Ice Ten: Coyotes make 10 picks on Busy Second Day of NHL Draft

Now that was a busy day.

The Arizona Coyotes entered the second day of the 2023 NHL Draft with 10 selections, and ultimately ended up making every single pick they arrived with. Combined with Wednesday's first-round selections - defenseman Dmitri Simashev and forward Daniil But -- General Manager Bill Armstrong and his team are leaving Music City with 12 new players in the organization, and a prospect cupboard that's beginning to burst at the seams with talent.

Some highlights from Arizona's selections on Thursday include towering goalie Michael Hrabal from the USHL's Omaha Lancers, as well as forwards Jonathan Castagna and Noel Nordh from St. Andrew's College and Sweden's J20 Nationell, respectively. In all, the Coyotes are leaving Nashville with six forwards, three defenseman, and three goalies - seven of which came in the top 100.

What a great week at the office.

"This is an exciting time," Associate Director of Amateur Scouting Ryan Jankowski said. "We were excited after last year's draft with the three first rounders, and now we add in a forward (But), a defenseman (Simashev), and a goalie (Hrabal), and start to round out even more now. That's Bill's plan."

Hrabal was listed at-or-near the top of nearly every pundit's draft board, with NHL Central Scouting's rankings placing him second among international netminders. The towering 6-foot-7, 215 pound goaltender spent the 2022-23 season with the USHL's Omaha Lancers, where he posted a 2.86 goals-against average and .908 save percentage over 31 games.

The 18-year-old was named to the USHL's All-Rookie team this season, was named as a Top 3 Player on Czechia's 2023 IIHF U18 World Championship team, and posted a 2.73 GAA and .917 SV% in four games at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

"He's had a lot of moments this year where you see exceptional ability," Jankowski said. "You see the goalie run start and we felt at that point, we got the defenseman and the forward yesterday, let's go out and get a goalie. Let's stockpile a goalie we feel is an elite potential goaltender and get that started."

Hrabal's parents were in attendance with him, something he said helped make the moment even more special. He said he tries to use his size to his advantage, and considers himself very mobile, even with such a big frame.

"I still have to work a lot, prove a lot, and hopefully I can step on the ice in Arizona and help the team," Hrabal said. "I think I can come to Arizona and have a big impact in the future."

The Coyotes didn't shy away from taking additional goaltenders on Thursday, either, first selecting Melker Thelin at 134th before taking Carsen Musser with their last pick of the day at 166.

Arizona's Director of Amateur Scouting Darryl Plandowski said the addition of three goalies into the system is something that will continue to pay dividends down the road.

"To have a goalie in the organization that you trust, it just calms everything down, so getting a goalie we really liked goes a long way," Plandowski said. "They all have good potential and they're all good kids."

Following Simashev's selection at sixth overall on Wednesday, the Coyotes didn't draft another blue liner until the fourth round, choosing Terrell Goldsmith from the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders at 102. They then selected another WHL defenseman, Justin Kipkie from the Victoria Royals, 160th overall.

Arizona used all four of its third round picks on forwards, first picking Castagna at 70th before adding Nordh at 72, Tanner Ludtke at 81, and Vadim Moroz at 88. The team's sixth-and-final forward selection came with Samu Bau in the sixth round, taking him 162nd overall.

Castagna is a product of Canadian High School Hockey's St. Andrew's College, and is committed to Cornell University for the 2023-24 season. The Toronto, Ontario native recorded 29 goals and 43 assists with St. Andrew's last season, a strong showing in a renown Canadian hockey program.

He said he considers his speed and hockey IQ as a major strength and uses his size (6-foot-2, 194 pounds) to play a physical game. Even so, he wants to chip in more around the net, something that's still a work in progress.

"I think I have a lot of offensive upside, which I've been exploring," Castagna said. "I think if I solidify that, I'll be a pretty deadly player all around."

Nordh had an exciting 2022-23 season, winning a Hlinka Gretzky Cup silver medal, an IIHF U18 World Championship silver medal, and a World Junior A Challenge bronze. The Söderhamn, Sweden native even played 10 games this past season with Brynäs IF in the SHL, scoring one goal in the process.

He said he has followed much of Clayton Keller's career, and is excited to begin his journey to the NHL.

"I'm so shocked right now, this is sick," Nordh said. "To be a part of Arizona is a dream come true."

Ludtke posted 66 points in 57 games with the USHL's Lincoln Stars last season and is committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for the 2023-24 season. Moroz, meanwhile, recorded five goals and nine assists in 39 games with the KHL's Dinamo Minsk, and also said he's good friends with But, who was drafted 12th overall on Wednesday.

"To be drafted by the Coyotes is a dream," Ludtke said. "I was hoping for these guys and it came true."

The last forward of the day selected by the Coyotes was Finnish prospect Samu Bau, who played with Ilves in Finland's top League, Liiga, last season. He recorded two points in 25 games in the Finnish Elite League, and won a bronze medal with Finland in 2021-22 at the IIHF U18 World Championship.

Tweet from @ArizonaCoyotes: "I���m just trying to stay in the moment and remember this and I���m sure I���ll remember this for the rest of my life.��� And this is just the beginning. We're happy to have you, Johnathan! #PackLove pic.twitter.com/osq8K8uKly

As the prospects move on in their respective directions to continue making strides toward reaching the NHL someday, Arizona continues to be loaded up with draft picks for the foreseeable future, and has 14 combined picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 and 2025 NHL Draft.

"We've got picks the next couple of years that are high picks, which is always exciting for the staff, but it allows you to stack players and see how they develop," Jankowski said. "We have lots of good picks and lots of good prospects right now, and we'll just see over the next couple of years how they develop."