Arizona Coyotes still doing homework on potential 3rd overall pick

Little suspense remains now that the NHL draft order among non-playoff teams has been settled.

The Oilers are poised to lasso Connor McDavid — the most hyped about No. 1 candidate since Sidney Crosby was taken in 2005 — after winning the draft lottery Saturday.

And Hobey Baker Award winner Jack Eichel is pegged to go second to the Sabres.

Actually, the most intrigue leading up to the first round of the draft June 26 probably surrounds the Coyotes and whom they will select among the next wave of talent at third.

"We have a pretty good idea who we want," General Manager Don Maloney said.

The Coyotes had a 13.5 percent chance to select first overall and a 20 percent chance of slotting second, but it was their 66.5 percent chance of dropping a spot that won out in the lottery. Recognizing those odds, Maloney said he wasn't too broken up about the results, which he discovered when his cellphone flooded with text messages after his flight landed Sunday in Switzerland for the U-18 World Championship.

Truth be told, he was glad one of the teams that narrowly missed out on the playoffs didn't jump to the first spot.

"Obviously, the two up top are certainly considered front-line, franchise-level players," Maloney said. "But, man, there are some really great-looking young players that in any other draft you'd say, 'We'd love to get our hands on one of those players.' I can honestly say I'm not sitting here moping."

Even before learning their fate, Maloney outlined the flexibility that would come with that third pick: the options available at center, wing and defense and the potential to trade down.

"It's very hard to find top two-line centermen," he said. "It's very hard to find top-pairing defensemen and a top scoring winger – those are hard to find, too."

The Coyotes amateur scouting department has already sized up the on-ice performance of the likes of defenseman Noah Hanifin, centers Dylan Strome and Mitchell Marner and wingers Lawson Crouse and Mikko Rantanen during the season.

The staff's attention has now turned to their second first-rounder and who might be available in the second round, and Maloney is surveying those possibilities at the U-18 tournament.

But before whole-heartedly committing themselves to a pick, the Coyotes want to see the results from physical testing, psychological evaluations and one-on-one interviews. The NHL Combine is June 1-6 in Buffalo, and Maloney said the team could also bring prospects to Arizona for additional face time.

"We haven't finished our homework," he said.

Unless their pick at third wows at training camp, it's very likely that player remains off the NHL roster until he achieves the maturation (both physical and in terms of thinking the game) Maloney believes that next crop of players available to them requires.

"This is just us being smart about it," he said. "Even though we can use the help, we're not going to rush in an 18-year-old just to make it look good."

While their fall to third might not have shifted their timeline for improvement, it has created more offseason work for Maloney. The Coyotes could have filled one of their holes up the middle with either McDavid or Eichel, and now they'll have to search for solutions via trade, free agency or their own pipeline.

"It still doesn't change what our plan is going forward," Maloney said, "and that's to be a much more competitive team and pursue a playoff spot and yet grow this group to be in position in three or four years from now to legitimately challenge for something special."