On Jan. 6, 2024, the Arizona Coyotes recalled ahead Dylan Guenther again up from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. The recall was made after ahead Jason Zucker had been suspended and Guenther’s callup was speculated to be short-term. Nevertheless, he by no means appeared again as soon as known as up and performed the rest of the common season with the Coyotes. In 45 video games within the NHL final season, the right-handed shooter scored 18 objectives and added 17 assists for 35 factors. How did the now Utah Hockey Membership‘s 21-year-old have such a productive season?
Who’s Dylan Guenther?
With out a commerce on draft day in 2021, Guenther would have by no means grow to be a Coyote. On July 23, 2021, Arizona began its offseason rebuild. They despatched defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and ahead Connor Garland to the Vancouver Canucks for the ninth choose within the first spherical of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, two different draft picks, and three getting old bottom-six gamers. The Coyotes used the ninth-overall choose to pick Guenther from the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL.)
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The Coyotes wanted goal-scoring of their lineup. Whereas forwards Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz had been go-to gamers for Arizona for the previous a number of seasons, they’re recognized extra for his or her playmaking skills. Guenther is a bona fide aim scorer who excels in his taking pictures abilities. He scored 45 objectives in WHL within the 2021-22 season.
In his final season with the Oil Kings (2021-22), he notched 91 factors in 59 video games. His spectacular season in Edmonton earned him a spot on the Coyotes’ roster for the 2022-23 season. Guenther performed in 33 video games that season and recorded 15 factors. On the time, Arizona was in its rebuilding section and wished to see extra growth from its first-round choice. Subsequently, he went again to the WHL for the rest of the season with the Seattle Thunderbirds. He mustered 29 factors in 20 video games in Seattle and have become a back-to-back Ed Chynoweth Cup champion.
Guenther’s 2023-24 Season
To start out Arizona’s final season within the NHL, there was no room for Guenther to play a top-six function for the Coyotes. Barrett Hayton centered Keller and Schmaltz on line one, and rookie Logan Cooley centered Matias Maccelli and Zucker on line two. Subsequently, the Coyotes’ workers thought it was finest for him to start out the season with the Roadrunners within the AHL. Whereas it might have been disappointing for him to open the season in Tucson, he was their main scorer by means of 29 video games with 28 factors. He was additionally chosen together with goalie Matthew Villalta to signify the Roadrunners within the 2024 AHL All-Star Basic.
After being known as up, Guenther recorded three factors in his first two video games again within the NHL. Quickly after his name up, the Coyotes went on a 14-game dropping streak (0-12-2 throughout that span.) He snapped their dropping skid on March 1, 2024, towards the Ottawa Senators, scoring a game-winning power-play aim within the third interval. He adopted up his two-point efficiency in Ottawa with a three-point night time in Washington towards the Capitals the next recreation.
Nevertheless, the very best recreation of his younger profession got here on April 10, 2024 towards the Canucks. Guenther contributed to every of Arizona’s 4 objectives of their 4-3 win in Vancouver. On his twenty first birthday, he recorded one aim and three assists. His third help on the night time discovered Cooley for a back-door tap-in which was the time beyond regulation game-winner.
In his final 4 video games with the Coyotes, he accrued eight factors. Arizona’s head coach André Tourigny was happy together with his offensive efficiency this previous season and different areas of the sport.
“All people talks about his taking pictures; OK, it’s apparent,” Tourigny mentioned. “However he has a superb stick. He reads the play extraordinarily nicely. He performs extraordinarily nicely in his personal zone. He sees the play earlier than the play occurs; he’s two performs forward on a regular basis. He performs with numerous tempo offensively; strikes his toes and will get in on the forecheck. He goes by means of the impartial zone actually rapidly; sees choices actually rapidly.”
The rationale for his shocking season? Enjoying with forwards Lawson Crouse and Cooley. Crouse gives a two-way recreation, Cooley brings talent and velocity, and Guenther’s depraved taking pictures skills prime off what the road will convey to Utah of their inaugural marketing campaign. He additionally was given minutes on Arizona’s prime power-play unit later within the season with forwards Alex Kerfoot, Schmaltz, Keller, and defenseman Sean Durzi. On the person benefit final season, the 6-foot-2, 181-pounder lit the lamp 4 occasions and recorded 9 helpers.
Outlook for Utah
Based mostly on how the Guenther/Cooley/Crouse line carried out within the second half of final season, search for Tourigny to maintain these three collectively on the second line. Guenther arguably has the very best right-handed shot on Utah’s roster, so search for him to be positioned within the “Alex Ovechkin workplace” (the left face-off circle) on Uath’s prime power-play unit.
The 21-year-old is coming into the final yr of his entry-level contract earlier than he turns into a restricted free agent. Subsequently, search for the 2024-25 marketing campaign to be a full season within the NHL and a breakout one for Guenther. It must be an thrilling yr for followers in Utah as they hope to make the playoffs of their first season within the NHL.
