Sep 22, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona Coyotes center Dylan Strome (20) celebrates after scoring a goal in the first period against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Strome is projected to be the team’s franchise center for years to come. Will we see Strome emulate the likes of Jonathan Toews, Anze Kopitar, and John Tavares and become one of the league’s elite centermen?

The Arizona Coyotes lost out on the Connor McDavid/Jack Eichel sweepstakes in the 2015 NHL Draft. Their consolation prize was 6’3 Dylan Strome.

His name doesn’t quite carry the cache of McDavid’s or Eichel’s, but he’s certainly very good at hockey.

Good enough that he made it to the last round of cuts for the Arizona Coyotes’ NHL roster last fall. Good enough that their may have been some internal strife over sending him down, which potentially added another tick in the box of negatives that were piling up on former general manager Don Maloney.

The question on the minds of fans in the desert, however, is will he be good enough to carry a franchise on his back?

Make no mistake. There is no middle ground here. Dylan Strome must be a franchise level talent in the NHL for the Coyotes rebuild to be as successful as hoped.

This franchise cannot afford for the Erie Otters phenom to turn into a David Legwand.

Legwand was drafted 2nd overall by the expansion Nashville Predators in the 1998 NHL Draft. He was their first ever pick and presumptive franchise cornerstone. It never panned out that way, however. Legwand was an above average NHL center whom was good for 40-points a season, occasionally topping the 50-point plateau. He scored 20 goals twice with the Preds. That’s respectable, but ultimately a disappointment.

Strome needs to be the next Jonathan Toews. Anze Kopitar. John Tavares. The team has been dying for a player to be on that level. While they have one in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, it’s up the middle of the ice and in the net where Stanley Cups are won.

Right now, the Coyotes have decent to inconsistent in those two places. Dylan Strome being a superstar would change absolutely everything.

Imagine Strome scoring an overtime goal reminiscent of the one scored by John Tavares for the Islanders last night? A clutch tally to lift the Arizona Coyotes to next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Now imagine a career full of them.

He’s more than capable.

In 11 playoff games with Erie Otters this postseason, Strome has scored 10 goals and put up 11 assists. That’s some serious production. In the 2015 OHL playoffs he scored 10 goals and had 12 assists in 20 games. That’s also some rapid improvement from year-to-year.

I have the utmost confidence that Strome will anchor the Arizona Coyotes into this new era alongside Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

If not, the Coyotes can look East to Nashville and see what a miss on a top pick can do to a franchise’s ceiling for years to come.