Coyotes add defense, swap draft picks on Day 2 of NHL Draft

The Arizona Coyotes had a wealth of picks in the first 74 overall in this year’s NHL Draft.

The Coyotes had the fifth overall selection, with which they took center Barrett Hayton in the first round on Friday. That was Arizona’s original first-round pick.

In the second round, Florida owned Arizona’s pick, but Arizona owned Minnesota’s pick — which they got in the 2017 trade of Martin Hanzal and Ryan White. At No. 55, the Coyotes used that Wild pick to select defenseman Kevin Bahl of the OHL. Arizona then would have decisions to make with its three third-round picks, one of which was their own and the other two acquired through previous trades. But Arizona wouldn’t stay put with those selections.

Here’s how the draft played out on Saturday:

Third round, No. 65 overall — Jan Jenik, RW

The Coyotes elected to go with a forward with their third selection, the first winger they selected in this draft. It was Jan Jenik, a left-handed-shooting native of Nymburk, Czech Republic.

The 17-year-old split time between several clubs in the 2017-18 season but played the lion’s share of his games with HC Benatky nad Jizerou, a second-tier team in the Czech Republic. There, he played 30 games and scored four goals with seven assists and 67 penalty minutes.

New Coyote Jan Jenik compares his game to fellow Czech and former Coyote Radim Vrbata, whom he has met.

— Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) June 23, 2018

He was ranked as the No. 16 prospect among skaters in Europe by NHL Central Scouting and the fourth-best right wing in that group. He is listed at 6-foot-1 and 171 pounds.

Third round, No. 73 overall — Ty Emberson, D

The first American the Coyotes selected this year, Emberson is a right-handed shooting defenseman from Wisconsin who played 86 games between USNTDP and the US National U18 team last season. In that season, the 18-year-old scored eight goals with 34 assists. He is committed to go to the University of Wisconsin.

The 6-foot-0, 200-pound D-man was ranked No. 42 overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

Emberson marked the second defenseman selected by Arizona in the 2018 NHL Draft and the 11th defenseman selected in their previous 18 draft selections.

Third round, No. 74 overall — TRADE

The Coyotes had back-to-back picks with No. 73 and No. 74 overall. The 74th pick originally belonged to Calgary, but wound up in GM John Chayka’s hands in last summer’s Mike Smith trade.

But instead of making consecutive selections, Arizona dealt pick 74 to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for picks No. 87 (third round — New Jersey’s pick via WAS and CHI) and No. 142 (fifth round — Columbus’ pick via CHI).

Third round, No. 87 overall — TRADE

Once the Coyotes got to pick No. 87, they moved their pick once again — that time to the San Jose Sharks for picks No. 114 (fourth round — San Jose’s pick) and No. 145 (fifth round — San Jose’s pick).

Fourth round, No. 114 overall — Ivan Prosvetov, G

With one of the two picks acquired from San Jose, the Coyotes selected a goaltender, the eight netminder taken overall in the 2018 Draft. Ivan Prosvetov was the 14th-ranked goalie in North America by NHL Central Scouting and stands at 6-foot-4 and 175 pounds.

Originally from Moskva, Russia, the 19-year-old posted a .913 save percentage and 2.90 goals against average in 36 games played for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL in 2017-18. He also had a .921 save percentage in 11 playoff games.

Fifth round, No. 142 overall — Michael Callahan, D

Following up their fourth-round pick, the Coyotes took Prosvetov’s teammate in the USHL: Left-handed defenseman Michael Callahan.

The Massachusetts native was the second American selected by Arizona in the 2018 draft and the third defenseman. In 59 games in the USHL in 2017-18 between Youngstown and the Central Illinois Flying Aces, Callahand scored 3-15-18 to go with two assists in 11 playoff games. He stands at 6-foot-2 and 196 points and was ranked the 145th North American skater by NHL Central Scouting.

He is committed to go to Providence College.

Fifth round, No. 145 overall — Dennis Busby, D

Continuing with the theme of defense, Arizona selected a blueliner from the Flint Firebirds of the OHL, Dennis Busby.

The 18-year-old right-handed shot stands at 5-foot-11 and 187 pounds. He played just two games in 2017-18 due to injury, but scored 2 goals with 14 assists in 62 games in 2016-17. He is teammates with Firebirds defenseman Jalen Smereck, a Coyotes prospect.

Sixth round, No. 158 overall — David Tendeck, G

Adding their second goaltender in the 2018 draft, the Coyotes selected Vancouver Giants netminder David Tendeck of the WHL. Struggling some in 2016-17, the 18-year-old played 48 games in 2017-18 and posted a .912 save percentage (ninth-best in OHL) with a 3.02 goals against average.

Tendeck is the eighth-ranked goalie in North America, according to NHL Central Scouting. He’s listed at 6-foot-1 and 173 pounds.

Seventh Round, No. 189 overall — Liam Kirk, LW

With their final pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, the Coyotes drafted their second winger. It was their ninth selection in seven rounds, the second year in a row Arizona made nine picks in the draft.

Liam Kirk is an 18-year-old from Rotherham, Great Britain who was ranked the No. 65 overall skater in Europe. He is the first player born and trained in England to be selected in the NHL Draft, according to NHL.com.

The 6-foot-2, left-handed-shooting winger scored nine goals with seven assists in 52 games with the Sheffield Steelers in the EIHL in 2017-18.

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