Throughout rebuilds and the process of becoming a contending team, there is one aspect that draws a lot of excitement and attention. That would be the acquisition and development of young talent; prospects who could be the future faces of a franchise and lead it to the ultimate goal: a Stanley Cup. 

The Coyotes have a couple of young, talented players in Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther who have already made the jump to the NHL and are making an impact. 

These past two weeks were interesting for the Coyotes. During a game on March 26 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Vegas Golden Knights collected a point with an overtime loss to the Nashville Predators, officially eliminating the Coyotes from playoff contention. While it was a definitive reality check for where this franchise is in terms of becoming competitive, there was something more important that happened that same night; something that could be looked at as a potential bright light for this club in the near future. Josh Doan, son of Coyotes legend Shane Doan, made his NHL debut. 

Considering the outstanding performance Doan had in his first week in the NHL. Let’s take a look at five prospects who could push for a roster spot next season, starting with the Valley’s own.

Coyotes prospect Josh Doan

The Coyotes drafted Doan 37th overall in 2021. Yes, Doan is the son of an Arizona hockey legend but his draft position doesn’t exactly scream “future impactful NHL player.”

A lot of things changed for the 22-year-old forward during his first week in the NHL. Given where the Coyotes were in the standings, and with how well Doan has performed in Tucson with a team-leading 26 goals, 46 points and a 2024 AHL All-Star selection, it was only a matter of time before he got an opportunity to make his debut with the team for which he grew up cheering. 

“He showed real competitiveness in his desire to track back, lift sticks and play physical. He was our most complete player,” Coyotes director of player development Lee Stempniak said. “You can tell that he really put in the time over the summer.”

What made this an even better story was the fact that Doan didn’t just make his NHL debut, he went out and made an instant impact in his debut, something that was not expected by most. Doan scored two goals in his first game and in the next game he collected his first two assists. He then extended his point streak to three games with another assist the following game against the New York Rangers. Five points in his first three games (he has six points in five games overall) in the NHL is beyond impressive and a small sample of what he could bring to the Coyotes in the years to come. 

It wasn’t just scoring goals and putting up points that brought attention to Doan during his first week with the big club. He played smart, was positioned well, took short shifts, and caused turnovers. 

“The things that jump out that really made me like him as a player are his hockey sense and his ability to make plays in small areas,” Stempniak said. “He’s got a really good understanding of the game, a good understanding where space is on the ice, and then he has the hands to make the little plays in traffic and areas; to not only see the play develop, but to execute on that play.” 

One thing that was noticeable in Doan’s game was his net-front presence. Doan seems to have made a home in front of the net and we saw how well it worked against Columbus when he tipped in his second career goal. Just thinking about him in front of the net on a power-play unit with Guenther, Cooley and Clayton Keller is enticing. 

“It’s something that I take pride in, and something I worked on a lot is in and around the net,” Doan said. “That’s where the goals are scored so you’ve got to find yourself in front of those areas.”

Doan has also taken pride in his ability to be a well-rounded player who can be counted on in multiple scenarios. 

“I’ve liked Doaner since i’ve known him. I like his hockey sense. I think what I really like about him is what he brings to our lineup,” coach André Tourigny said of Doan following the 7-4 thumping of the Golden Knights on Friday night. “Really good forecheck, really good stick, he goes to the net, plays the game the right way, and he works every day. I think he’s the kind of player we needed […] that’s the kind of player we are looking for […] and he fits right in.”

The injection of youth is always more prominent on rebuilding teams. Given the way Doan has performed throughout his first three NHL games, it would not be surprising if he secured a full-time spot with the Coyotes next season.

Victor Söderström

Another Coyotes prospect who has also gotten a taste of some NHL action is defenseman Victor Söderström. The Coyotes drafted him 11th overall in 2019 when John Chayka was GM.  He has spent four seasons, including this one, with the Roadrunners. 

Based on the 23-year-old’s draft position, it may look like it’s taken him longer to develop and that he could arguably already be a regular for the Coyotes, but the truth is that defensemen tend to take longer to fully mature into their pro-level selves. 

