Coyotes recall young scoring threat

The Arizona Coyotes have recalled forward Jan Jeník from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. Jeník was originally sent down on Wednesday, but now he returns to the NHL roster in advance of Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.

PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan wrote on X that Jeník’s recall was likely made for the purpose of him serving as the club’s spare forward for tonight’s game.

Coyotes head coach André Tourigny told the media today that forward Lawson Crouse is sick and is unlikely to play in tonight’s game. So with Crouse likely to miss the contest, veteran Zach Sanford will most probably draw into the lineup in Crouse’s place.

Sanford’s move into the nightly lineup necessitates this Jeník recall so that the team can have an extra forward on its roster as a precaution. The cost of this to the larger Coyotes organization is that Jeník won’t be able to appear with the Roadrunners in their game today against the Bakersfield Condors.

Jeník, 23, has scored at an almost point-per-game rate in Tucson since 2021-22, so not having him in their lineup is a major loss for the Roadrunners.

But the NHL club and its chase of a Central Division playoff spot is of the utmost importance, and this recall gives Tourigny an extra option to work with as he looks to put together a winning formula for tonight’s game against the Kings.