Arizona Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said the decision on whether Dylan Strome will start the season with the NHL club hasn't been made, but the third overall pick has a legitimate shot to make the team.

"It's a daily evaluation, but there's a very good chance he's part of the opening night roster," Maloney told Postmedia's Michael Traikos.

"I did not think he would be making so hard a push, but his game is getting better as we go along," the GM added.

Strome was selected third after former OHL teammate Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel in June's draft.

The 18-year-old center scored 45 goals and added 84 assists in 68 games for the Erie Otters, chipping in 22 points in 20 playoff games in 2014-15.

"Am I surprised that he made an impression? Not a bit," Otters GM Sherry Bassin told Traikos. "This is just the beginning for him."

The Coyotes aren't exactly deep down the middle, with the likes of Antoine Vermette, Martin Hanzal, Boyd Gordon, Joe Vitale, and Kyle Chipchura expected to play center.