PHILADELPHIA — When NHL teams draft for future development, it’s difficult to project impact players.
After all, most return to their junior teams, and clubs hope to realize a player’s potential on draft day rather than their influence.
While the Arizona Coyotes had nine picks in the recently concluded NHL draft at the Wells Fargo Center, the projection of players actually skating for the Coyotes at the major league level remains slim.
That’s the conclusion of Tim Bernhardt, director of amateur scouting for the Coyotes, who told reporters after the draft that the success rate of players transitioning from draft day to the NHL is marginal at best.
“If we get two, three, four guys out of this draft and play in the NHL, we’ll be very happy,” Bernhardt told reporters at the conclusion of the draft. “That’s how is usually goes.”
At the end of the player selections, the Coyotes finished with those nine picks but chose only one defenseman. That’s because of need and also because, as Bernhardt pointed out, “this was not a strong draft for defensemen.”
“Every time y ...
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Article written by Mark Brown
Arizona Coyotes Draft for the Future, Realize 2014 Picks Need Development
June 28th, 2014 by Mark Brown Leave a reply »
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