The Coyotes made the only trade on Friday night when they sent their second round pick to the Flyers in order to swap firsts and move up three spots.
With the 11th pick, they selected Victor Soderstrom, a Swedish defeseman. Most of the stuff I was able to find on him talked about how he was a 17 year-old playing against men, and that because he didn't play in any tournaments against his peers, he was difficult to judge.
It would seem that the Coyotes saw him more than anyone else did and that they liked him the best. Perhaps they've selected a diamond in the rough here, but you never know.
I like their aggression, and the fact that they identified who they wanted and made it happen.
I got most information for this piece from an Athletic article by Corey Pronman, who i'd consider the best prospect writer covering the NHL.
Instead of just repeating his words, I figured that listing them just made the most sense. If you're interested, there's lot of scouting reports to read out there.
Their next pick was John Farinacci, number 76. He is an American centre whose draft slot dropped because of an injury that affected his skating. Looks like a decent pick, but who knows?
Mattias Maccelli a left winger, at #98.
Alexander Daryin, a right winger, at #107 He is Russian.
Aku Raty, RW, #151
Danil Savunov, Left Wing. #174
Anthony Roman C #176
Axel Bergvist D #200
Valentin Nussbaumer C #207
Reading the reports on all these guys, it looks like the Coyotes philosophy was to take guys who either had injuries, didn't play the normal circuit, or have specific flaws in their games in order to grab players who otherwise would have went much higher.
They appear to have grabbed a talented bunch of players with upside, but really, who knows? Only time will tell.
I do like the trade to move up though, as I feel being aggressive to get the guy you want makes sense if you believe in yourself and your scouting staff.
As always, the draft is fun, but leaves you with more questions than answers.
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