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Which player will be each NHL team’s superstar in 5 years?

By Griffin Youngs

TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 1 - Auston Matthews
TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 1 - Auston Matthews /
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ST. PAUL, MN – OCTOBER 16: Arizona Coyotes center Clayton Keller (9) looks on during the regular season game between the Arizona Coyotes and the Minnesota Wild on October 16, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Minnesota Wild defeated the Arizona Coyotes 2-1. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN – OCTOBER 16: Arizona Coyotes center Clayton Keller (9) looks on during the regular season game between the Arizona Coyotes and the Minnesota Wild on October 16, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Minnesota Wild defeated the Arizona Coyotes 2-1. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Arizona Coyotes- Clayton Keller

The Arizona Coyotes have sat towards the bottom of the league for several years, and widely considered to be the most irrelevant team in the league. What they’ve lacked for the longest time is a star they can really build their franchise around. Shane Doan is the closest they’ve ever come to a franchise face, but he wasn’t really a game changer. Luckily for Arizona, being at the bottom of the league for several years has brought them several solid prospects that could turn the team around, all led by Clayton Keller

Clayton Keller was the seventh overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and the now 20 year old winger has already proven himself to perhaps already be the best player on the Coyotes, at the very least he’s second to Oliver Ekman-Larrson. He established himself right away early in his rookie and finished the season as a Calder candidate with 65 points, just behind only Matt Barzal and Brock Boeser. For the first time in years, a desolate hockey market like Arizona looked they have somebody they could build around.

Arizona has plenty of young talent on the team, but none of them have the potential ceiling of Clayton Keller. Players like Lawson Crouse, Christian Fischer, and Christian Dvorak are all likely going to be top six players or better, but Keller is younger and already proved to have the skill set of a future star in the NHL.

Five years from now, we will finally see just how good Keller really is. He’ll undeniably be the star in Arizona by then, but will his skill set be good enough to take Arizona into true contention? He may be insanely talented, but not to the point where he can singe handedly turn a franchise around. Eventually he’ll get the support he needs as he continues to develop and it’s only a matter of time before Arizona starts seriously competing for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Hard to imagine any awards for Keller within five years, but he’s award enough for Arizona who’s waited so long for a player they can have serious hope for.

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