BUFFALO -- There is "a lot of damage that we could do" at the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, according to Arizona Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong.
The Coyotes are the only team with two lottery picks in the first round; their own at No. 6 and No. 12, which they acquired from the Ottawa Senators in the trade of defenseman Jakob Chychrun on March 1.
"It is a big opportunity for us," Armstrong said Saturday at the 2023 NHL Scouting Combine presented by adidas. "It's an exciting time for us. This draft has what we need in it. Just sit back and be prepared and expect the unexpected. You never know what's coming your way."
The Coyotes were 27th in the NHL at 2.74 goals per game, the ninth straight season they've ranked in the bottom 10 in the NHL.
The 2023 draft is stocked with top-end forwards that should be available for Arizona high in the first round, among them left wing Zach Benson of Winnipeg of the Western Hockey League; USA National Team Development Program Under-18 team right wing Ryan Leonard, center Oliver Moore and right wing Gabriel Perreault; and University of Connecticut right wing Matthew Wood.
Armstrong said at the moment the Coyotes plan on using both first-round selections. But he also understands the opportunity available to move back and collect more assets, or attempt to move up in what is considered a deep crop of prospects.
"Most times when you're in that range, you usually hang out in that range," he said. "But we're not opposed to looking at some options. ... It's an exciting time for us."
In addition to the two first-round picks, the Coyotes have one pick in the second round and four in the third, as well as eight picks in the top three rounds of the 2024 NHL Draft -- one in the first round, four in the second and three in the third.
So Armstrong knows he'll be a popular GM time as draws closer to the 2023 draft.
"We'll see what opportunities [arise]," Armstrong said. "I think with the amount of picks that we have in the next upcoming drafts, there's a lot of damage that we could do and there's a lot of options we can do. So we've tried to look at every option possible and just kind of really see what we're going to get in and we'll go from there."
It will be Armstrong's third draft since being hired by the Coyotes on Sept. 17, 2020. Some of the fruits of Arizona's drafting labor are starting to pay off. Forward Dylan Guenther, the No. 9 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, is expected to be in the NHL next season after the 20-year-old had 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 33 games to start the season, then helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship and Seattle win the Western Hockey League championship and reach the final game of Memorial Cup.
They had three first-round picks last season, forwards Logan Cooley (No. 3) and Conor Geekie (No. 11), and defenseman Maveric Lamoureux (No. 29). Cooley will return for a second season at the University of Minnesota in 2023-24 after the 19-year-old finishing second in the NCAA with 60 points (29 goals, 38 assists) in 39 games as a freshman this seasn, and he led the U.S. at the WJC with 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in seven games.
Geekie, 19, had 77 points (35 goals, 42 assists) in 66 games for Winnipeg of the WHL. Lamoureux, 19, missed the first 31 games of the season recovering from a shoulder injury but had 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) in 35 games for Drummondville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
"We're building from within," Armstrong said. "It's really hard to get key guys in your organization unless you draft them. It's a drafting league. You look at all the top players in the league, they usually stay with the team that drafted them. So for us, it's the only way to get elite players and help us to take that next step to win a championship."
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