Armstrong Excited as Coyotes are in 'Good Spot' for 2023 NHL Draft

General Manager Bill Armstrong has made it loud and clear: The 2023 NHL Draft is the most critical draft in Arizona Coyotes' history.

It's not meant to sound dramatic. The team has made great strides over the past few seasons in adding to its increasingly talented prospect pool, first drafting Dylan Guenther ninth overall in 2021 before adding first-rounders Logan Cooley, Conor Geekie, and Maveric Lamoureux last year.

Now in Nashville, Armstrong and his staff have 12 total picks, including two in the first round, and the Coyotes' general manager is laser-focused on the task at hand.

"I keep saying it every year," Armstrong said. "This is the most important draft this franchise has ever had."

Arizona's GM has held steadfast to his plan of building a perennial championship contender through the draft. In addition to the first-round selections mentioned previously, he and his staff have stocked the cupboards with talent and a plethora of picks since 2021, and those prospects, alongside the team's current young core of Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz, Barrett Hayton, Matias Maccelli, J.J. Moser, Juuso Välimäki, Sean Durzi, and Karel Vejmelka, offer plenty of reasons for optimism in the future.

This year's draft will only add to that excitement, starting with two picks the first round on Wednesday.

"We've got a chance to pick two good players that can come in and have some impact for us as an organization," Armstrong said. "There's an opportunity for us, and we like the players that are there. It's obviously dictated by who the other teams take in front of us, but it's a good draft and we feel like we can get two quality players."

Coyotes Director of Amateur Scouting Darryl Plandowski said the plan for the team hasn't changed from previous NHL Drafts: the scouting staff almost always looks at the best available player, as opposed to filling any sort of positional need - especially in the earlier rounds.

The staff has studied every prospect extensively and interviewed nearly 60 prospects at the NHL combine earlier this month, interactions that offer a small glimpse into a players' potential fit within the organization.

"What Bill is really pushing is that we need to make sure the guys have character, make sure they're tough, make sure that they will toe the line as a teammate, and make sure they'll do the extras as far as individuals go," Plandowski said. "Winning is hard. You just saw the Stanley Cup Final, and guys are playing with broken bones. Those are the guys that we want.

"We want guys that will lead for the Coyotes and be good teammates, be good in the community, and be good human beings."

That's the type of character Armstrong has tasked his staff to evaluate - in addition to skill level, of course - and with an incredible stockpile of picks over the next few years, the Coyotes have a chance to do exactly that.

The general mindset, especially with so many available picks, is to continue to add as many good, talented players as possible without taking any unnecessary risks. That logic is already evident with prospects from previous draft classes.

Guenther, for example, recently played for the Memorial Cup, won the WHL Championship with the Seattle Thunderbirds, and scored the gold-medal winning overtime goal for Team Canada in the 2023 World Junior Championship. Jérémy Langlois (2022, 94th overall) just won the Memorial Cup with the QMJHL's Québec Remparts, Sam Lipkin (2021, 223rd overall) won a national championship with Quinnipiac, and Cooley finished as an NCAA runner-up while being named as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as a the nation's best college hockey player.

"That's what we mean by stacking good players, and we will continue to fill the cupboards with players that are going to be potential NHL players," said Coyotes Associate Director of Amateur Scouting Ryan Jankowski. "It could be down the road where you want to take a few swings, but you can't underestimate the final goal of when you have this type of volume, and you need to ensure you make the most out of it."

That mentality is something that Armstrong has been tasked with since taking over as GM in 2020.

"At my opening press conference I was asked, 'How do you fix some of the things that need to be addressed,' and I said, 'There's only one way to do that, and it's by adding good player, after good player, after good player. Soon enough, you're a good team,'" Armstrong said. "We will continue to bring good players in, whether it's through waivers, the draft, or acquiring them any way we can.

"When you find ways to bring good players into your organization, it fixes a lot of things, because you start to win and then you're viewed in a different light. Then you get a chance to make playoffs, and you make playoffs, and you get a chance to win the playoffs, and that all is from acquiring good players and stacking one good player on top of another good player."

Armstrong's staff has learned to prepare for it all, especially considering he has shown no hesitation in years past to be active in the trade market on the draft floor.

The unexpected is, in fact, expected.

"Expect the unexpected a good little slogan because this year we're picking at six -- last year we were picking at three and we probably had a better idea of who we were going to get," Plandowski said. "We're ready for a lot of scenarios."

Jankowski agreed.

"This is that time of year where you're preparing for every scenario," he said. "That's the thing I'm proud of with our group, with our staff, is that we are prepared for everything."

No matter what transpires on Wednesday and Thursday, Armstrong has made it clear that he won't hesitate to make a move if the right opportunity comes up.
After all, 2023 marks yet another critical draft for the Coyotes, who will unquestionably leave Nashville with an even more stacked prospect pool than they already have.

"We can be aggressive in the draft," Armstrong said. "To be able to squeeze 22 picks out of there in the last two years is something that's hard to do, and we've been able to do it. We'll continue to try and move up in the draft at any time.

"When we see a player with maximum value coming our way, if we can get up there and get them, we're certainly going to try."