The Arizona Coyotes announced that they have returned center Dylan Strome to his junior team, the Erie Otters of the OHL. GM John Chayka commented on the decision to send him back:
“Dylan has made exceptional progress and continues to make strides to being an elite center in this league. At this point in time we felt it was best for his development to get him back playing in junior, but his future in the NHL is very bright.”
The third overall pick back in 2015, Strome made Arizona’s roster out of training camp but has only played sparingly so far. He has seen action in just seven of 17 games, collecting one assist while playing 13:41 per game. Because he didn’t suit up in ten NHL games this year, Strome’s entry-level contract will not officially begin this season and instead will slide to 2017-18.
In the last two seasons with Erie, Strome has a whopping 82 goals and 158 assists in just 124 games. However, as he’s just 19 years of age and was drafted out of the Canadian junior circuit, he’s ineligible to play in the AHL this season (at least until Erie’s season comes to an end). At least by returning him to junior, Strome can play regularly, even if it is at a level that he has already dominated. It’s highly likely that he’ll face a stiffer junior test next month as he’s expected to play for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships.
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His brother has been a disappointment with the islanders hope its not in the blood