Arizona Coyotes: Brendan Perlini’s Development Path

Arizona Coyotes prospect Brendan Perlini’s development hasn’t gone as planned since being drafted 12th overall, but it’s not time to write him off just yet.

Arizona Coyote fans have been spoiled with the success of recent prospects. They have very mixed feelings about Brendan Perlini‘s development, however.

Having been drafted 12th overall in the 2014 NHL entry draft, there are certain expectations that come from being a first round selection.

Prospects like Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak have produced back to back 100 point seasons and have been lauded by TSN’s Craig Button as the second and third ranked prospects not currently playing in the NHL.

Those two players have received most of the attention from the media and the fanbase.

Some fans may have forgotten that Perlini almost made the Coyote’s roster out of training camp in 2014. As he was competing for one of the final spots he was slashed and broke his hand and required surgery.

This meant that he had to start the 2014-2015 season in Niagara rehabbing and this slowed down his development process.

This has led to some critics and fans calling the 20-year-old a “bust” which is extremely unfair and unjustified at this point.

Brendan Perlini is a very talented hockey player. When you watch him play you can see that he has NHL speed and an NHL shot. He can put the puck in the net.

Yet, when you look at his stats for the 2015-2016 Ontario Hockey League season, his 25 goals and 20 assists do not jump out at you.

With Perlini, stats do not tell the entire story.

The biggest asset of Brendan Perlini is his shot and ability to create that shot.

According to the Ontario Hockey League’s statistics Brendan Perlini was able to generate 219 shots on goal. With his 25 goals it puts his 2015-2016 shooting percentage at 11.4%.

In comparison, Christian Dvorak generated 193 shots but scored 52 times putting his shooting percentage at 26.9%.

In the 2014-2015 OHL season, after completing rehabilitation, Perlini was able to score 26 goals in 13 fewer games compared to this past regular season.

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Brendan Perlini is able to create his own shot but was snakebitten this past season.

When a goal scorer isn’t scoring, they can lose confidence. Every hockey player goes through slumps and begins to grip the stick a little tighter when things aren’t going their way.

The World Juniors did not go his way either, but nor did they anyone else who was on the roster of Team Canada.

Making that roster is an accomplishment in it’s own right. Perlini shouldn’t take blame for that tournament, everyone on that team deserves it. Everyone in Hockey Canada was disappointed in an early exit in the quarterfinals.

Outsiders looking in would say that he is regressing or becoming a “bust”. When taking into account the hand injury and the bad puck luck this past season, it’s obvious that his stats might be misleading.

As a 20-year-old he has plenty of time to grow and develop as a hockey player. Standing at 6’3” and listed as weighing 205 lbs. he can fill into that frame.

Brendan Perlini will most likely start the 2016-2017 in the American Hockey League with the Tucson Roadrunners.

Making the jump from the OHL to the Arizona Coyotes is a huge step and some players need to adjust to the pro game in the minors. Being the 12th overall pick comes with a big burden, but Perlini has the skill set and potential to be a very productive NHL player.

A midseason audition with the Coyotes seems like a real possibility.

Playing with the Roadrunners while potentially playing top-six minutes will do wonders for his confidence and he should regain that offensive touch that the Coyotes saw in him during his draft year.

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Playing with some of the other top prospects in the organization while learning to be better defensively will be a necessary learning curve for the young player if he wants to succeed in Dave Tippett’s system.

Fans need to be patient with this prospect, because Brendan Perlini will be a very important part of the Arizona Coyotes core in the near future.