Options aplenty for Coyotes with No. 5 pick at NHL Draft

Coyotes general manager John Chayka wasn’t tipping his hand on a conference call with reporters Wednesday to discuss the upcoming NHL Draft at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Friday and Saturday.

The Coyotes own the No. 5 overall pick. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is the consensus No. 1 pick for the Buffalo Sabres, and most analysts assume that the Carolina Hurricanes will take forward Andrei Svechnikov at No. 2.

What happens with the Montreal Canadiens at No . 3, and with the Ottawa Senators at No. 4 will determine what the Coyotes do with the fifth pick.

“We’re looking at a handful of guys that we all feel confident have an ability to make us a better team in the long term. It’s not a big group but it’s a group that we feel very good about,” Chayka said. “The only way we view it is we need to have five players that we would pick at No. 5 and one of them will be there. We’re certain there’s a couple that won’t be there but after that, depending on moving up or down or whoever’s got the pick, there’s no certainty.”

Chayka has said in the past that he weighs premium positions such as center and defense in his evaluation, but he cautioned against placing too much emphasis on that metric.

“I don’t weigh it a lot but I’ve always said you’ve got to weigh it,” Chayka said. “We include that in the decision-making process. If there’s two players and one is significantly better, then you’re going with the best player available.

“We all know how teams are built and we know the importance of [premium positions], but at the same time, it’s very tough to predict and project and get elite talented players so if you get a chance to pick an elite talented player just like we did with Clayton Keller, even though everyone wanted us to take a defenseman, we took the best player available.”

The Coyotes own five picks within the draft’s first 74. While Chayka stopped short of calling this a deep draft, he did say his scouting staff is excited about its opportunities as it heads to Dallas.

“All I can tell you is from my chair, there is a lot of enthusiasm from our scouting staff about those picks,” he said. “We feel really good about the opportunity to add some depth to our group, add some depth to our depth chart and continue to build out a first-class prospect system.”

Here is the Coyotes list of picks. You can view the full NHL draft order at this link.

Coyotes 2018 draft picks

First round: No. 5
Second round: No. 55 (from Minnesota)
Third round: No. 65, No. 73 (from Carolina), No. 74 (from Calgary)
Sixth round: No. 158
Seventh round: No. 189

Here’s a look at some of the options at No. 5

WINGS

Filip Zadina, Halifax Mooseheads: Zadina’s combination of size, speed and skill make him a top-tier prospect with the makings a point-producing machine. His lateral movements and straight-line speed are elite and he’s a developed defensive player, too. Montreal and Ottawa are both believed to have significant interest in him. The Czech Republic native won the Michael Bossy Trophy as the top professional prospect in the QMJHL after leading rookies with 82 points (44 goals, 38 assists) in 57 games in his first season in North America.

Brady Tkachuk, Boston University: Tkachuk is the son of former Coyote Keith Tkachuk and the brother of Calgary Flames wing Matthew Tkachuk. He is likely a top-10 pick, although some analysts expect him to fall on the draft board. He has size (6-3, 196 pounds), skill, speed, a quick release and a power forward’s mentality that would likely sit well with coach Rick Tocchet, a former teammate of Keith Tkachuk. Tocchet talked this season about needing more players who can create net-front presence. Tkachuk plays that game. He had eight goals and 31 points in 40 games as a freshman at BU. He was Team USA’s captain at the 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship. He’s probably NHL ready.

Oliver Wahlstrom, U.S. National Development Team: Wahlstrom is a pure goal scorer whose talents may only be bested by Svechnikov. He had 22 goals and 45 points in 26 games for the USNDT last season; 48 goals and 94 points in 62 games with the U.S. U18 team. At 6-1, 205, Wahlstrom is a two-way power forward with a quick release, an accurate shot and a lethal one-timer.

CENTER

Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Assat-Liiga (Finland): Kotkaniemi has risen fast up some draft boards, with The Athletic’s Corey Pronman projecting him to go to the Canadiens at No. 3. At 6-2, 188 pounds, he needs to fill out a little but he is versatile, sound in all areas. He was used on the penalty kill and in late-game situations, a nod to his defensive strengths. He has quick hands, good visions and yes, he’s a center which is the ultimate premium position. You can never have too many centers, but he can also play wing.

DEFENSEMEN

RD Adam Boqvist, Brynas (Sweden) Jr.: He’s right-handed, he’s dynamic, some scouts say he has the offensive toolbox of a forward and he’s been compared to Erik Karlsson. OK, that last part is probably a stretch, but Boqvist is Central Scouting’s second highest ranked international skater behind Dahlin after scoring 14 goals and 24 points in 25 games last season. Elite skilled, right-handed defenseman are unicorns in the NHL. Boqvist won’t turn 18 until August so he’ll need time to develop, but he is an awfully intriguing prospect.

RD Evan Bouchard, London Knights (OHL): Bouchard was the fifth-highest player on Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters. At 6-2, he has a good frame into which he can fill. He had 25 goals and 87 points with the Knights last season. Scouting reports touts his excellent skating skills, his ability to join the rush (Tocchet loves this) and a polished offensive skill-set. And yeah, he’s right-handed. Past Jason Demers, the next best right-handed prospect in the system is 2017 second-round pick Filip Westerlund.

RD Noah Dobson, Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL): Another right-handed defenseman about whom there were offensive questions before he put up 17 goals and 69 points in 62 games in the QMJHL this season and then had a terrific memorial Cup in the Titan’s run to the title. At 6-2, 180, he has some filling out to do.

LD Quinn Hughes, University of Michigan: Most teams are more interested in Hughes’ brother, Jack, a forward that wowed Chayka at the U18 World Championship in Chelyabinsk, Russia, but won’t be draft-eligible for another year. Quinn Hughes had five goals and 29 points in 37 games as a freshman for the Wolverines last season. A lot of analysts think he’ll be a top-five pick. Two facts that give us pause. Hughes is listed at 5-10 and may not be that tall. He’s also a left-handed defenseman who is close to NHL-ready. The Coyotes already have left-handed defensemen Oliver-Ekman-Larsson, Jakob Chychrun and Alex Goligoski under contract (not to mention Niklas Hjalmarsson), plus top prospects P.O. Joseph, Kyle Capobianco and Cam Dineen in the system. Despite Chayka’s best-player-available approach, it’s fair to question whether the Coyotes would draft yet another left-handed defenseman with so many greater organizational needs.

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