Coyotes sign 1st-round pick Dylan Guenther to entry-level contract

The Arizona Coyotes have signed the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Dylan Guenther, to a three-year entry-level contract, the team announced on Monday.

Guenther is an 18-year-old forward from Canada who played for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL). In the 2020-21 season, he played in 12 games where he recorded 24 points which led all players.

The Coyotes selected Guenther after the team acquired the first-round pick from the Vancouver Canucks as part of a deal for Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland.

“We are very pleased to welcome Dylan to the Coyotes organization,” said general manager Bill Armstrong after the signing. “Dylan is an extremely skilled and smart player with a great work ethic.

“We are confident that he will become a very good NHL player and look forward to watching his development this season.”

In 78 career games for the Oil Kings, Guenther has registered 41 goals and 46 assists. In 2019-20, he became the first player in franchise history to win the Jim Pigott Trophy, awarded to the rookie of the year in the WHL after totaling 59 points in his first season.

Guenther won gold with Team Canada at the IIHF U18 World Championships, where he scored four goals in seven games while serving as an alternate captain.

Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

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