Maine Hockey Journal

Coyotes select nine players in entry draft

The Arizona Coyotes wrapped up its weekend in at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with what can only be called a successful NHL Entry Draft after adding nine prospects into the fold.

The Coyotes, the Portland Pirates NHL parent club, underwent a name change over the weekend, changing their name from the Phoenix Coyotes to the Arizona Coyotes to better represent what they hope will be a growing fan base by reaching out to more of the state of Arizona. The team also changed its name as part of its new lease with the City of Glendale where the Coyotes home, Jobing.com Arena is located.

With their first round pick on Friday evening, the Coyotes used its first round pick (12th overall) to select forward Brendan Perlini from the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League.

Perlini, 18, registered 34 goals, 37 assists for 71 points in 58 games with Niagara this season. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario led the IceDogs in goals and finished second on the team in scoring. He was also named the most sportsmanlike IceDog in 2013-14.

Perlini tallied four points (3g, 1a) in seven games with Team Canada at the 2014 U18 World Championship, winning a bronze medal with Canada. Perlini ranked eighth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

On Saturday, the Coyotes were busy taking eight more players beginning with forward Ryan MacInnis from the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL with the 43rd pick (second round) of the Entry Draft. MacInnis, the son of NHL Hall of Fame defenseman, Al, appeared in 66 games with Kitchener this season, scoring 16 goals, 21 assists for 37 points. The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder from St. Louis, Missouri earned a bronze medal (2g, 3a) with the US National Development Team at the 2013 World U17 Hockey Challenge.

With the 58th overall pick (second round), Arizona selected forward Christian Dvorak from the London Knights of the OHL. The 6-foot, 178-pound native of Palos, Ill., registered six goals eight assists for 14 points in 33 games with the Knights this season. In 2012-13, the 18-year-old Dvorak recorded 35 goals 57 assists 92 points in 58 games with Chicago Mission U-18 squad.

The Coyotes used its 73rd overall pick to gain a fourth round draft pick – a pick they did not originally have due to a previous trade – in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens, sending the 73rd pick to Montreal for the 87th and 117th pick. Arizona used the 87th overall pick (third round) to select forward Anton Karlsson from Frolunda Jr. of the Swedish Junior League. Karlsson, a 6-foot, 192-pound native of Lerum, Sweden, is the younger brother of Ottawa Senators’ defenseman Erik Karlsson. Karlsson posted 12 goals, 10 assists for 22 points in 28 games with Frolunda’s U-20 team this season. Karlsson was the youngest player on Sweden’s silver medal winning team at the 2014 World Junior Championship. He was ranked 11th among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

With the 117th overall pick (fourth round), Arizona selected forward Michael Bunting from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. The 5-foot-11, 174-pound native of Scarborough, Ont. registered 42 points (15g, 27a) in 48 games with the Greyhounds in 2013-14. He also posted five goals, one assist for six points in nine games during Sault Ste. Marie’s OHL postseason run last season.

Defenseman Dysin Mayo was taken by the Coyotes in the fifth round (133rd overall pick) from the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League. The 6-foot, 181-pound native of Victoria, B.C. registered seven goals 28 assists 35 points with a plus-17 rating in 63 games with the Oil Kings this season. Mayo scored 15 points 3g, 12a) in 21 postseason games.

With the 163rd overall pick (sixth round), Arizona selected defenseman David Westlund from Brynas Jr. (Sweden Jr.). The 6-foot-2, 198-pound native of Ostersund, Sweden recorded five goals, 5 assists for 10 points in 33 games with Brynas this season.

The Coyotes used its final two picks to select forwards as they took Jared Fiegl with the 191st overall pick in the seventh round, and Edgars Kulda from the Oil Kings with the 193rd overall pick. Fiegl hails from the USNDPT U-18 squad that plays in the USHL. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound native of Parker, Col. recorded played in 37 games with the USA U-18 team this season, winning a gold medal with Team USA at the 2014 IIHF U18 World Championship.

Kulda maybe prove to be a sleeper in the draft as the forward was a key cog in the Oil Kings Memorial Cup run this past season. The 6-foot, 178-pound native of Riga, Latvia finished with 30 goals, 30 assists for 60 points and a plus-34 rating in 66 games with the Oil Kings this season. He was ranked second on the team in postseason scoring with 10 goals, 12 assists for 22 points in 21 games while his posting plus-14 postseason rating, which was first among all Oil Kings. Kulda was named winner of the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as the Memorial Cup’s most valuable player after posting seven points (4g, 3a) in five tournament games.

It’s expected all nine players will attend the Coyotes’ prospect development camp which is schedule for July 8-10 at the Ice Den in Scottsdale, AZ. Pirates’ GM and head coach Ray Edwards will be taking part in the camp.

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