With few surprises on the roster, the Arizona Coyotes made small tweaks to its roster ahead of Friday’s season opener in New Jersey.
The Coyotes favored Michael Carcone, someone who has grinded his way in the American Hockey League, over a younger forward in Dylan Guenther.
Carcone finished last season with the Tucson Roadrunners as the AHL’s top scorer with 85 points (31 goals, 54 assists). He’s been up and down with the Coyotes over the last two seasons with six goals and three assists in 30 games.
Guenther, who was selected ninth overall in 2021, got his first taste of the NHL last season with 33 games. His spot wasn’t cemented as he was loaned to Team Canada for the World Junior Championship and eventually was assigned back to the juniors for the remainder of the season in February.
Besides Carcone, the Coyotes don’t have any surprises in the forwards group. Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton, and Nick Schmaltz will be reunited. Rookie Logan Cooley will be on the second line with offseason additions Jason Zucker and Alex Kerfoot. Nick Bjugstad’s return to the team in the offseason will bring back his line with Matias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse.
Travis Boyd was placed on waivers on Sunday, but cleared and made the roster.
Three of the seven defensemen are new to the Coyotes, including Sean Durzi, Matt Dumba, and Travis Dermott.
Dermott, who was signed in free agency, is working on a comeback season after a major concussion derailed his time in Vancouver last year. Dermott played 11 games and had one goal before he was placed on the injured reserve in late February. The 26-year-old has amassed 279 games and 55 points in a six-year career.
Goaltending will remain the same as last season’s tandem of Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram found success. Vejmelka made 29 saves in the preseason finale against the Anaheim Ducks. Ingram had 33 saves against the Ducks in his final preseason game on Oct. 5.
“I said to the group in the first meeting, their job was to earn not just a spot on the team but a role on the team and to make it extremely tough on us, and they did,” head coach André Tourigny said. “There was nobody in the camp where I thought they didn’t have the camp I was hoping for. We’re really happy about that.”
Puck drop in New Jersey will be at 4 p.m. Arizona time on Channel 15.2 (KNXV.2) over the air (with an antenna) or Channel 95 on COX.
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Here’s a look at the Coyotes by the numbers:
26.2 — The average age of the 23-man opening night roster, making the Coyotes the fourth-youngest team in the league.
7— New players on this year’s opening night roster, including Michael Carcone, Logan Cooley, Travis Dermott, Matt Dumba, Sean Durzi, Alex Kerfoot, and Jason Zucker.
6 — Consecutive seasons where the Coyotes have lost the season opener. The last win came in the 2016-17 season when the Coyotes won a 4-3 OT game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
2004 — The year when center Logan Cooley was born, making the 19-year-old rookie the youngest on the team.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What to know about the Arizona Coyotes’ 2023-24 season opener
