Hockey Twitter has been taken by storm by screenshots of a 3X3 grid that is filled with NHL player portraits all throughout. You might be wondering what this recent trend is and what is the point of it. Well, the answer to that is simply Puckdoku.
Puckdoku is the hockey version of Soduku. A game in which you have to fill out a 9×9 square with single-digit numbers without repeating any numbers. Someone took that and turned it into a 3×3 square where you have to guess a player that corresponds to the two requirements that the box matches up with. For example, if the Arizona Coyotes logo is shown on top and the San Jose Sharks logo is shown on the left, Adin Hill would be a match for that spot.
Additionally, players have been trying to get the most unique squares by guessing some of the most obscure players out there. With that in mind, I decided to start an article series on the most unique choices if you come across the Coyotes logo along with another NHL team. Here is what will get you some of the most unique answers for the Pacific Division.
Anaheim Ducks
Easy choice: Nick Ritchie
Ritchie is the most likely popular choice here. He grew up in the Anaheim Ducks organization, spending five seasons in the NHL with the team. He was a decently touted young player and became a good third-line grinder that would get you 25-plus points a season. This caught the eye of the Boston Bruins who traded Denton Heinen for him ending his tenure in Anaheim. He ended up in Arizona via trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs where he spent two decent seasons with the Coyotes until being shipped off to the Calgary Flames during trade deadline day in 2023 for his brother Brett and Connor Mackey.
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Unique choice: Curtis McElhinney
We all know McElhinney’s storybook ending to his career winning two Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning. We all know his career resurgence in Carolina where he helped take the team to the Eastern Conference Final. We all know the choice Kyle Dubas had to make when he put McElhinney on waivers after he helped secure a playoff spot for the Maple Leafs for the first time in five seasons.
Did you know though that McElhinney played for the Coyotes? He signed a one-year two-way contract in 2011 and appeared in only two games posting a 1-0-0 record with a .944 save percentage (SV%). He played most of that season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Portland Pirates before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets where he played for four seasons. Three seasons prior to playing with the Coyotes, he was traded to the Ducks who he played 31 games for.
Calgary Flames
Easy choice: Mike Smith
Mike Smith might be one of the most iconic goalies in Coyotes’ history besides Darcy Kuemper and Nikolai Khabibulin. He signed a two-year contract in 2011 and instantly became a star in Phoenix with incredible game-after-game in his first season recording 38 wins in total. He was fourth in Vezina voting that season and took the Coyotes on a wild Cinderella playoff run all the way to the Western Conference Final. This run included the first playoff series win in Coyotes’ franchise history. He had an insane .944 SV% in those playoffs. He signed a six-year extension with the Coyotes and during his next five seasons with the team, he scored a goal becoming the seventh goalie to ever do so. His time in the Valley ended when the Coyotes traded him to the Flames in 2017. He played with the Flames for two seasons before signing with the Edmonton Oilers in the 2019 offseason.
Unique choice: Owen Nolan
Nolan is most known as a Shark, Quebec Nordique, and Maple Leaf. However, towards the end of his career, he became something of a journeyman going through four teams in three seasons. One of those teams was the Coyotes. He signed with the team in 2006 and played 76 games for the Yotes recording 40 points. He then signed with the Flames that offseason where he put up 32 points in 77 games.
Edmonton Oilers
Easy choice: Zack Kassian
Although Kassian didn’t play long for the Coyotes, he is a recent one meaning most will remember him. He played most of his career with the Oilers including a career-high 34-point season in the 2019-20 campaign. After regressing to score under 20 points in his final two seasons with the Oilers, they traded him to Arizona to get rid of the decently sized contract they had signed him to. He played one season with the Coyotes scoring only two points in 51 games before being bought out this offseason.
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Unique choice: Jason Demers
Jason Demers is a well-known Coyote thanks to his personality and decent defensive play. He was traded from the Florida Panthers to the Coyotes during the 2017-18 season and played with the team for four seasons, helping the club make it to the playoffs during the 2019-20 season. What isn’t well known is what happened to him after his contract expired. He played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) during the 2021-22 season and later signed an AHL contract with the Bakersfield Condors the following season. With the Oilers’ blue line depleted, they called him up and he played in his 700th and final NHL game. That was also his lone game with the Oilers.
Los Angeles Kings
Easy choice: Darcy Kuemper
Maybe this one isn’t the easiest choice but Kuemper did have a brief stay with the Los Angeles Kings between his time as a Minnesota Wild and a Coyote before moving on and winning a Cup with the Colorado Avalanche. The goalie was traded to the Kings via the Wild during the 2017-18 season and played ten games for the Kings. He was then flipped to the Coyotes in the offseason.
Kuemper was one of the best goalies in Coyotes history and throughout his time with the desert dogs, he only had one season where he had a SV% below .900 and that was his first season in the lineup. He is most known for almost single handily willing the Coyotes into the 2020 Playoffs and helping them win their first playoff series since 2012. He also put up a crazy Game 3 against the Avalanche when he stole a game from Colorado, saving 49 shots and having an insane .961 SV%. Unfortunately, his stats fell back to Earth when the Avs finally broke the dam, scoring 14 goals in the final two games, and regressing his SV% to .913. He was then flipped to the Avalanche in the final season of his contract.
Unique choice: Troy Stecher
People will forget that Stecher played a few games for the Kings a couple of seasons ago. After being in and out of the Detroit Red Wings lineup during the 2021-22 season, he was traded to the Kings for their playoff push. He wasn’t the best in his 13 regular season games with the Kings but in his four playoff games, he was a beast putting up four points. After a combined 17 games with the Kings, he moved on to Arizona where he signed a one-year deal with the Coyotes. He played 61 games with the Yotes and put up 29 points before being traded to the Flames. The defenseman rejoined the team this offseason on a one-year deal.