“Soda has always had a good attitude, but when certain high picks — and this goes for a lot of them — think they can spend one or two years in the AHL and then expect to be in the National Hockey League, it’s our job to tell them that if they don’t play the right way and be ready every night — be consistent every night and play at a fast pace every night — it’s not going to happen,” said Roadrunners assistant coach John Slaney, who coaches the defensemen. 

Söderström has played 53 NHL games in which he has collected one goal and 11 points. Thirty of those games came last season when the Coyotes’ defensive corps was undermanned. 

“He understands how fast the game is, how it works, and how he has to be prepared every night to play at a fast pace and make simple plays,” Slaney said. “In D-zone coverage, he really works at his game of boxing out, going back for pucks and accepting hits to make plays. 

“I remember having a conversation with him when he first got here and he said he never got hit that hard. For a kid like that, playing on bigger ice to move to smaller ice, he has to understand how to accept the hit and how to make a play when he is getting hit. It’s not an easy tool to learn.

Another thing that is important to mention is that the Coyotes currently have zero defensemen under contract for next season. Josh Brown and Travis Dermott are both UFA’s while Sean Durzi, Michael Kesselring, Juuso Valimaki and J.J Moser are all RFA’s. Looking at next season and the assumption that Durzi, Moser, Kesselring, and Valimaki are brought back, there are open spots for Söderström.

Stempniak has mentioned that Söderström’s game has taken a big step forward, so it will be interesting to see if that big step is enough for him to earn one of those open spots come training camp in the fall. Söderström will be a restricted free agent this summer, but he does not have arbitration rights; a rarity among the Coyotes 2024 RFAs.

Aku Räty

Aku Räty is another 2019 draft product. The Coyotes selected the 22-year-old Finnish winger in the fifth round (No. 151). Purely based on his draft position, the thought of Räty being a regular, consistent NHL player is nothing close to expected. What’s made his case interesting is that in his first season with the Roadrunners this year, he has the second most points on the roster with 42. 

To provide perspective on just how good he has been this season, he is four points behind Doan for the team lead with 12 fewer games played. Räty also leads all Roadrunners in plus/minus with a plus-10 which shows where the puck is a lot of the time that he is on the ice. He has 19 points in his past 16 games. These aren’t ridiculous stats but it is certainly intriguing when a fifth-rounder is performing like this. 

“He’s got a mature approach of just trying to get better. To me, that’s what comes through when you talk to him,” Stempniak said. “He’s willing to be coached when we do video and show clips. He asks questions, he talks through it with us, and you can see him trying to implement that stuff. You can see he’s put in the work. Aku has done a good job to get to where he is from where he was two years ago.”

Production in the AHL doesn’t guarantee success in the NHL. A lot of the times, players can’t take that next big step to be successful at the highest level — especially those who are drafted outside of the first two rounds — but Räty’s versatility and the fact that his drive to get better is the most important thing to him will be the reason he has a shot at pushing for a roster spot. He may even get a call-up before this season ends. 

“Aku is a versatile and responsible two-way player who plays with a winning attitude every day,” said Tampereen Ilves manager Timo Koskela, who has Räty in the Liiga. “His best asset for me is that he does not have any major weaknesses. Coach can trust him in different game situations. His skating base and his game close to the boards has improved a lot.”

​​Räty has the opportunity to make some noise during training camp next year after turning heads in Tucson.

Conor Geekie

Moving back to another one of the more highly anticipated prospects on this list whom the Coyotes drafted early in the first round (11th overall in 2022), let’s look at forward Conor Geekie. 

Geekie has yet to make his way to the AHL but that could change after the WHL playoffs. Geekie has spent three full years in the WHL with the Winnipeg Ice/Wenatchee Wild before Wenatchee traded him to the Swift Current Broncos earlier this season. He has been over a point-per-game player throughout his junior years but his numbers hadn’t really skyrocketed until this season. Geekie put up 99 points in 55 regular-season games this season and currently has six points in four playoff games for the Broncos, who swept the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the first round. 

Geekie has been recognized for being a major threat this year. He was recently named the WHL Central Division Player of the Year. On top of that, his 1.80 points per game was the fourth-best in the WHL this season. 

Offensive production is clearly not a problem for the 19-year-old but there are other sides to his game as well.

