Coyotes Prospect Report: Duda, Söderström & Doan

“Pots told me that being myself was going to be the key; to play my game and trust my instincts and use my strengths and just be competitive and hard on pucks,” Josh said. “He wanted me to focus on playing a hard style before focusing too much on trying to make a cute play or a nice attempt at net. He told me: ‘Just play a simple game until you get comfortable and then once you get comfortable you can slowly start to get the rest of your game figured out.’”

“What I liked about Josh’s game the most was his competitiveness,” [Roadrunners head coach Steve] Potvin said. “When you look at him and you get to know him, you may not think that that’s at the forefront, but I felt like he was very competitive and he wanted to get better and he just made us better.”

It’s not easy carrying his father’s legacy for Josh, but this season, he’s proving lots of people wrong. He is on pace for 47 points across the 72-game schedule that the American Hockey League (AHL) plays in, which would be a great sign of development. He may get a couple of games up with the Coyotes later this season, but he’ll have to keep working at his craft.

Duda Finds New Home, Excited for Opportunity

As mentioned in the latest news and rumors, Artyom Duda was denied three times by the NCAA to play with the University of Maine due to the 14 Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) games he had played. This was problematic for the Moskva, Russia native, as he was left without a place to play. Sure, he can skate by himself, but nothing compares to in-game situations. It was a challenging situation for Maine coach Ben Barr, who loved what Duda could’ve brought to the team if he had been granted the opportunity to do so.

“He likes going to school and he’s not the type of kid that when you leave him by himself, you’re worried about him,” Barr said. He’s really self-sufficient. He’d sit in his room and do his homework. He’s a fitness freak, too, so he was always working out on his own. He was very quiet and reserved to start, and then as he got more comfortable with the culture, he was fine. The guys really liked him. He would have been a great addition to our team, but hopefully, he can find a path here and find some stability because he deserves it. He’s been through a lot of crap the last year.”

Duda now plays at Toronto Metro University (TMU), where he’ll play for the remainder of the season. While playing in the latter half of TMU’s season, it’s less about points and more about growth for the 19-year-old. The hope would be to play in pivotal moments and make up for the near nine-month loss of development. His contract in Russia supposedly ends in May; if that were to be the case, he could sign with the Coyotes and likely play down in Tucson, which would be the best-case scenario.

What’s Next for Söderström?

What’s the deal with Victor Söderström? At one point in his career, he was one of the top prospects in the Coyotes system and was highly thought of. As we sit today, he is playing in the AHL with the Roadrunners, where he’s finding success, but it’s not necessarily where the team might have thought he’d be. With the Roadrunners, he has eight goals and 19 points in 32 games and is on pace for 43 points, which would be a career-high.

It’s also good to mention that Söderström was not an Armstrong selection, as former general manager John Chayka drafted him. He’s played 50 games with the Coyotes since he was drafted 11th overall in 2019, but every time he gets a chance, he hasn’t quite shown he is an everyday NHLer. The statistics also back that up, where he has just one goal and ten assists in those 50 games.

The next step for the 22-year-old defenseman is to keep developing at the AHL level and hope for an NHL call-up sooner rather than later.

Prospect Notes

Coyotes Have Prospects Filled With Bright Future

It’s an exciting time to be a Coyotes fan. The current prospects they have now, more so than not, have been impressive so far. They also have gluts of draft capital through the next three drafts. How they choose to use those is up to Armstrong and company, but they are stocked with draft selections. The sky is the limit for all the prospects in the Coyotes system and the ones to come later.