Coyotes draft F Dylan Guenther with No. 9 overall pick in 2021 NHL Draft

The Arizona Coyotes selected forward Dylan Guenther with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, after completing a trade earlier in the day to acquire the pick from the Vancouver Canucks.

Guenther was ranked as the No. 5 skater in North America by NHL.com and the No. 6 overall prospect by Sporting News.

“It was an unreal and surreal moment for myself,” Guenther said on a Zoom call after the draft.

General manager Bill Armstrong noted that new head coach Andre Tourigny coached Guenther for some time at the U18 World Championships.

“I think it was nice to hear out of the coach’s mouth ‘hey this guy’s the guy, this is the guy!'” Armstrong said. “He was dancing on the table when we took him.

At 6-foot-2, 181 pounds, Guenther scored 87 points and logged a +47 in 78 career games with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

He was named the player of the year in Central Division of the Western Hockey League and won the WHL’s Jim Pigott Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year in 2019-20.

Hey @ArizonaCoyotes fans, here’s a taste of what Dylan Guenther has to offer! pic.twitter.com/Wkfn52WYvQ

— The WHL (@TheWHL) July 24, 2021

Guenther said he was excited to be part of the Coyotes after a big day full of trades.

“They’re an up and coming team and they’ve made some big news today and I’m excited to be part of the future,” Guenther said.

Arizona completed a trade earlier in the day, sending former captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Conor Garland to Vancouver for forwards Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel and the 9th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Arizona also received a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 seventh-round selection.

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