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Coyotes Dealing With Emotional Hurdles Of Losing McDavid, Eichel |
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It took a long time for the sting of losing the NHL Draft Lottery to subside from the Arizona Coyotes.
Like the Buffalo Sabres, the Desert Dogs were praying for the opportunity to select Jack Eichel or Connor McDavid.
When the first overall pick was won by Edmonton and the second overall pick was awarded to Buffalo, a state of shock overtook the Arizona Coyotes organization.
Their co-owner is still smarting from the lottery loss.
"It was tough, it was really tough to go through that," Coyotes co-Owner Anthony LeBlanc told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Tuesday. LeBlanc was in Toronto on April 19 where the NHL Draft Lottery was held. LeBlanc and his entire organization had hoped to win the first or second overall picks. They finished third.
"It definitely took some time to get over that, but what helped us get over that is the fact that whoever we end up picking at three is going to be one heck of a player," LeBlanc said. "The difference is, from everything I've heard, the one and two, these are generational players and, more importantly, they're guys that are ready to play in the NHL this coming season.
"We don't know if whoever we end up selecting in the third slot will be ready to play this coming season."
Be it Dylan Strome, Mitch Marner, or Noah Hanifin, the Dogs are going to be rewarded with a great player. However, the player that they draft third overall; will most likely not play in the NHL this season where McDavid will definitely be playing for Edmonton and Eichel for Buffalo.
Strome won the OHL scoring title with 129 points and carried the Erie Otters on his back when Connor McDavid missed six weeks of the season with a broken hand. Marner, who played alongside Coyotes first rounder Max Domi at the London Knights, scored 44 goals and added 82 assists and finished second overall in OHL scoring this season. Marner;s 126 points were 6 better than that McDavid kid. Noah Hanifan is the 18-year-old defenseman who recorded 23 points in 37 games as a freshman for Boston College in 2014-15.
LeBlanc said he's been told if not for McDavid and Eichel being in this draft, some of the players projected to be picked in the three to eight range would be comfortably viewed as potential top overall selections.
"So that's really what's helped us get over that emotional hurdle of not getting number one or number two," he said.
Reality has bitten the Coyotes front office and they have learned to live with the stinging pain that their third overall pick will not be able to make an immediate impact on their NHL roster this season.
The Coyotes compiled 56 points last season and will have to look to the trade and UFA markets this summer for the players who can help them win sooner than later.
For example, the Dogs acquired Quebec Remparts sniper Anthony Duclair from the New York Rangers in exchange for Keith Yandle just before the NHL trade deadline. Ranger fans would tell you that the Dogs got the better of that deal as Yandle was a disappointment for the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Tampa Lightning defeated the Rangers in seven games and will host the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of the Cup Finals tonight. Speaking of the Hawks, Don Maloney traded UFA to be Antoine Vermette to Chicago in exchange for their 2015 first round pick. The Dogs now own two first rounders in this month’s deep NHL Draft. Again, the players that the Dogs draft in the first round will not be on their NHL roster this season.
LeBlanc concedes that Don Maloney will have to be creative when he is assembling his 2015-16 roster.
"Look, we know that we're going to have some young players on the team, but we also know that we've got some holes to fill, and Don and his staff are at the combine right now in Buffalo, but we spent a lot of time talking about what holes are included in this team, where we need to add some veteran depth. We understand that we're going to have to spend a little bit more money."
The NHL's salary cap limit is expected to be $71 million-ish. The Dogs are at $36 million spent right no. Don’t look for the Coyotes to go on a drunken sailor shopping spree this summer.
"But where we end up, I'm being very honest with you, we haven't flushed it out yet," he said. "What we're trying to do this year differently than last year, is last year we came with a number and sent Don back into it. What we're saying this year is, 'Don, give us what you need to be a competitive team like a Calgary or Ottawa did this past season and let's figure out what we need to do.'
"Because we know it's critically important that this is a competitive team and is vying for a playoff spot."
“Coyotes in playoffs” is a bit of an oxymoron, isn’t it? I don’t see it happening as the Coyotes will be a young, inexperienced team that will have to leap frog Chicago, Anaheim, LA, Winnipeg, St. Louis, Minnesota, San Jose, Calgary, San Jose and others, like Edmonton in order to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2015-16.
Perhaps had won Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel they could be using the “P-word”.
Don’t be the least bit surprised when the Desert Dogs tank this season for the hopes and dreams of selecting Arizona native Auston Matthews first overall in 2016-17.
Problem being, new rules will be implemented for the 2016-17 NHL Lottery Draft. Unlike the McEichel draft, the top three draft positions in the Auston Matthews draft will be decided by the lottery procedure. LeBlanc and the Coyotes had a better chance and better odds of landing a generational player in McDavid or Eichel because only the number one pick was determined by the lottery. The Coyotes could tank this upcoming season away, finish 30th overall, and select fourth overall if they don't win one of the lotteries for the top three picks in the Auston Matthews draft.
Talk about emotional hurdles.
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Jack Eichel met with his future Buffalo Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma at the NHL Combine in Buffalo on Tuesday.
Eichel said Tuesday that last week, his Boston University bench boss Dave Quinn called him in for a season ending meeting.
