The Arizona Coyotes remained fairly quiet at the 2022 trade deadline for the most part. While the team decided not to deal either defenseman Jakob Chychrun or forward Phil Kessel, as expected, general manager Bill Armstrong did make some other minor moves to set the organization up for the future (from ‘Goalie Vejmelka inks extension; prospects and picks at trade deadline for Coyotes,’ AzCentral, March 21, 2022).
Scott Wedgewood was the first move for the team, getting dealt to the Dallas Stars for a 2023 fourth-round pick. Johan Larsson would be moved to the Washington Capitals for a 2023 third-round pick, and Riley Nash went back to the Tampa Bay Lightning for future considerations. The Coyotes also traded a pick in two separate deals, one for Bryan Little and prospect Nathan Smith from the Winnipeg Jets, and finally, the most exciting trade was for coveted college free agent Jack McBain from the Minnesota Wild.
McBain, a 6-foot-4, 212-pound center from Boston College became the talk of the league in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline after he informed the Wild that he likely would not sign with them. Minnesota then went looking for a trade, one that generated interest from teams such as Arizona, the Montreal Canadiens, and Winnipeg. Fortunately, McBain wanted to be in Arizona, knowing it was his best chance of playing right away and getting ice time, and thus a trade was made.
What Does McBain Bring To Arizona?
For those unfamiliar, the Toronto native has spent the last four years with the Eagles of Boston College, where he’s recorded 37 goals and 49 assists in 117 games. This season, he’s reached career-highs in goals and points, putting him second on the team in goals and first in points. He also represented Canada in the 2022 Winter Olympics, registering two points in five games.
The organization is excited to have him, and rightfully so. He’s starting to showcase his untapped potential after a long development period since being selected in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He’s a strong two-way power center with a good size-skill combination. Most importantly though, he wants to be in Arizona.
“Right away after our meeting with Arizona, I called my agent and said, I think that’s the spot. It was a great meeting, and I couldn’t be happier to be here,” McBain told the media after speaking with Armstrong (from ‘Arizona Coyotes sign Jack McBain to two-year entry-level contract,’ AzCentral, March 23, 2022).
His interest to play for Arizona was further expressed by signing a two-year entry-level contract on Mar. 23. He’s injured at the moment, but the organization expects him to be healthy and play some games with the Coyotes before the end of the season.
McBain Is an Exciting Addition
The Coyotes have a lot of strong prospects to watch and be excited about moving forward, including Dylan Guenther, Josh Doan, Matias Maccelli, Ivan Provestov, Liam Kirk, Victor Soderström, and others. McBain is among them, as well as Nathan Smith, who was acquired from the Jets. The team has a lot of talent waiting to make their NHL debut and some have already been given that chance.
After weeks of interest and speculation on where he would end up, Coyotes fans should be excited to see what McBain can do at the NHL level. He has everything you want in a center and seems to be able to make an immediate impact for the Coyotes at the NHL level. What do you think? Is Arizona a good fit for McBain? Let us know below.
More must-reads: