‘Yotes Notes: Prospect camp begins, RFA offers sent

With the dust barely settled from the NHL Draft, the Coyotes will hold their prospect development camp Monday through Friday at AZ Ice Peoria, with on-ice sessions starting Monday at 2 p.m.

Among the top prospects expected to attend the camp are the team’s 2017 first-round draft choice, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph, and previous first-round draft choices, center Dylan Strome, right wing Nick Merkley and forward Clayton Keller. Right wing Christian Fischer, defensemen Kyle Capobianco and Cam Dineen and goaltender Hunter Miska will also attend, as will the remainder of this year’s draft choices: defensemen Filip Westerlund, Cameron Crotty, Noel Hoefenmayer, Michael Karow, and forwards Mackenzie Entwistle, Nate Schnarr, Tyler Steenbergen and Erik Walli Walterholm.

Development coach Mike Van Ryn and assistant general manager Steve Sullivan will run the camp, with other organization coaches taking part. Goalie coach Jon Elkin cannot attend the camp because he is busy running his own goalie camps in Toronto. Elkin only recently agreed to a new, one-year deal with the Coyotes.

The additional on-ice times are 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday and Thursday. The players will participate in an intra-squad game on June 30 at 6 p.m., also at AZ Ice Peoria. The practices and game are free and open to the public.

RFA OFFRS DUE

The deadline for tendering qualifying offers to restricted free agents was 2 p.m. Arizona time on Monday. The Coyotes had six RFAs on the NHL roster: wings Jordan Martinook, Anthony Duclair, center Nick Cousins, Alex Burmistrov and Peter Holland and forward Josh Jooris. All but Duclair were arbitration eligible.

The Coyotes have six more RFAs in their minor league system (forwards Branden Troock, Tyler Gaudet, Mitchell Moroz, Grayson Downing, Jeremy Morin and goalie Marek Langhamer).

Th Coyotes tendered offers to Martinook, Cousins, Duclair, Gaudet and Langhamer. They did not send offers to Burmistrov, Holland, Jooris, Troock, Moroz, Downing and Morin, so they can become free agents on July 1 if the team does not work out a lesser deal for them.

COACHING CANDIDATES

GM John Chayka said reports that the Coyotes will talk to Grand Rapids (AHL) coach Todd Nelson about Arizona’s head coaching position are premature because the Coyotes have not compiled a list of candidates yet. Chayka said Saturday in Chicago that his staff would begin building a coaching profile Monday and then compile a list.

“We’ll have a small group of names, a real small group at this stage, and then just try and be efficient moving forward.”

Chayka said youth is not an overriding prerequisite.

“I don’t think that’s necessarily the case, but with our younger players, we do want a communicator; somebody that does engage and have that relational type of approach to coaching.”

List of camp attendees

GOALIES (4)

No. 90: Jaxon Castor
No. 70: Erik Kallgren
No. 60: Merrick Madsen
No. 1: Hunter Miska

DEFENSEMEN (13)

No. 75: Kyle Capobianco
No. 95: Cameron Crotty
No. 62: Anthony Demeo
No. 54: Cam Dineen
No. 73: Ryan Gagnon
No. 71: Brandon Hickey
No. 92: Noel Hoefenmayer
No. 37: Pierre Olivier Joseph
No. 72: Michael Karow
No. 63: Patrick Kudla
No. 59: Jalen Smereck
No. 53: Dean Stewart
No. 94: Filip Westerlund

FORWARDS (21)

No. 84: Tyler Coulter
No. 55: Mackenzie Entwistle
No. 36: Christian Fischer
No. 83: Conor Garland
No. 79: Max Gerlach
No. 68: Cordell James
No. 78: Matt Jones
No. 14: Clayton Keller
No. 74: Phillip Knies
No. 81: Jens Looke
No. 47: Adam Marsh
No. 38: Nick Merkley
No. 93: Lane Pederson
No. 96: James Phelan
No. 56: Matthew Philip
No. 76: Nate Schnarr
No. 52: Tyler Steenbergen
No. 20: Dylan Strome
No. 85: Jeff Truchon-Viel
No. 80: Hayden Verbeek
No. 89: Erik Walli Walterholm

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