible Matthews trade deals with the Leafs, so these trade options are all not directly tied to Matthews but oriented in the event that Toronto decides to be selfish and not let Arizona enjoy the fruits of their hockey labors.

Now on the exterior, this trade doesn’t seem like a big deal.

Once again Arizona proves to be the dumping ground for a older player whose contract needs to be abandoned. After all, a lot of Arizona’s airports are considered airplane graveyards, so why can’t the Coyotes be the place for NHL contracts to die?

But the hidden gem in this trade is that it moves Arizona into a position of flexibility both in salary space and in other trade value.

Moving up may entice Toronto if GM John  Chayka actually is hell-bent on acquiring Auston Matthews and it may pad Arizona’s low-end salary spending. Moreover, if the pick ends up not getting moved to Toronto, Arizona still has mid-to-late first round drafting flexibility plus a decent defensive prospect in Saarijarvi.

Next: Trading The 20th Pick To Anaheim

The Arizona Coyotes may look to a division rival for a trade partner with the 20th overall selection.

This trade seems like a big win for Arizona, but it takes a lot of weight off of Anaheim at the same time.

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The Arizona Coyotes only move back 4 picks, which isn’t a big deal because similar talents will still be available and the reverse goes for Anaheim.

The interesting part is Vatanen, who is an emerging defensive talent for Dahlbeck, who fits the bottom pairing stereotype. Both are RFA’s, so the trade would be for negotiating rights. This deal would save Anaheim a ton of cash and would give Arizona a top defenseman to pair with either Ekman-Larsson or Michael Stone.

On top of that, Arizona gains an immediate, reliable goaltender to almost do a Starter 1A and Starter 1B while Anaheim gets a decent backup tendy. Even though the 1A/1B didn’t work out well in Dallas, the difference in this case is that when Smith fades, Andersen can take the starting job without a problem.

Moreover, with a looming expansion draft, Arizona may finally have a way to shed Mike Smith’s contract without forcing a trade.

Next: Trading The 20th Pick To Chicago