Keller a shining light for Coyotes Arizona rookie has 12 points in 11 games, making him the clubhouse leader for the Calder Trophy through the first month of the season, TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli writes.

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PHILADELPHIA - A rocketing American star, a rookie representing Arizona, is living up to his top billing after scoring goals at a prodigious rate to start the season.

Stop us if you’ve heard this story before.

Except, Coyotes forward Clayton Keller is off to an even better start than Auston Matthews last season.

It’s a comparison made all the more impressive considering Arizona’s historically horrendous start. Keller is doing it on a Coyotes team (0-10-1) that became the first to not register a win in their first 10 games of the season since the Atlanta Thrashers in 2002-03.

They have been dealt nine consecutive regulation losses, mostly because they can't get a stop in net since Antti Raanta went down with an injury.

How bad has it been? The Coyotes, who are 31st with an .861 team save percentage, could post back-to-back 30-save shutouts and still barely climb to 30th in the league.

Keller, the 19-year-old who was GM John Chayka’s first draft pick at No. 7 overall in 2016, has been the one shining light in the desert.

With eight goals and four assists in 11 games, Keller is the clubhouse leader for the Calder Trophy through the first month of the season. There is not a Canadian-born player currently among the Top 10 in rookie scoring.

Matthews had two fewer goals through the same number of games last year.

“He’s a hockey genius,” Chayka said Monday. “He understands the game at a level that’s two or three steps ahead of everyone else. That’s his gift. His brain is processing things at a much higher speed than other players on the ice.”

Part of what Keller calls his “hockey IQ” is what made him such an attractive prospect. Chayka called him a “hockey nerd,” someone who watches games and you can “talk hockey at a very high level with him.”

“I think I have that,” Keller said. “It’s something you either have or you don’t. It’s a big part of my start. At the end of the year last year, I got a little bit of a wake-up call with how fast [the NHL] really is. You don’t know how hard it is until you’re really there. I can’t thank them enough for letting me come in here last year [after leaving Boston University].”

Keller was given the highest rating for hockey sense in the 2016 draft class by NHL Central Scouting.

“The puck always follows him,” linemate Derek Stepan said. “But that is a skillset.”

Keller, who grew up playing in St. Louis with Matthew Tkachuk and Logan Brown and was coached by their NHL-alum fathers, hasn’t always been known to pile up goals at this kind of clip. In the U.S. National Development Program, as well as last season at Boston University, he was more a playmaker.

“I’m definitely a pass-first guy,” Keller said. “But I also shoot the puck. I’ve learned that when I shoot, it opens up a lot of other options on the ice, too.”

Chayka believes Keller’s shot is underrated. Keller may not be able to sustain an 18.6 per cent shooting rate, but Chayka doesn’t see a huge adjustment coming from that department.

“Playmakers usually fight between overpassing and finding the right time to shoot. That’s not an issue with him,” Chayka said. “He’s not afraid. An equally adept passer and shooter is a rare occurrence. And he’s got it. He can really shoot the puck, especially for being a smaller-statured guy.”

Just about the only blemish on Keller’s early season resume is his defensive zone play. He’s an unsightly minus-10; only Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s minus-12 is worse on the Coyotes. These are learning curves expected for a team that has dressed 10 players on entry-level contracts this season.

“He’s really coachable. You can talk to him one-on-one,” new coach Rick Tocchet said. “The thing I like about him is he has some swagger. The other night, he was having an okay game. Boom. He scores a goal. The great players, they can have a quiet game for 30 minutes – you can’t play great every night – but they’re still dangerous.

“It’s that one play you need to win a game. He has that, a dynamic situational awareness.”

It’s just that, so far, Keller hasn’t been able to get the Coyotes over that hump.

“It’s been a really weird year,” Tocchet conceded.

That hasn’t bothered Keller, which has been impressive to observers like Stepan and Tocchet. He refuses to get frustrated.

“When you’re 0-10-1, people give up. He’s not giving up,” Tocchet said. “I love that about him. It’s infectious.”

“He’s just a kid,” Stepan said. “He’s just a 19-year-old kid trying to enjoy every minute. Listen, I think this group has worked hard. I see big strides. The transition hasn’t been easy, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Keller needs to be that light at the end of the tunnel for Arizona. The Coyotes don’t know what they’re getting yet from Lawson Crouse or Dylan Strome. Brendan Perlini is still finding his way. They need to hit on Keller. So far, he looks like the real deal.

“He’s doing an amazing job right now,” Chayka said. “I’m not surprised at all by what he’s doing. We think he’s a special player. Those are the guys you win with – guys that love the game and guys that play at a high level. He checks both of those boxes. The sky is the limit for him.”

Contact Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @frank_seravalli