So what was your favorite part of the Coyotes’ 2014 youth movement?

Sorry. We know you’re upset today. We know because you told us you were upset after the Coyotes trimmed their roster to 25 players on Thursday by reassigning seven players.

Included in that group were 2013 top pick Max Domi, forward Lucas Lessio and defenseman Brandon Gormley, three players who were thought to have a great chance to make this season’s roster.

"You create opportunity," general manager Don Maloney said. "But players have to grab opportunity and they’re just not there yet."

If you want to be bothered about what’s left in the Coyotes forward group, go ahead. There’s a lot of room for discussion there, particularly because this is a deep Western Conference. But you shouldn’t be upset about Thursday’s cuts. Here’s why.

The Coyotes have been down this road before. They made the mistake of rushing Kyle Turris, Peter Mueller and even Mikkel Boedker to the pro level too soon. Maloney still believes, with ample evidence, it stunted or delayed those players’ growth.

At the team’s media day, Maloney gave a strong hint of the inner workings of his and coach Dave Tippett’s mind when he cited the Detroit Red Wings as an example of a team that allows its prospects to "cook an extra year" in the minors. That approach allows them ample time — and ice time — to develop away from the pressure cooker, results-or-else world of the NHL.

"I don’t buy for a second that you can’t go back to whatever level — the AHL or juniors — and improve from a strength standpoint and all those other areas of his game," Maloney said, addressing Domi, specifically. "Nobody in this world would be happier than me if Max Domi or Henrik Samuelsson were on the opening-day roster but Max is still 19 years old. How many 19-year-olds have a meaningful impact on a playoff team? They’re few and far between."

The Coyotes knew that in order for Domi to stick, he had to rise to a certain level.

"Max isn’t going to benefit from being a fourth-line player," coach Dave Tippett said. "He has to be a top-six player right now. He didn’t play better than our top six in camp."

So Domi will go back to London of the Ontario Hockey League for another season of junior competition while Gormley, Lessio, goalie Louis Domingue, defenseman Andrew Campbell and forwards Jordan Szwarz and Tobias Rieder were assigned to the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League.

That is an important distinction. While Domi won’t be back, Rieder and Lessio probably will be.

"It’s a plane ride away," Maloney said.

Rieder wowed the staff in camp and the preseason and may have surpassed Lessio in their eyes as the most NHL-ready player, although both are considered very close.

The team also believes that with 40 games or so of development in Portland, Samuelsson could be ready for a recall, too.

"When they come up they have to have the confidence they can do the job," Tippett said. "If they’re second guessing that means they’re not ready."

So the Coyotes will go to war for the time being with top lines of Antoine Vermette between Shane Doan and Mikkel Boedker and probably Martin Hanzal between Martin Erat and Sam Gagner.

Maybe that doesn’t get you as excited as Domi or Samuelsson would have, but if you were counting on those young players for excitement remember, there are guys who get paid to evaluate talent and they have much more experience at it than you. There is a process. In this case, the process makes sense.

Remember also that there are strong willed veterans on this team — Shane Doan, Mike Smith and Keith Yandle among them — who expect management and the coaching staff to field the team that gives them the best chance of winning. They deserve that. You don’t roster players fresh up from juniors just because the thought is sexy.

"We’re not interested in sinking to the bottom of the league in mid-November," Maloney said. "We think we can compete with this group."

Will the current group be enough to push the Coyotes back into the playoffs after a two-year absence? That’s another question entirely.

"The way it works is that you take the players you’re given and try to find the best mix possible," Tippett said. "In the end, you hope it’s enough."

LOOSE PUCK: The Coyotes have 25 players on their roster but injured 2014 top pick Brendan Perlini is one of them. He will go back to juniors, leaving the Coyotes with one cut to make before opening night. That cut will come down to defenseman Matt Smaby and forward Justin Hodgman.

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