Don Maloney is one of the great evaluators of talent in the NHL today.
This becomes even more obvious when you look back at the 2011-2012 season. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mikkel Boedker, two former Maloney picks, had breakout years last season.
The Coyotes took care of a major need by drafting Henrik Samuelsson with the 27th pick overall, the latest the team has ever drafted. The big forward may not be NHL ready as of yet, but such a late draft pick is not expected to be.
Samuelsson's play is reminiscent of the Coyotes 2005 first-round pick Martin Hanzal, but with a mean streak. Samuelsson, a 6' 2" player who grew up in Scottsdale playing in the P.F. Chang Hockey Program, has a big body and uses it well. He will just need to improve on his skating to become a legitimate scoring threat in the NHL.
His father, Ulf, is a former NHL'er and was a Coyotes assistant coach for five years.