Coyotes prospect camp garners favorable reviews
Coyotes general manager John Chayka was pleased with the outcome of last week's Prospect Development Camp and sees it becoming an even better and more meaningful experience for the team and players moving forward.
The purpose of the camp was manyfold. The young players spent five days immersed in the organizational culture while getting a taste of the demands of playing in the NHL and hopefully gaining an added comfort level in NHL surroundings that will benefit them at training camp. They also went on community outings, such as a goodwill visit to Phoenix Children's Hospital, and were provided guidance on nutrition, financial matters and social media.
"It was a great experience, just meeting a lot of new guys and trying to learn as much as you can from the coaches," first-round draft-pick Clayton Keller said. "How to prepare, how to play like a pro. Little things that can help you elevate your game."
For team personnel, it was a chance to observe and learn more about the players both on and off the ice.
"This was a huge step forward for us," Chayka told Dave Vest of ArizonaCoyotes.com. "We hope it gives us a competitive advantage moving forward. We see this year's camp as a blueprint, but we're already taking about little ways to improve things at next year's camp.
"We wanted them to dress in the Coyotes locker room and train in the Coyotes gym and watch video in the same manner that our NHL players watch and break down video in our theatre room. Those are things we wanted them to get a taste of and get a sense of what it's really like to be in the NHL.
"A lot of these players are close to being in the NHL and some are extremely close. Hopefully, when they come back for main camp (in September) they have a comfort level here that can help propel them to make the team because we want them to make the team."
Chayka said first-round picks Keller and Jakob Chychrun both stood out as having bright futures, and he was also pleased that a crowd estimated at 3,500 watched Friday's camp-ending scrimmage.
"You could see the players had fun with it and enjoyed it, and the fan support was amazing," he said. "It's a pretty special group of talented, young players trying to make an impression. That's what stood out to me. In my opinion, the organization has never had this level of talent before at this level, so the future is certainly bright."