Coyotes’ Clayton Keller named NHL Rookie of the Month for March
Apr 1, 2018, 11:12 AM | Updated: 11:13 am
Arizona Coyotes center Clayton Keller (9) skates around Vegas Golden Knights left wing Tomas Tatar during the third period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, March 28, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
(AP Photo/John Locher)
Arizona Coyotes center Clayton Keller has been on a tear as of late.
And for his efforts, Keller was named NHL Rookie of the Month for March.
“I think our team is playing really well right now and that’s main thing I’m focused on. My play will take care of itself, so I’ve kind of always blocked those things out and kind of look at it at after the season or something like that.” Keller told ArizonaCoyotes.com. “We all have confidence and I think it’s going good.”
In 17 games played in March, Keller led all rookies with 13 assists and 19 points, netting six shots.
He also registered a point in 14 of the 17 games played in March, including a 10-game streak from March 11-28. It was the longest streak by any rookie this season and is tied for the third longest streak by a rookie in Coyotes history behind Teemu Selanne (17) and Keith Tkachuk (12).
Keller is one of 10 players to reach the 60-point mark in Coyotes history. He currently has the most goals (23), assists (40) and points (63) in a season for a rookie in Coyotes history.
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The seventh overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft has played in 79 games this season for the Coyotes. He ranks in the top five among NHL rookies in a number of categories:
Shots on goal – 1st; 201
Goals – 5th; 23
Points – 2nd; 63
Assists – 2nd; 40
Power-play Assists – 3rd; 14
Power-play Points – 4th; 20
Power-play Goals – T-4th; 6
“This is probably the biggest summer of my life coming up here so I have to work hard, continue to get better in the weight room and continue to do the things that I’ve alwasy done to get me to this level,” Keller said. “I think if I can do that, I will come back even stronger next year.”
This wasn’t his first NHL Rookie of the Month award either.
In October, Keller received the honors after going 9-6-15 in 13 games played. Vancouver’s Brock Boeser is the only other rookie to win the award twice this season.
