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- May 30, 2010
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HFNHL DRAFT FLASHBACK - 2009 HFNHL COYOTES
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The Coyotes would have an overall OK draft with a couple bright spots throughout. They opened with a selection of Dmitri Kulikov. On the surface the Kulikov selection looks weak. Especially with OEL and Ryan Ellis as the next two defensemen taken. But when you factor in that Kulikov is 8th in the draft class with games played and four of those players already drafted when the 8th pick came up, it was a much better pick than it looks on the surface. Early on in this run the Coyotes would draft high picks pretty much exclusively from North America, which really burned the opportunity to take the much better OEL. Kulikov remains in the NHL today. Coyotes went back to the blueline this time going west for Stefan Elliot. Elliot was another solid offensive defenseman with more risk than Kulikov. He had a good production rate at 0.29 games but would see less than 100 NHL games, playing as recently as 2018-2019. He now plays for Frolunda of the SHL. The Coyotes thought they hit a home run taking small skilled forward Danny Mattson who finished fourth in all of Minnesota High School hockey, outscoring future NHLers Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Nick Bjugstad among others. Boy were the Coyotes wrong on that one. Red flags appeared when Mattson struggled to post half a point per game in the USHL. He eventually made it to Bemidji State but never really found that high scoring ability again untill he played Division 2 in Sweden where he would retire in 2014-2015. Coyotes responded in the fifth round with their second best value pick of the draft. The Coyotes would go back out west to Everett to take Byron Froese. The solid, hard working two-way forward would surpass 100 NHL games played which is always a success when you're in the fifth to seventh round range. Froese still plays in the AHL today. The Coyotes would stay in the West but not find back to back success there taking big physical defenseman Brodie Melnychuk. Brodie was a solid mainstay on the Wheat Kings blueline, but was not ready for a faster pace at the pro level. He would spend half a season at the University of Manitoba before making his professional debut in senior mens Jr. C hockey; the Qu’Appelle Valley Hockey League. After scoring nearly two points per game here he would retire. But three years later made his triumphant return with the Wynyard Monarchs of the Heritage Hockey League but would leave after eight games ending his second push towards an NHL career. In a little touch of foresight the Coyotes GM would head to Sudbury and make one of the best sleeper picks of the 2009 HFNHL Entry Drafts taking Wolves forward Marcus Foligno. Foligno would be the second selection to play over 500 NHL games and would be the only player selected outside the top 100 to currently stand in the top 20 of games played from this draft class. He continues to play in the NHL, now for the Minnesota Wild. The Coyotes would stay in the OHL for both of their seventh round picks first taking Matthew Tipoff. A hard working two way forward was a solid junior player but not a pro. He would play 5 seasons for St. Mary's University before heading over to the EIHL for one season before retiring. Brett Flemming on the other hand would be a huge piece in the Mississauga St. Mike's Majors' blueline for their Memorial Cup run. Following which he spent several years in the Washington Capitals organization before heading overseas to play in Czech Republic and Austria. He still plays to this day, currently suiting up for the Vienna Capitals. The Coyotes would walk away with two 500+ game players, one 100 plus game player and one who got close to 100. The rest of the picks were huge misses for a mixed result. You hate to miss on your second and third pick, but a couple solid fifth and sixth round picks salvaged this draft for the HFNHL's Arizona Coyotes in 2009.
