Phoenix Coyotes CHL prospect pool low in numbers, high in potential

[HF Article]

 
The Phoenix Coyotes prospect pool currently features a modest total of seven players currently playing in the Canadian Hockey League. What they lack in numbers though they certainly make up for in talent with several of the players possessing the potential to become quality players at the next level.



First-round selections Connor Murphy and Henrik Samuelsson along with second-round pick Lucas Lessio all rank within the club’s top seven prospects, while James Melindy and Andrew Fritsch are underrated players who continue to make strides in their junior careers.

WHL

Henrik Samuelsson, C, Edmonton Oil Kings
Acquired 1st round (27th overall) in 2012

Samuelsson entered his first full season in the WHL with the pressure of being a first-round draft choice and he has not disappointed the Coyotes or his junior team in Edmonton.… read more



More...

[XX]

I know that we have a lot of D prospects, but Kessy isn't one of them.

Nice to see guys having solid seasons. I'd be curious to hear more from fans about Melindy and Hache, given that those are Knickle picks. It's nice to not completely whiff on half of the picks for once.

[RemoAZ]

The thing that jumps out about this group is size. There's a lot of it and some physical play that should translate well to the NHL. It will be nice if Samuelsson pans out to be a big center than can give us some scoring.

[BUX7PHX]

Originally Posted by RemoAZ

The thing that jumps out about this group is size. There's a lot of it and some physical play that should translate well to the NHL. It will be nice if Samuelsson pans out to be a big center than can give us some scoring.

Definitely.

I think that this was one of the objectives of the draft two years ago - start bringing in some additional size to go with the skill (even though we lacked consistent point production through the minors with our other offensive draft picks from previous years).

Players like Ruopp and Kessy were targeted for that, and Murphy apparently has grown if he is now listed at 6'5". Players like Lessio and Fritsch may have been guys who were taken b/c we really did not get scoring in the earlier rounds.

Last year, we were able to add size with some offensive talent in Samuelsson and others will step in as well, especially Melindy and Hache.

I think we have a real solid and talented core to build from within, we just need to surround with some complementary players, many of those need to be the 2nd and 3rd round picks that we would typically miss with in the past, up to about 3 years ago...

[DesertDawg]

Good to hear that Connor is healthy and contributing. I think he will be a solid NHL player as long as he stays healthy.