Arizona Coyotes Top 5 Draft Busts in Franchise History
By Ryan Ritchie
Arizona Coyotes Top 5 Countdown: Biggest Busts in Franchise History
Arizona Coyotes are the second of 30 teams in a series dedicated to the top 5 draft busts in franchise history. Over the next while, we plan to explore all 30 teams (in alphabetical order) biggest misses on the draft floor since their inception.
For those expansion teams from the early and late 1990s into 2000, their franchise draft history is obviously skewed in comparison to older teams. Even with a limited sample size to choose from, each and every franchise has been victimized by the imperfect art of selecting 18-year-old undeveloped prospects.
To be more specific with our countdown, we have chosen to include only those years since moving to Phoenix/Arizona (1996-Present). It doesn’t seem fair to lump the Yotes franchise in with decades of Winnipeg Jets memories.
Honorable mention goes to 13th overall pick in 2010, Brandon Gormley, who was traded to Colorado prior to the 2015-16 season. The jury is still out on him, but his limited 58 game sample hasn’t provided promising signs. Other misses include Kirill Safronov (19th overall in 1999) and Jakub Koreis (19th overall in 2002).
Arizona Coyotes Top 5 Draft Busts
5. Krys Kolanos – 19th overall in 2000
Kolanos showed a lot of promise coming out of Boston College by posting 22 points in 57 games during his NHL rookie season in 2001-02. Unfortunately, injuries quickly piled up and Krys spent the majority of his career in the minors with the occasional call up.
He saw time with Phoenix, Edmonton, Minnesota, and Calgary before playing his final two years of pro hockey over in the KHL (2013-14 and 2014-15).
4. Scott Kelman – 15th overall in 1999
A big framed point-per-game center for the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds leading into the draft, Kelman never actually suited up for a single NHL game.
He spent the majority of his pro career in the ECHL with short stints in the AHL.
While the Coyotes used their 15th pick on Kelman and 19th on Safronov, the Ottawa Senators used their 26th overall selection to grab Martin Havlat.
3. Patrick DesRochers – 14th overall in 1998
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DesRochers was one of OHL’s premier netminders in the late 1990s, even appearing on Team Canada in 1999.
He put up atrocious numbers between nine starts with the Coyotes, and two in Carolina. Patrick wound up as nothing more than a career minor league goaltender – a mediocre one at that.
He eventually took his talents overseas to Europe following the 2004-05 season.
2. Dan Focht – 11th overall in 1996
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This hulking defenseman (6’6 240lbs) only managed to total 82 games over his short NHL career, spending most of his time in the minors.
This bust can be easily overlooked considering the Coyotes took Daniel Briere 24th overall and struck gold with Trevor Letowski 174th overall (7th round) that same year.
A few notable names selected after Focht, but before Briere: Derek Morris (13th overall), Marty Reasoner (14th overall), Dainius Zubrus (15th overall), and Marco Sturm (21st overall)
1. Peter Mueller – 8th overall in 2006
Mueller ranks first on our countdown based on the circumstances in which things played out.
A point-per-game player in the WHL, Mueller had an immediate NHL impact posting 22 goals (54 points) in 2007-08. After falling victim to the sophomore slump in 2008-09 with a mere 36 points in 72 games, Mueller was traded to Colorado with Kevin Porter in exchange for Wojtek Wolski back in March 2010. He managed to accumulate 20 points down the final 15 game stretch for the Avs.
A player plagued by concussions issues, Mueller was limited to 32 games in 2011-12 and eventually joined the Florida Panthers in 2012-13 for his final NHL season. A dismal 17 points in 43 games (48-game lockout shortened year) left no teams calling in free agency, and forced the former 8th overall pick to play in Europe.
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The St.Louis Blues signed Mueller back in July 2014, but he remained in Switzerland that year. He most recently played for Malmo Redhawks of the Swedish HL in 2015-16.
Names that went off the board after Mueller: Michael Frolik (10th overall), Jonathan Bernier (11th overall), Bryan Little (12th overall), Michael Grabner (14th overall), Trevor Lewis (17th overall), Chris Stewart (18th overall), Claude Giroux (22nd overall), and Nick Foligno (28th overall)