| RD | PK | NAME | POS | HT | WT | GP | PTS | LEG | TEAM | NHLGP | NHL |
| 1 | 8 | Dmitri Kulikov | LD | 6'00" | 205 | 57 | 62 | QMJHL | Drummondville | 677 | 1/14 '09 FLA |
| 2 | 32 | Stefan Elliot | RD | 6'00" | 190 | 71 | 55 | WHL | Saskatoon | 87 | 2/49 '09 COL |
| 4 | 92 | Danny Mattson | LC | 5'10" | 174 | 25 | 71 | MN-HS | Academy of Holy Angels | 0 | Undrafted |
| 5 | 122 | Byron Froese | C | 6'01" | 203 | 72 | 57 | WHL | Everett | 110 | 4/119 '09 CHI |
| 6 | 147 | Brodie Melnychuk | LD | 6'04" | 196 | 71 | 16 | WHL | Brandon | 0 | Undrafted |
| 6 | 156 | Marcus Foligno | LW | 6'03" | 231 | 65 | 30 | OHL | Sudbury | 565 | 4/104 '09 BUF |
| 7 | 170 | Matthew Tipoff | LC | 6'00" | 185 | 68 | 40 | OHL | Belleville | 0 | Undrafted |
| 7 | 210 | Brett Flemming | RD | 5'11" | 187 | 64 | 28 | OHL | Mississauga | 0 | 5/145 '09 WSH |
The Coyotes would have an overall OK draft with a couple bright spots throughout. They opened with a selection of Dmitri Kulikov. On the surface the Kulikov selection looks weak. Especially with OEL and Ryan Ellis as the next two defensemen taken. But when you factor in that Kulikov is 8th in the draft class with games played and four of those players already drafted when the 8th pick came up, it was a much better pick than it looks on the surface. Early on in this run the Coyotes would draft high picks pretty much exclusively from North America, which really burned the opportunity to take the much better OEL. Kulikov remains in the NHL today. Coyotes went back to the blueline this time going west for Stefan Elliot. Elliot was another solid offensive defenseman with more risk than Kulikov. He had a good production rate at 0.29 games but would see less than 100 NHL games, playing as recently as 2018-2019. He now plays for Frolunda of the SHL. The Coyotes thought they hit a home run taking small skilled forward Danny Mattson who finished fourth in all of Minnesota High School hockey, outscoring future NHLers Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Nick Bjugstad among others. Boy were the Coyotes wrong on that one. Red flags appeared when Mattson struggled to post half a point per game in the USHL. He eventually made it to Bemidji State but never really found that high scoring ability again untill he played Division 2 in Sweden where he would retire in 2014-2015. Coyotes responded in the fifth round with their second best value pick of the draft. The Coyotes would go back out west to Everett to take Byron Froese. The solid, hard working two-way forward would surpass 100 NHL games played which is always a success when you're in the fifth to seventh round range. Froese still plays in the AHL today. The Coyotes would stay in the West but not find back to back success there taking big physical defenseman Brodie Melnychuk. Brodie was a solid mainstay on the Wheat Kings blueline, but was not ready for a faster pace at the pro level. He would spend half a season at the University of Manitoba before making his professional debut in senior mens Jr. C hockey; the Qu’Appelle Valley Hockey League. After scoring nearly two points per game here he would retire. But three years later made his triumphant return with the Wynyard Monarchs of the Heritage Hockey League but would leave after eight games ending his second push towards an NHL career. In a little touch of foresight the Coyotes GM would head to Sudbury and make one of the best sleeper picks of the 2009 HFNHL Entry Drafts taking Wolves forward Marcus Foligno. Foligno would be the second selection to play over 500 NHL games and would be the only player selected outside the top 100 to currently stand in the top 20 of games played from this draft class. He continues to play in the NHL, now for the Minnesota Wild. The Coyotes would stay in the OHL for both of their seventh round picks first taking Matthew Tipoff. A hard working two way forward was a solid junior player but not a pro. He would play 5 seasons for St. Mary's University before heading over to the EIHL for one season before retiring. Brett Flemming on the other hand would be a huge piece in the Mississauga St. Mike's Majors' blueline for their Memorial Cup run. Following which he spent several years in the Washington Capitals organization before heading overseas to play in Czech Republic and Austria. He still plays to this day, currently suiting up for the Vienna Capitals. The Coyotes would walk away with two 500+ game players, one 100 plus game player and one who got close to 100. The rest of the picks were huge misses for a mixed result. You hate to miss on your second and third pick, but a couple solid fifth and sixth round picks salvaged this draft for the HFNHL's Arizona Coyotes in 2009.
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