Coyotes will give P.O. Joseph time to bulk up
Jun 27, 2017, 10:23 AM | Updated: 8:29 pm
Pierre-Olivier Joseph walks to the stage after being selected by the Arizona Coyotes during the first round of the NHL hockey draft, Friday, June 23, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
CHICAGO — Your first impression of Coyotes’ first-round draft pick Pierre-Olivier Joseph is that he needs to spend more time in the ice cream parlor. He’s 6-feet-2 and weighs 163 pounds. Arizona’s staff is probably telling him the same thing.
“Eat everything, whenever you can,” Joseph said, laughing. “The next goal I want to reach is to play in the NHL so I need to be bigger and I need to be smart about what I eat, but I will get there. I’m only 17. I have time.”
The Coyotes agree.
“He’s got the full package. He thinks the game very well. He’s a good skater with good skills,” said assistant general manager Steve Sullivan, who focuses on player development. “He’s just a tall, slight player so it’s just a maturity thing. There are no major holes to his game. He just needs time to put on the weight and strength and he’ll have that time. He’s not a player we’re looking to step into our lineup right away.”
In his second season with Charlottetown of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the left-handed Joseph was charged with adding more offense to his game and he delivered with six goals and 39 points in 62 games. His 33 assists were the sixth-most in a single season by a defenseman in club history. In his mind, however, his production must increase.
“I hope to bring more offense to the team,” he said. “I’ve always been known as a good defenseman in my zone but I wanted to prove that I was able to play both sides of the ice and I still want to do more.”
While Joseph is likely to spend at least the next two seasons in the QMJHL, the lure of the NHL is motivation. Joseph had another one, growing up, in older brother Mathieu, a forward that the Tampa Bay Lightning selected 120th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft.
“Our relationship is incredible,” Joseph said. “We talk every day, pretty much, and we’ve been pushing each other in everything in life: golf, tennis, school. I was always trying to be as good as he is but even in a game of tic-tac-toe I think it would be a rivalry.”
Joseph was surrounded by family in Chicago when the Coyotes selected him on Friday with the 23rd overall pick. He was the first of five selections Arizona made for its blue line, marking the second straight season in which the Coyotes have acquired five defensemen on draft day after selecting four and acquiring Anthony DeAngelo in a trade with Tampa last June.
Joseph has drawn comparisons to San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic.
“P.O. is a guy our staff was extremely passionate about, so any time you receive a player you’re passionate about, it’s a good day,” Coyotes general manager John Chayka said. “He’s a guy who has unlimited upside. We think the sky’s the limit for him, and his ceiling is as high as anybody. That’s what we were looking for at that pick.
“He’s a smooth-skating, two-way defenseman who can play in all situations. He’s aggressive. He competes hard. I think he’s extremely, extremely smart. He’s got a good skill set. I think once he puts on a little size and some weight, that’s going to take his game to the next level. It’s not about putting him in our lineup tomorrow, it’s about three, four years down the road [and] where can he be, and we think he can be up there with anyone else.”
