Coyotes select forward Clayton Keller with No. 7 pick in NHL Draft
Jun 24, 2016, 6:12 PM
Clayton Keller, seventh overall pick, stands on stage with members of the Arizona Coyotes management team at the NHL hockey draft, Friday, June 24, 2016, in Buffalo, N.Y. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
(Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Coyotes pulled a mild surprise with the No. 7 overall pick in the NHL Draft Friday when they passed on a pair of top defensemen and selected forward Clayton Keller at First Niagara Center in Buffalo.
Keller, from Swansea, Illinois, is a product of the U.S. National Team Development Program. He was ranked ninth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, and his size (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) may have had something to do with that.
He had 107 points (37 goals) in 62 games last season. That’s the second highest single-season total in team history behind Scottsdale product and first overall pick Auston Matthews’ 117 in 2014-15. Keller recently became the U.S National program’s all-time leading scorer (189 points), passing Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel.
“I try to compare my game to Patrick Kane’s,” Keller said. “He’s probably the same height as me. I think I can be as good as him one day.”
The Coyotes have a need for defensive depth in their system and both Mikhail Sergachyov and Jakob Chychrun, the second and third-rated defensive prospects were available, but GM John Chayka felt Keller’s skill was too great to pass up.
Before playing for the USNDTP, Keller had 129 points (58 goals and 71 assists) in 60 games playing for Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep School in 2012-13; the same Minnesota school that produced NHL stars Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews.
Keller’s best friend is Logan Brown, a forward who plays for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League and went 11th in Friday’s draft to Ottawa. Keller was also teammates with Coyotes prospect Christian Fischer last season. Keller is committed to attend Boston University this fall and said that is where he is leaning, although he could play junior jockey with Windsor (OHL), which owns his rights.
Former Coyotes captain Keith Tkachuk is one of Keller’s former coaches from his days as a youth hockey player in the St. Louis area.
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