Bob McManaman

azcentral sports

The Coyotes came within an eyelash of almost being able to draft the son of one of the franchise’s all-time greatest players.

Instead, after Keith Tkachuk’s son, Matthew, went one spot ahead of them to the Calgary Flames, Arizona drafted his best friend.

Resisting the need to take one of the higher-rated defensemen on the board or an equally higher-ranked forward, the Coyotes instead with the seventh overall pick in the first round of Friday night’s NHL draft selected 5-foot-10, American-born center Clayton Keller to add to their rich stable of young and exciting forwards-in-waiting.

Keller joins a collection of front-end talent that already includes Coyotes’ NHLers Max Domi and Anthony Duclair, not to mention recent star draftee forwards Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak. Keller, a native of Swansea, Ill., was a line mate of Matthew Tkachuk in the Team USA Under-18 program and were reared in the same Missouri suburb.

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“He’s one of my best friends ever,” Keller said of Tkachuk. “… We’re so close and we still are. It’s awesome to have that relationship with him.”

As for being drafted by the Coyotes, Keller said from draft headquarters at First Niagara Center in Buffalo, “It’s awesome to be here and I’m so thankful to be picked by Arizona. I can’t wait to get started.”

Said first-year General Manager John Chayka, “He’s a guy we wanted all along. It’s no secret we’re trying to build our team with speed … and he’s an exciting player, a dynamic player. He’s smart, creative. He’s going to be a real joy for our fans for a long time.”

Asked if he would have selected Tkachuk had he been available at No. 7, Chayka said, “I’m not going to get into hypotheticals, but I do know that Keller was there and he was the guy that when you go through the mock drafts, we thought he would be there and that’s the guy we wanted so we took him. Matthew’s a great player, too, but Clayton is the guy we wanted.”

The Coyotes were scheduled to pick 20th overall with their second selection in Round 1, but Chayka initiated and swung a trade with the Detroit Red Wings to move up for spots and in addition to flipping that pick and acquiring the contract of departing star Pavel Datsyuk, brokered it into the 16th overall selection and drafted Sarnia defenseman Jakob Chychrun.

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Chychrun tallied 11 goals and 49 points in 62 games last season as an alternate captain for the Sting and he is seen as a capable, two-way player at the NHL level.

“He was tough to pass,” Chayka said. “Keller is the elite, playmaking guy that we wanted but at the same time, Jakob addressed our organization need. He’s an extremely, extremely high-character kid, physically very mature. He should be a top player in the National Hockey League for a long time.”

As for acquiring the rights to Datsyuk’s contract, the Coyotes did so to help them reach the league’s new salary cap minimum of $52.8 million. They are sitting just south of $40 million before officially re-signing several of their own free agents.

In addition to picking up Datsyuk’s $7.5 million in cap space, which Chayka said is “an asset,” the Coyotes also dealt Detroit their 53rd overall pick along with forward Joe Vitale.

The move could clear the way for the Red Wings to make a play for impending free-agent and goal-scoring wiz Steve Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The NHL free-agent signing period begins July 1.

Datsyuk, a three-time Selke Trophy winner who turns 38 on July 20, has scored 314 goals and 918 points in 14 NHL seasons. He officially informed Detroit General Manager Ken Holland that he plans to leave the NHL to play in his native Russia this upcoming season.

Chychrun, meanwhile, was enamored that the Coyotes traded up to get him, saying, “It means they really, really wanted me and it’s just really special for me and my family. I’m looking forward to getting there shortly.”

Keller and Chychrun were two of a record 12 U.S.-born players selected in the first round.

“Yeah, that’s awesome,” Chychrun said, “especially with (Scottsdale’s) Auston (Matthews) being from Arizona and going No.1 overall. … It’s great for the game to be growing like that.”

Keller, Team USA’s all-time leading scorer in the Junior program, was surprised he went as high as he did to the Coyotes, who were believed to be eyeing defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, winger Alexander Nylander and centers Logan Brown and Tyson Jost ahead of him.

He said he’s planning to honor his commitment to attend Boston University, but told azcentral sports Friday night that he’d reconsider if the Coyotes present him the right contract offer.

“I think that’s where I want to go,” he said. “I can go there and get stronger and put on a few pounds and then I think I’ll be ready to go. … But (for the right deal), maybe then I guess I’d have to consider it.”

Arizona has five selections remaining for Saturday’s completion of the draft, when between Rounds 2-7 they are scheduled to pick 37th, 68th, 120th, 158th and 188th. The NHL Network will have live TV coverage of the draft.

Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Monday at 5:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Radio 1060-AM with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night between 7-9 on Fox Sports 910-AM on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.

Coyotes draft picks 2016

Name: Clayton Keller

Selected: 7th overall

Position: Center

Last amateur team: USA (U-18)

Height/weight: 5-10/163

Shoots: Left

Hometown: Swansea, Ill.

Background: Kelley compiled 107 points for Team USA in 62 games (37 goals, 70 assists), the most by anyone other than the No. 1 pick in Friday night’s draft, Scottsdale’s Auston Matthews (117 points). ... Keller’s career 189 points in the Team USA junior program are the most ever recorded as were his 70 assists this past season. ... named MVP in the most recent Under-18 World Championship. Committed to Boston University this fall. ... The athlete he admires most is the Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane and if he has a fear, he says it is rollercoasters.

Name: Jakob Chychrun

Selected: 16th overall (trade with Detroit)

Position: Defenseman

Last amateur team: Sarnia (OHL)

Height/weight: 6-2/205

Shoots: Left

Hometown: Boca Raton, Fla.

Background: Chychrun was an alternate captain for Sarnia last season in the Ontario Hockey League, recording 11 goals and 49 points in 62 games. ... Known as a two-way defender, he scored eight points in the postseason in seven games. ... He posted 16 goals and 43 points in 29 games for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens of the Greater Toronto Hockey League in 2013-14 and added 13 points in 14 games to help team secure the Kraft Cup Championship. ... Chychrun’s father, Jeff, played 262 career NHL games as a defenseman with the Flyers, Kings, Penguins and Oilers. ... His uncle is former NHL defenseman Luke Richardson.