ARIZONA COYOTES

Coyotes hope to ease Dylan Strome into NHL at wing

Nov 27, 2017, 6:29 PM | Updated: Nov 28, 2017, 7:56 am

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Ben Hutton (27) fights for control of the puck with Arizona Coyotes ce...

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Ben Hutton (27) fights for control of the puck with Arizona Coyotes center Dylan Strome (20) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)

(Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Coyotes invested a lot in Dylan Strome when they used the No. 3 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft to select him. Every step of Strome’s development has been taken with that investment in mind.

The Coyotes sent Strome back to Erie of the Ontario Hockey League for the 2015-16 season while the top two picks, Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, broke into the league immediately. They sent Strome back to Erie after seven games of the 2016-17 season to build more confidence and lower-body strength.

They sent him to Tucson of the American Hockey League after two games this season to work on his pace of play and puck support.

The Coyotes recalled Strome on Sunday after he tore up the AHL, posting eight goals and 26 points in 15 games for a league-high 1.73 points per game among players who have played at least five games. He still has one another big step to take at the NHL level: earning the right to be a permanent center.

At Monday’s practice at Gila River Arena, Strome and rookie Clayton Keller flanked center Brad Richardson as Richardson’s wings.

“He’s no different than Clayton Keller,” said Coyotes assistant general manager and Roadrunners general manager Steve Sullivan, who has been the guiding force of the franchise’s player development since coming aboard in 2014. “At some point in his career, we believe that Clayton Keller could be a centerman, but maybe not as a 19-year-old.

“Maybe Dylan Strome starts on the wing and it’s a little bit easier for him and he’s able to get his pace of play going faster going up the walls. We do a lot of things with our wingers to help get them going a little quicker so maybe this helps him and there’s not as much responsibility. Putting him on a wing might help him ease his way into the NHL and have some success.”

Strome hasn’t played much wing, but neither Sullivan nor Strome is concerned about that switch, which is fairly common when forwards are trying to break into the league.

“With the game where it’s going now, if you’re the first guy back in the D-zone you’re going to be the centerman down low and break pucks out anyway,” Strome said. “I’m sure Richie and I will communicate on what we want to do, but you’ve got to adjust if you want to be in the NHL. I’ll try to do my best and I’m sure I’m going to be down low at times. It’s a big thing in this league that you have to be great down low and Richie is obviously really good down low in his own zone so he’s a good guy to learn from.”

In some respects, Strome’s development resembles the path of Coyotes wing Brendan Perlini, the team’s first-round pick in 2014. Perlini didn’t crack the Coyotes’ permanent lineup until early last December, after scoring 14 goals in 17 games with Tucson.

Strome said he has spoken with Perlini about his road to the NHL.

“I obviously saw what he did last year,” Strome said. “It’s a pretty similar path and he obviously did really well down there last year and came up here and did really well. I’m hoping to do the same.”

Sullivan said Strome’s 5-on-5 play improved significantly in Tucson and he is supporting the puck better.

“We got to the point where we just don’t know what else he can do because Dylan has done most everything we’ve asked him to do,” Sullivan said. “When we sent him down, we thought, ‘let him figure things out for a while’ and around Christmas was probably when we thought we’d take another look.

“But at Thanksgiving, we look and he’s leading the league in scoring, playing better than when he left. So you ask, ‘at what point does staying down become a negative? If he stays another month is he going to get much better?’ Probably not.”

Strome has produced at every level at which he has played consistently. The Coyotes want to find out of he can do it at the highest level.

“The one thing I notice when he plays his best is he’s around the puck a lot,” said coach Rick Tocchet, who said he still may Strome at center on occasion. “I’m not going to compare him, but a guy like [Dallas forward] Jamie Benn, when he’s around the slot, net, he always gets his stick on a puck. We need those types of players on this team. He has that talent.”

Sullivan said there were times he’d watch Strome’s game and wonder why he went to certain areas. There were times he thought Strome’s production was a matter of luck.

“Sooner or later, when a guy keeps doing it, it’s not luck anymore,” Sullivan said. “He’s a very smart hockey player and he uses his sense of the game to put himself in positions. When you start doing a deep dive and watching his shifts, he understands the game at an elite level so this is measuring stick to see where he’s at compared to before.”

In a strange coincidence, Strome’s first game since his call-up will come Tuesday against his brother, Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Strome.

“I’ve only played nine games in this league and two are against my brother,” he said. “Funny how that works out.”

Strome hopes that ratio will become less dramatic as he logs more games.

“I was working toward being called up,” he said. “It’s fun playing and getting chances and scoring goals [in Tucson], but obviously you want to be up here contributing to the team that drafted you.”


Coyotes at Oilers
When: 7 p.m., Tuesday
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta
TV: FOX Sports Arizona Plus
Radio: ESPN 620 AM
Records: Coyotes — 6-17-3. Oilers — 9-13-2.
Injury report: Coyotes — D Jakob Chychrun (knee) is week to week. G Antti Raanta (upper body) is day to day. Oilers — D Andrej Sekera (ACL) is out indefinitely. F Jujhar Khaira (lower body) is day to day.

Oilers scouting report: C Connor McDavid leads Edmonton with 10 goals and 30 points. He has factored on nearly 47 percent of Edmonton’s goals… The Oilers have allowed the first goal in 16 of their 24 games. … Edmonton’s penalty killing unit was tied for the second-worst percentage (73.8) through Sunday’s games.

Coyotes scouting report: Coach Rick Tocchet said Raanta would not travel with the team to Edmonton but he could join the Coyotes for Thursday’s game in Calgary. … Chychrun will practice with the team all week but not play. The team will make a further determination on his playing status at the end of the week.

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