In March 2024, Arizona Coyotes forwards Dylan Guenther and Jack McBain were roommates who went more than half a day without water after forgetting to pay the water bill.
“I think we’re kind of the laughingstock of the team as far as our living situation goes,” Guenther told NHL Network’s NHL Tonight crew on March 7, 2024. “The water shut off on us yesterday. We weren’t paying the bills, so we got that covered.”
Flash forward to October 2024 and Guenther and McBain are still roommates, just on a different team and state, playing for the Utah Hockey Club. And of course, the two have recently become frequent shoppers at Costco and Walmart in Utah, walking away with a hot tub in a shopping run that was supposed to be for sparkling water. Now, the two have fed off their off-ice chemistry and have translated it onto the ice, holding together the team’s second line.
Utah’s young-gun second line, centered by Logan Cooley, has slotted Guenther (current league-best in goals with five) and Cooley (five assists in five games) to a hot start in the team’s inaugural season.
How the Puzzle Pieces Came Together
On March 21, 2022, The Coyotes acquired McBain from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for the Vancouver Canucks’ 2022 second-round pick. At the time, the now 6-foot-4, 219-pounder was coming off a 33-point campaign in his senior year at Boston College. Arizona’s general manager Bill Armstrong improved the team’s center depth due to having many draft picks (the team had three first-round selections in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.)
“We are very pleased to acquire Jack McBain,” Armstrong said at the time of the trade. “He is a big, strong, highly-skilled center who had a tremendous season with Boston College. We are thrilled to have him join our organization.”
Since joining the Coyotes, the left-hander has primarily played a bottom-six role, posting back-to-back 26-point seasons. McBain’s size has brought a physical presence to his role and ability to be a reliable penalty-killer. He led Arizona in hits in the 2022-23 season with 304 and was second to forward Liam O’Brien in the team’s lead in hits last season with 204.
However, Utah’s head coach André Tourigny moved forward Lawson Crouse down to the third line and replaced him with McBain to play with Cooley and Guenther in the early season.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Conor Garland were once key pieces of Arizona’s core. However, the two were vital players in the trade that gave the Coyotes the ninth overall selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. On July 23, 2021, the Coyotes acquired three aging bottom-six forwards along with the Canucks’ 2021 first-round pick.
Arizona selected Guenther ninth overall and was a mid-season call-up last season. His near point-per-game pace with the Coyotes’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, named him to the 2024 AHL All-Star Team. Playing with Crouse and Cooley on Arizona’s second line, the right-handed shot potted 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points in 45 games last season.
After Guenther’s selection, the Coyotes were given the fourth-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. After some thought forward Shane Wright would be selected first overall, he fell and Arizona had the option to take him at number four. Ultimately, Armstrong decided to go with that year’s Hobey Baker Award finalist in Cooley. The former Minnesota Golden Gopher recorded 44 points in his rookie campaign and finished fourth among all rookie scorers last season.
Breaking Down Utah’s Second Line
While the three are one of the younger lines in the NHL (Cooley is 20 years old, Guenther is 21, and McBain is 24), the grouping features different play styles.
“I think we have a little bit of everything on that line,” Cooley said. “We’ve got speed, we’ve got a guy that can shoot the puck. Obviously, with McBain he creates space for us, he’s always in front of the net.” (from ‘Dylan Guenther makes history for Utah Hockey Club,’ The Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 9, 2024.)
Cooley’s speed, Guenther’s shot, and McBain’s size pose a balanced approach on both ends of the rink.
“People see him just as a goal-scorer. He’s way more than that. He has the puck well, he defends well, he works hard, he’s a good forechecker, he has a great stick, he’s good on the PK,” Tourigny said about Guenther. “It’s not a bad thing to have that skill to shoot the puck that way, but he’s way more than just a shooter.” (from ‘Dylan Guenther makes history for Utah Hockey Club,’ The Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 9, 2024.)
The same goes for Cooley — known for his speed and playmaking abilities, he can still defend. He and Guenther were on the same penalty-killing unit for parts of last season.
Related: Utah Counting on Dylan Guenther in Inaugural NHL Season
For McBain, his defensive and physical play styles are what get noticed. However, the former Boston College Eagle has scored two goals and added one assist for three points in five games.
“Obviously if I’m playing with Logan and Dylan, they’re both very high skill players that generate a lot of offense. They’re two of my close buddies on the team as well,” McBain said. “I think I’m a good complement to what they bring to the game. I bring something much different. I can help out a lot and create a lot of space for them on the ice. I obviously don’t play the same style as them, but I think it can kind of go hand in hand and be used effectively.”
Last week, McBain dropped the gloves against the New York Rangers’ 6-foot-6, 241-pound forward Adam Edström in Utah’s 6-5 overtime win. His 17 penalty minutes are tied for league lead. He is also tied for the team’s leader in hits with forward Liam O’Brien (they both have 10 hits each). Therefore, these stats prove McBain’s physical play style is still relevant with his recent offensive success.
Second Line’s Outlook for the Remainder of the Season
If the whole line can stay healthy (McBain missed 15 games last season with a lower-body injury) and be productive like they have so far, look for this grouping to stick together for the majority of the season. While it may be tough to crack Utah’s first-line success consisting of forwards Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton and Nick Schmaltz, the second-line has held its own throughout the franchise’s first five games.
McBain is entering the last year of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent this summer. Therefore, playing with two young stars will only help his production this season as he hopes to remain roommates with Guenther for the foreseeable future in Utah.
The team is off to a 3-1-1 start and will host the Boston Bruins on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at the Delta Center in their next game.
