Keller Confident He Can Improve on Rookie Season

GLENDALE -Clayton Keller knows producing points in his second NHL season will be more difficult to do than in his first, and he has prepared for the challenge.
"Last year, as the year went on, teams tried to key in on me and that's something I'm going to have for the rest of my career," Keller said just before starting training camp this weekend. "I'm not going to play any differently. You take what they give you and you create chances by doing the little things."

Keller,
who finished third in the Calder Trophy voting
after notching a team-high 23 goals and 65 points as a freshman, spent his summer working out with a trainer he knows from his one-year stay at Boston University. The goal was to get bigger and faster. Along the way, he said he improved his vertical jump and decreased his body fat.
"I feel really good and I've put on a few pounds," Keller said. "I expect myself to be ready for all 82 games (this season). You learn during your first year just how hard the schedule is, so this year I know kind of what to expect and how to take care of my body."

Keller, 20, was the first rookie in Coyotes history to lead the team in scoring for a season, and he now holds Coyotes rookie records for goals, assists (42), points and games played (82) in one season. The trick, of course, is to avoid a letdown in his second season, aka sophomore slump.
"It's obviously different," Keller said. "The first year you don't really know what to expect and you're so excited going into every building. I think the second year you kind of know what it's like so you've got to be up for every game. I had a huge summer this summer so I'm really focused to get off to a good start and I'm not reading into anything like that."
Head Coach Rick Tocchet and Keller talk hockey all of the time, on and off the ice. Tocchet said Keller loves hockey so much he even watches his teammates practice at training camp before his group's practice begins or after his group's practice ends. Because of that dedication, and because of his hockey IQ and work ethic, Tocchet is not worried about Keller slumping in his second season.
"It's going to get harder," Tocchet said. "He's going to have people playing him harder and (opponents) will probably be pre-scouting him a little bit more. He's got to realize that it's going to get harder, and he realizes that ... I'm not concerned about him."

Keller played most of last season with center Derek Stepan on Arizona's top line. Stepan is confident Keller can accomplish what he produced last season and then some.
"There's a lot of very talented players that come into the league and have good rookie seasons," Stepan said. "The difference between having a good rookie season and coming in your next year and having a great sophomore year is your learning curve. 'Kells' in his first year showed that he learns quickly, and coming into this year he had a great off-season and he worked extremely hard and he got his body ready to go for another 82. I expect that learning curve to keep coming."
He added: "He's going to be a guy that we're going to lean on heavily to produce for us and sometimes that takes a little more weight on your shoulders. But he can handle it. He's ready for it."