Sarah McLellan

azcentral sports

In renovating their front-office structure since the season ended, the Coyotes have ushered in a new order that accentuates innovation and teamwork amid a player-first approach.

And although this model emerged only earlier this month when the Coyotes appointed John Chayka as general manager, it’s likely to be put into practice when the team shifts its draft preparation to the NHL scouting combine.

“It’s just about gathering as much information as possible,” Chayka said. “The combine is an opportunity to use that information in conjunction with your scouts’ evaluation to ensure you have the best chance to draft the best player, and so we’re really going to dig in and try to find any little advantage we can to help us make a better decision.”

The combine kicks off Sunday in Buffalo and runs through June 4, giving teams the opportunity to sift through 114 prospects before the draft begins June 24.

Scottsdale’s Auston Matthews and Finnish standouts Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi are among those expected to attend. Players will participate in medical and fitness testing and interviews. The Coyotes plan to bring in a sports psychologist to help elicit a more in-depth profile on the athletes.

“Hopefully through that process we add just another piece to the puzzle of who’s the best Arizona Coyote that can be part of our leadership group,” Chayka said.

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The Coyotes hold the seventh and 20th overall picks in the first round and also have a selection in the second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds; they’ll add another second-round pick from the Avalanche if they don’t sign center Conner Bleackley, who was acquired in the Mikkel Boedker trade.

“If we do stay at seven and 20, we’re going to get two great players,” Chayka said. “There’s also opportunity to move up and move down, so we’re still in the process of evaluating all of those and trying to find how can we make our team better for now and in the future.”

Talent tends to override positional need when it comes to a team’s first pick, and Chayka adheres to that philosophy. But he also mentioned a decision like this won’t be made in a vacuum.

“Obviously, our prospect base on the defensive side of things – it needs to improve,” he said. “We have a few good players. We need more quality, and we need more quantity. We’re looking at all different options; part of that is to draft. … As we move forward in the draft, we’ll have a clearer picture of where we are in terms of shoring up our defensive needs.

“But as we get to the draft table, it’s tough enough to pick an NHL player – the best player at that position. When you start convoluting the process with need, then it becomes even tougher.”

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Draft party

The Coyotes will unveil their 20th anniversary logo and jersey patch at a viewing party for the first round of the draft June 24 from 3-7 p.m. at Gila River Arena.

Carnival rides will be available, and dressing-room tours will be offered.

Fans should enter the arena at Gate 4, and the event is free and open to the public.

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Golden opportunity

Winger Max Domi has had a productive start to his offseason, winning gold with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship in Russia.

Canada blanked Finland 2-0 in Sunday's final with Domi playing 2:59 in the game.

Overall, the 21-year-old appeared in all 10 games for Canada (9-1) and scored once – in a 6-0 quarterfinal win over Sweden.

“It’s a great experience for him,” coach Dave Tippett said.

Defenseman Connor Murphy was a veteran presence for the young American blue line, skating in all 10 games and recording three goals and two assists.

The United States fell to Russia 7-2 in the bronze-medal game.

Winger Sergei Plotnikov, who finished the season with the Coyotes after a deadline-day trade with the Penguins, skated in seven games for Russia and tallied an assist.

Matthews also had a strong showing for the U.S., scoring six goals and finishing with nine points in 10 games. He's expected to go first overall at the draft.

He and Murphy were named among the top-three American players at the World Championship.

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Sedona summit

The Coyotes’ hockey operations department recently gathered in Sedona for three days of meetings with the group participating in team-bonding exercises in addition to hashing out business.

“Tip and myself just tried to set the direction and set a vision of where we’re at and where we want to go,” Chayka said. “We wanted to try to take our first steps since implementing a new culture.”

Topics of conversation ranged from the amateur side of the organization to looking at free agents. Chayka stressed the importance of the staff holding itself to a high standard since its interactions with players will ultimately influence the type of NHLers they will become.

“It was good critical discussions, and I don’t mean that in a negative way,” Chayka explained. “I mean it in how can we be better and how can we win. I think there’s a lot of positives that came out of it, a lot of different ideas of new approaches, new methodology, and it was a good first step for everyone.”

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Getting to work

Since getting promoted to general manager May 5, Chayka has stayed busy.

Aside from meeting with the team’s staff and preparing for the draft, he’s been sizing up players on the roster eligible for new contracts while also looking at international free agents.

“It’s an active marketplace, I can tell you,” he said. “We’ve hit the ground running. (We) made a few hires in terms of our development model and our player care model, and those will come out in the next few weeks. There’s a lot of things going on, a lot of balls in the air, but they’re all positive.”

Reach the reporter at sarah.mclellan@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.