On Jan. 6, 2024, the Arizona Coyotes recalled forward Dylan Guenther back up from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. The recall was made after forward Jason Zucker had been suspended and Guenther’s callup was supposed to be short-term. However, he never looked back once called up and played the remainder of the regular season with the Coyotes. In 45 games in the NHL last season, the right-handed shooter scored 18 goals and added 17 assists for 35 points. How did the now Utah Hockey Club‘s 21-year-old have such a productive season?
Who is Dylan Guenther?
Without a trade on draft day in 2021, Guenther would have never become a Coyote. On July 23, 2021, Arizona started its offseason rebuild. They sent defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Connor Garland to the Vancouver Canucks for the ninth pick in the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, two other draft selections, and three aging bottom-six players. The Coyotes used the ninth-overall pick to select Guenther from the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL.)
Related: Where Would Coyotes’ Dylan Guenther Be Drafted 3 Years Later?
The Coyotes needed goal-scoring in their lineup. While forwards Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz had been go-to players for Arizona for the past several seasons, they are known more for their playmaking abilities. Guenther is a bona fide goal scorer who excels in his shooting skills. He scored 45 goals in WHL in the 2021-22 season.
In his last season with the Oil Kings (2021-22), he notched 91 points in 59 games. His impressive season in Edmonton earned him a spot on the Coyotes’ roster for the 2022-23 season. Guenther played in 33 games that season and recorded 15 points. At the time, Arizona was in its rebuilding phase and wanted to see more development from its first-round selection. Therefore, he went back to the WHL for the remainder of the season with the Seattle Thunderbirds. He mustered 29 points in 20 games in Seattle and became a back-to-back Ed Chynoweth Cup champion.
Guenther’s 2023-24 Season
To start Arizona’s last season in the NHL, there was no room for Guenther to play a top-six role for the Coyotes. Barrett Hayton centered Keller and Schmaltz on line one, and rookie Logan Cooley centered Matias Maccelli and Zucker on line two. Therefore, the Coyotes’ staff thought it was best for him to start the season with the Roadrunners in the AHL. While it may have been disappointing for him to open the season in Tucson, he was their leading scorer through 29 games with 28 points. He was also chosen along with goalie Matthew Villalta to represent the Roadrunners in the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic.
After being called up, Guenther recorded three points in his first two games back in the NHL. Soon after his call up, the Coyotes went on a 14-game losing streak (0-12-2 during that span.) He snapped their losing skid on March 1, 2024, against the Ottawa Senators, scoring a game-winning power-play goal in the third period. He followed up his two-point performance in Ottawa with a three-point night in Washington against the Capitals the following game.
However, the best game of his young career came on April 10, 2024 against the Canucks. Guenther contributed to each of Arizona’s four goals in their 4-3 win in Vancouver. On his 21st birthday, he recorded one goal and three assists. His third assist on the night found Cooley for a back-door tap-in which was the overtime game-winner.
In his last four games with the Coyotes, he accumulated eight points. Arizona’s head coach André Tourigny was pleased with his offensive performance this past season and other areas of the game.
“Everybody talks about his shooting; OK, it’s obvious,” Tourigny said. “But he has a good stick. He reads the play extremely well. He plays extremely well in his own zone. He sees the play before the play happens; he’s two plays ahead all the time. He plays with a lot of pace offensively; moves his feet and gets in on the forecheck. He goes through the neutral zone really quickly; sees options really quickly.”
The reason for his surprising season? Playing with forwards Lawson Crouse and Cooley. Crouse provides a two-way game, Cooley brings skill and speed, and Guenther’s wicked shooting abilities top off what the line will bring to Utah in their inaugural campaign. He also was given minutes on Arizona’s top power-play unit later in the season with forwards Alex Kerfoot, Schmaltz, Keller, and defenseman Sean Durzi. On the man advantage last season, the 6-foot-2, 181-pounder lit the lamp four times and recorded nine helpers.
Outlook for Utah
Based on how the Guenther/Cooley/Crouse line performed in the second half of last season, look for Tourigny to keep these three together on the second line. Guenther arguably has the best right-handed shot on Utah’s roster, so look for him to be positioned in the “Alex Ovechkin office” (the left face-off circle) on Uath’s top power-play unit.
The 21-year-old is entering the last year of his entry-level contract before he becomes a restricted free agent. Therefore, look for the 2024-25 campaign to be a full season in the NHL and a breakout one for Guenther. It should be an exciting year for fans in Utah as they hope to make the playoffs in their first season in the NHL.
