Coyotes sign No. 9 overall pick Dylan Guenther to entry-level contract

The Arizona Coyotes have signed Dylan Guenther to his three-year, entry-level contract. Guenther was selected ninth overall earlier this summer. Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong released a short statement on the signing:

We are very pleased to welcome Dylan to the Coyotes organization. Dylan is an extremely skilled and smart player with a great work ethic. We are confident that he will become a very good NHL player and look forward to watching his development this season.

Guenther, 18, played just 12 games for the Edmonton Oil Kings this season, but actually led the league in points-per-game. His 24 points were an impressive total. He had 59 points in 58 games in 2019-20.

Of course, the Coyotes didn’t have a first-round pick in this year’s draft when the season ended. The team had been stripped of that selection thanks to scouting violations by the previous management team, a brutal punishment for a team that was struggling to find much success on the ice. The pick that Guenther was picked with came from the Vancouver Canucks in the Oliver Ekman-Larsson deal, and represents a very important selection for the Coyotes.

The young Guenther is likely headed back to the WHL for this season, meaning the first year of his entry-level deal will not be burned. The contract will instead slide forward, unless he manages to make the NHL team, meaning he’s locked up at least through 2024-25.