San Jose Sharks
Easy choice: Mike Ricci
Although you may forget Ricci had a cup of coffee with the Coyotes, you’ll definitely remember him as a Shark. After winning the Cup with the Avs, he was traded to the Sharks where he quickly became a fan favorite for his gritty play, stylish good looks, and humorous personality. He played seven seasons with the Sharks and was a huge part of getting them to their first Western Conference Final in 2004. After choosing not to re-sign in 2005, he signed with the Coyotes. He ended up playing 85 games with Arizona, putting up only 17 points before retiring due to injury. He later rejoined the Sharks in their front office.
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Unique choice: Devan Dubnyk
Does anyone really remember Dubnyk with anyone but the Oilers and Wild? Not really, but he did play for four other teams across three seasons. One of those was the Sharks and another was the Coyotes. He signed a one-year deal with Arizona in 2014 to try to regain his upside in net. He did so by recording a 9-5-2 record and a .916 SV%. He was flipped to the Wild in the midst of that season. Six seasons later, he was traded to the Sharks at the tail end of his career after the worst season of his career since 2014 and being passed on the goalie depth chart in Minnesota. He played 17 games in San Jose and is most known for almost fighting Jordan Binnington. He was flipped to Colorado during the trade deadline and retired from the NHL after the following season.
Seattle Kraken
Easy and unique choice: John Hayden
Only one former Coyotes player has ever played for the Seattle Kraken in the franchise’s two seasons of existence and that is John Hayden. He played for the Coyotes for only one season during the 2020-21 season putting up five points in 29 games. He then signed a contract with the Kraken before the 2022-23 season and only played seven games with Seattle recording two goals while playing most of the season down in the AHL.
Vancouver Canucks
Easy choice: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Is there an easier choice here than OEL? Originally drafted by the Coyotes sixth overall in 2009, the defenseman easily became one of the faces of the franchise with his great defensive play in Arizona’s 2012 playoff run. It was only his second season in the league. Ekman-Larsson is most likely known for his poor play as of now but during his prime in Arizona, he was one of the best in the league even recording a 50-plus point season during the 2013-14 season. He also finished seventh in Norris Trophy voting that season.
Throughout his time with the Coyotes, Ekman-Larsson was nominated for the King Clancy Trophy, went to two All-Star Games, became captain of the Yotes in 2018, and was the only Coyote to be a part of their only two playoff runs to date in 2012 and 2020. However, all things must come to an end. With his declining production, massive contract, and a new general manager, the Coyotes traded Ekman-Larsson with Conor Garland to the Vancouver Canucks. He played two seasons with the Canucks where he wasn’t a great defensive asset putting up a minus-24 rating in his last season. Vancouver bought him out and he later signed with the Panthers this past offseason.
Unique choice: Louis Domingue
Domingue was drafted by the Coyotes in 2010 and played in the minors before finally making his NHL debut in 2014 after Dubnyk was traded. He played for the team he was drafted by for four seasons and became the full-time backup to Smith. However, after poor play to begin the 2017-18 season, he was sent down to the AHL and traded to the Lightning.
You probably remember Domingue’s time with the Coyotes and the Lightning, but do you recall that he played for the Canucks? Probably not because he was traded to Vancouver from New Jersey in 2020 due to an injury to starter Jacob Markstrom and appeared in one solo game for the Canucks that he lost. He became the third-string goalie during their playoff run and later signed with the Flames that offseason.
Vegas Golden Knights
Easy choice: Adin Hill
Thinking back, the Coyotes have been known to produce great goalies. Kuemper, Antti Raanta, Karel Vejmelka, Nikolai Khabibulin, and now Adin Hill. He was drafted in 2015 and became the third-string goalie behind Kuemper and Raanta. Playing mostly with the Tucson Roadrunners, he played games with the Yotes here and there throughout four seasons in the NHL. He posted save percentages above .910 in his two final seasons with the club before being traded to the Sharks due to expansion draft worries.
After spending an injury-plagued season in San Jose, Hill was traded to the Golden Knights after Robin Lehner was announced to be out with an injury for the entire 2022-23 season. He appeared in 27 games as the backup and soon the third-string goalie putting up a 16-7-1 record. Vegas entered the playoffs with Logan Thompson injured so Laurent Brossoit became the starter with Hill as his backup. Brossoit however went down with an injury in the Golden Knights’ series against the Oilers and Hill became the starter. Going into the playoffs cold, he put on a clinic recording a .932 SV% helping the Golden Knights win series against the Oilers, Dallas Stars, and Panthers and eventually winning the 2023 Stanley Cup. Hill re-signed with Vegas this offseason.
Unique choice: Nick Cousins
There are not a lot of choices here as Vegas has only existed for six seasons but Cousins is probably one of the most unique choices here. He was dealt to the Coyotes in 2017 and became a gritty and agitating bottom-line player. He put up a career-high in goals during his first season with the Coyotes and recorded more career-high totals in assists and points during his final season in the desert.
After Cousins’ contract ended in 2019, he signed with the Montreal Canadiens. During the season, they traded him to Vegas where he only played seven regular season games before the league shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He appeared in 17 postseason games with the Golden Knights before they were eliminated by the Stars and he signed with the Nashville Predators that offseason. Funny enough, he faced his old team during the 2023 Stanley Cup Final while playing with the Panthers where his team lost in five games.
These are just some of the best and most unique answers for the Pacific Division teams. They will most likely get you some unique scores especially considering the number of games each one has played for the Coyotes. More and more players come through the desert so these are just some of the more interesting ones you’ll hear about.