“His ability to play high-leverage minutes, kill penalties, and make life miserable for the opposition’s best. He’s a strong off-puck defender, who tracks well through the neutral zone and makes proactive reads in the defensive third.” – Elite Prospects 2022 NHL Draft Guide

“He’s definitely more of a 200-foot player who is stopping on pucks in his own end and as a centerman, he’s staying between the puck and his net when he’s in his own end, especially when there’s not full control,” Coyotes development coach Jeff Shantz said. “He’s not cheating as much. When you do a really good job of that as a centerman, you don’t have to play defense.”

Having a centerman who can produce points but also be defensively sound and be a two-way forward is exactly what any team would want. The offensive upside Geekie carries is something that is going to propel his chances of making the team next season.

One more thing about Geekie that adds another element to his game is his size. He is six-feet-four and 196 pounds. 

“The other thing for big guys is they are generally heavier,” Shantz said. “Being able to use that weight as leverage on your stick blade will make him stronger than a little guy, regardless of what the technique is. So I’m just trying to get him to learn how to use his body a little bit more effectively. 

“He can get into a tight area and get himself out of a tight area, and then he’s just big and powerful. As he gets a little older and adds a little bit more strength, he’s just going to get better at that power game. Add that to his hockey sense, his playmaking ability, and his speed for a big man and you get excited.”

Players can always benefit from a year in the AHL and get the chance to perfect their craft before taking that next big step. Even if Geekie doesn’t crack the roster at the start of next season, it wouldn’t be surprising if he does get opportunities throughout the year. With a rebuilding team like the Coyotes, the opportunity for its youth to integrate themselves into the NHL is almost always present.

Maveric Lamoureux  

Last but certainly not least is another player whom the Coyotes drafted in the first round in 2022 (No. 29): Defenseman Maveric Lamoureux is the second player on this list who is currently still playing junior hockey. 

Lamoureux has spent four seasons including this one with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL. Through 39 games played this season, he has a total of nine goals and 33 points as well as a whopping plus-21. 

Lamoureux has that same advantage as Geekie with his size. He’s a six-feet-seven defenseman at the age of 20 who is very mobile. When you have the frame to win puck battles in tight areas and then be able to make a play out of the defensive zone, it’s not surprising the Coyotes traded up in the draft to select him. 

“You can see his size and his reach and how well he moves for his size, but he’s willing to close plays and finish checks and be that physical presence,” Stempniak said. “He’s got a little bit of edge to him where he cross-checks guys and he’s learning to box out hard; just be a hard guy to play against physically.”

Although physicality, mobility, and thinking the game aren’t problems for Lamoureux, there is one aspect that he needs to focus on improving. 

“With both the time he spent in Arizona and his time at home, we’ve asked him to focus on handling the puck,” Stempniak said. “The NHL is so fast. If you bobble a puck, the guy forechecking is gaining 10 feet on you, and then instead of a clean pass, it’s a rim and it’s typically a turnover. 

“We’re focusing on under-handling pucks — smoothing out your hands as much as possible, and a lot of it is identifying the first pass. If you see a pass and can move it, you don’t need the extra stick handle. You don’t need to wait for a better play; just see a pass and move it.”

There are two sides to playing a physical and aggressive game. Given Lamoureux’s size and his competitive nature, he sometimes finds himself being too aggressive. It’s important for him to realize when it’s the right time to play with that edge and when to take a step back depending on the circumstances of the game. But that all comes with maturity and it’s a part of the process in any player’s development. 

“It’s about learning where to do that; situations. If your team’s down by two and you score a big goal with four minutes to go to get down by one, you can’t take a penalty,” Coyotes development coach Kurtis Foster said. “That is happening sometimes with him. He’s learning where to be competitive. We want you to play tough, but there’s a time and a place where you’ve got to really think about the consequences.”

Lamoureux won’t have the chance to join the Roadrunners this season due to injury, but if rehab goes well he will be ready to go for training camp. 

These five highly touted prospects will fight for a roster spot next season, which should make for an interesting training camp in September. There is lots of potential for some of these players to make some noise and challenge for a place in the locker room. Even if none of them are ready to take on the NHL in the fall, the most important thing is that the future looks bright and they will have the chance to play together down in Tucson. 

“It’s exciting to track all of these guys,” Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong said, “but we’re not done building the pipeline.”

Top photo of Josh Doan by PHNX Sports’ Danielle Cortez

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