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Anthony DeAngelo thought he might be traded after what he called “an up and down season” with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. He may have even had a hand in the mutual parting with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I had just this tiny inkling this could possibly happen but I wouldn’t say I was really expecting it,” he said. “I’m excited for a fresh start.”

DeAngelo got that chance when the Coyotes traded their second-round pick (37th overall) in the NHL Draft to Tampa on Saturday at First Niagara Center in Buffalo, in exchange for the right-handed, puck-moving defenseman.

DeAngelo was the Lightning’s first-round pick in 2014 (19th overall). He played with Syracuse of the AHL last season where he had six goals and 43 points, but the past two years were also checkered with character issues that likely led the Bolts to give up unusually early on a first-round pick.

DeAngelo was a healthy scratch eight times last season due to what he called performance issues and what reports also called attitude issues. Two years ago in juniors at Sarnia (OHL), he was suspended twice for verbal abuse of a teammate and an official.

“It’s a couple mistakes I made,” said DeAngelo, who admits he is emotional when he’s on the ice, even though he is low-key off of it. “It’s far in the past. It was a learning experience.”

Coyotes GM John Chayka was aware of DeAngelo’s past issues, but the offensive talent DeAngelo brings was hard to pass up when faced with the No. 37 pick, and Chayka believes the Coyotes have the support staff in place to help DeAngelo grow up.

“He certainly has the talent,” Chayka said. “He’s got some work to do physically. He’s got some work to do maturing but we don’t think he’s far off.

“It’s always a concern but we thought the risk was worth it at that point. He’s a young kid. He’s made some mistakes or done some things, but we’re willing to work with him. We think strongly that he’s a good person.”

DeAngelo is close friends with Coyotes prospect Michael Bunting and the two will more than likely be reunited in the AHL in Tucson next season when the Roadrunners begin play. DeAngelo is still working on his defensive game in his own end, which was a point of emphasis last season.

“It’s just really defensive awareness and positioning; boxing out and defending off the rush,” he said. “The defensive side of the puck is the most important part of my development because I’m more of an offensive side guy.”

DeAngelo is also a former teammate of Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy in Sarnia. Murphy offered some insight.

“He’s a passionate guy and a very skilled, dynamic offensive defenseman,” Murphy said. “Me and my teammates all really liked him as a guy, too. I was excited to see that we picked him up.”

DeAngelo was part of an organization-wise trend for the Coyotes this weekend.

Chayka said the team needed to address a system that was bereft of defensive depth and he did just that, moving up four spots to take highly rated left-handed defenseman Jakob Chychrun with the 16th pick, adding left-handed defensemen Cam Dineen (5-11, 185) at No. 68 (third round), left-handed defenseman and Arizona State commitment Patrick Kudla (6-3, 175) at 158 (sixth round) and right-handed defenseman Dean Stewart (6-2, 170) at No. 188 (seventh round).

Only time will tell if Chayka’s gamble to trade the 20th pick, a second-round pick (53rd) and Joe Vitale to Detroit for the 16th pick and Pavel Datsyuk’s $7.5 million cap hit will pay off, but by acquiring five defensemen this weekend, the Coyotes feel they have taken a major step forward in their prospect pool after drafting 13 forwards the past two years.

“We addressed an organizational need,” Chayka said. “Now we’ve got a real strong pipeline of defensemen. We come away feeling pretty good about where our depth is in our organization and moving forward.”

DeAngelo brings the added bonus of a year of development in the AHL, perhaps putting him closer to the NHL roster. Chayka said he could probably play on the Coyotes power play right now.

With right-handed defenseman Michael Stone still rehabbing after ACL and MCL surgery, there’s a chance DeAngelo could even get a look early in the season, depending on the Coyotes’ other moves this summer.

“The strength of my game is skating and my hockey sense and vision,” DeAngelo said. “I can put the puck in forwards’ hands and join in to create more offense, and the power play is where I do a lot of my work.

“My goal is to be in the NHL, but if not, I’ll be in the AHL, working hard to take that next step,” he said. “They made a trade for me today, they said they’re happy to have me and I’m definitely happy to be there.”

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Coyotes hoping Anthony DeAngelo rewards their risk-taking