Clayton Keller is the bright spot amid the Coyotes’ terrible start

There’s not a lot to get excited about with the Arizona Coyotes right now, but forward Clayton Keller is a good start. The rookie looks like a bona fide Calder Trophy candidate through his first 10 games this season and could be a star player for the team in short order.

Keller, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, scored his seventh goal of the season Thursday night against the Rangers to extend his point streak to four games. He leads all rookies in goals and points despite being on the only team in the league without a win so far.

This isn’t totally surprising, either. Keller was a popular rookie of the year pick before the season began after a monster freshman year (45 points in 31 games) at Boston University. He was rated by ESPN as the No. 1 prospect in hockey entering the 2017-18 season.

But the transition to hockey’s highest level doesn’t always go smoothly for young stars, so it wasn’t a sure thing that Keller would acclimate quickly in Arizona. However, he’s been on the top line since Day 1 this season and is currently second among all Coyotes forwards in ice time per game behind veteran center Derek Stepan. The team has asked a lot of Keller right out of the gate, and he’s responded with stellar performance.

The underlying statistics are just as impressive as his point production. He leads all NHL rookies in shots with 38, and his 5-on-5 Corsi is a solid 50.9 percent, per Natural Stat Trick. The Coyotes have largely been undone by disastrous goaltending in those situations, even though Keller and his teammates have been doing what it takes to succeed.

This is a positive sign for the Coyotes future. General manager John Chayka took note in a recent interview with ESPN, where he hinted that Keller was a “game-changer.” Here’s what Chayka said when asked whether there’s a silver lining to the team’s rough start this fall:

“Hopefully, I don’t have to. We’re following the same process we always have, and it’s one that a lot of people recognize is going the right way. I guess the silver lining is that our first line, which is one of the top ones in the league this year, has two guys on entry-level deals in Clayton Keller and Max Domi. Christian Dvorak is coming on as our second-line center. We’re going to get Jakob Chychrun back on defense, and we think he’s a future All-Star. You’re trying to build up pieces that are going to be game-changers. That’s how you win. It’s not through mediocre talent or aged-out veterans. We’ve got a few [game-changers], and we have to wait for them to evolve.”

Keller is going to be a key player for the Coyotes for the foreseeable future, something he’s proved early in his career. As Chayka noted, it’ll take more than just him to get Arizona to become a contender, but it’s a step in the right direction. Keller looks like a star in the making. You can read more about the Coyotes’ loss on Thursday night over at Five For Howling.