"He was just talking about next season and what my plans were; it's tough to give him a grasp on what I might do. But he just gave me the pros and cons of both options," Eichel said of returning to school next season or turning pro. "The Combine is just another part of the process and it's exciting to be here. It's been a long year and the [Combine] was a date I definitely marked on the calendar. It's great to see a lot of people and kind of get the process [to the NHL draft] rolling."
Eichel told NHL.com on Tuesday that he hasn't made any final decisions regarding where he will play next season. He said that decision will be made after the NHL Draft.
Quinn has sid numerous times in recent weeks that he has told Eichel that he should pursue the NHL right now rather than stick around college looking to avenge BU's heartbreaking national championship loss to Providence.
Eichel became the second college freshman, and first since Paul Kariya at the University of Maine in 1993, to win the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey's best player. He led the NCAA in scoring with 71 points in 40 games. He also had 45 assists, a 1.77 points-per-game average and a +51 rating.
BU won the Beanpot Tournament and the Hockey East regular-season and postseason championships. Along the way Eichel set a Hockey East tournament record with 11 points.
He and his line mates Trevor Lewis and Brock Nelson were Team USA's top trio at the IIHF World Championships in Prague. Eichel played a grown man's game and dominated older NHL players while he accounted seven points in 10 games and earned the bronze medal.
"It was a great experience [at the World Championship]; I was really happy I made the decision to go over and play there," Eichel said. "I think I learned a lot from the older guys, playing with the pros and being around them. I think I learned about myself as a player and person. It was a good way to end my season playing at that level. I think I realized a lot of things I can work on and get better at before next season."
The North Chelmsford, Massachusetts product was a bona fide star in his first season of NCAA hockey for the BU Terriers. Eichel recorded 71 points in 40 games to lead college hockey in scoring as a true freshman. Eichel is only 18 years old for crying out loud and he averaged 1.77 point-per-game against men who are three and four years older than him. That's what I call impressive!
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Thanks, NHL
Jack Eichel has come for you, Buffalo.
The Hobey Baker Award winner arrived in Buffalo on Monday for the NHL Draft Combine.
Today, the soon to be Buffalo Sabre met with his future employer.
According to the Buffalo News, Tim Murray, Dan Bylsma, Ted Black and the Buffalo scouting staff shared some quality time with the BU Terrier frosh phenom.
Murray traveled many times this past winter, through treacherous NorEaster storms, to watch Eichel and his buddies Evan Rodrigues and Matt O'Connor play in Boston.
Now, Murray has home ice advantage with Eichel.
“It went really well,” Eichel said. “I got to know all their management and scouts and talk about my season and stuff, so it was a lot of fun. I liked it. It was a good meeting.”
The Sabres finished 30th overall in the NHL standings for the second season in a row and earned the second overall pick for the second tear in a row. In 2014, the Sabres selected Samson Reinhart second overall.
“It’s nice to be here,” said Eichel.
“The odds are that I’ll be selected here, so I’m just trying to get a feel for the city. It was nice to meet the management and see coach Bylsma again. It’s really good. I’ve been enjoying myself.”
Eichel and Bylsma strengthened their relationship on Team USA's bronze medal winning squad at the recently completed IIHF World Championships in Prague. Bylsma also performed color commentary duties for the NHL Network at the 2015 World Junior Hockey Championships in Montreal and Toronto six months ago.
“It was nice to get to know him and it was nice that he got the job,” Eichel said. “We did a few video sessions together. I think he’s a really good hockey guy, and I’d love to play for him.”
The last freshman to win the Hobey Baker award was Paul Kariya. That puts Jack Eichel in pretty elite company.
The 6'2", 195 pound Eichel needs to hit the squat rack and bench and military press stations in he weight room. He is already hard for men to knock off the puck, however, he projects to be a number one center in the same vein as Ryan Getzlaf and Anze Kopitar: big, strong, skilled, determined, and loves to shoot, pass, and protect the puck.
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Connor McDavid told NHL.com that he was nervous prior to meeting with the Oilers' management group in Buffalo on Tuesday, which included general manager Peter Chiarelli.
"It was exciting and obviously that's the kind of team you want to be with if you are drafted No. 1," McDavid said. "[Chiarelli] was saying all the right things. He was intense and he's definitely looking to win. He's not going to settle for mediocrity."
McDavid and Eichel are two of 120 players that were invited to the Combine this week.
McDavid was named the CHL player of the year on May 30.
He was third in OHL scoring with 120 points and was tied for fourth with 44 goals in 47 regular-season games. He had points in 45 of 47 games, 36 multi-point games and a streak of 27 games with at least a point, the longest in the OHL since the 2007-08 season.
"There were really no questions asked that surprised; they were the type of questions you're going to expect a lot of teams ask," McDavid said. "I just want to make an impression with teams I talk to, make sure they understand what kind of guy I am and what I can bring to their team.
"Other than that I just want to make sure they know I'm doing all the right things, working hard in the gym, and maybe they'll put together a decent score for me."
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Erie's dream season ended abruptly when the Otters lost to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Oshawa Generals in five games.
McDavid said the Oilers asked why he felt Erie lost to Oshawa. McDavid led all OHL players in the postseason with 21 goals and 49 points in 20 games, but had two goals and seven points in five games against Oshawa.
"I think we were excited after beating Sault Ste. Marie [in the conference final] and I would say a lot of people were kind of content with being [in the championship]," McDavid said. "I know for a lot of other guys it was different; we really wanted it. I don't know if we peaked but we were excited and happy after beating the Greyhounds."
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