The Arizona Coyotes had a very good World Juniors showing

The 2022-23 World Junior Championships have come to an end. It was an incredible tournament for everyone to watch as some of the best prospects in the world came together and represent their countries. Few NHL teams had as much fun watching as the Arizona Coyotes.

Team Canada took the Gold Medal over the Team Czechia squad that ended up with the Silver. Team USA defeated Team Sweden to claim the Bronze. The Medal rounds were electrifying, which put the cherry on top of an amazing event all around.

Both medal games needed overtime. Team USA and Team Sweden started the day trying to earn the Bronze and they both wanted it bad. It was a much higher-scoring game than the later game as Team USA took it by a final score of 8-7.

Arizona Coyotes prospect Logan Cooley scored a goal and had an assist in this game. That got him up to seven goals and seven assists in the tournament. Those 14 points were the second most of any player in the World Junior Championships this year and only trailed Connor Bedard.

It was an amazing year for him at this event. It took a generational like talent to beat him in the scoring race as he did so by nine points.

That just goes to show how good Bedard is but Cooley is going to be an NHL stud one day soon. He will head back to Minnesota (NCAA) to finish his season there before trying to play pro hockey later this year once his college season is over.

The Arizona Coyotes were one of the happier NHL teams at the World Juniors.

Cooley is not the only Arizona prospect to make a major impact here. Dylan Guenther was the player of the game for Canada in the Gold Medal Game. He scored a goal to make it 1-0 Canada and then had the primary assist on Shane Wright’s goal that made it 2-0.

After Team Czechia scored two to tie it late in the game, Canada needed a hero. Yes, it ended up being Guenther whose second of the game was the overtime winner and the Golden Goal. It was a magnificent moment for Canada, the Coyotes franchise, and Guenther himself.

In the tournament, Guenther came in sixth for points (it was a five-way tie but goals is the tiebreaker) as he had seven goals and three assists for ten points. His seven goals only trailed Bedard as he came in a three-way tie for second (Cooley is one of the players).

Arizona has been one of the worst teams in the NHL for the better part of their entire existence. It is good to see that some of their prospects are actually making an impact on the world’s biggest stage.

They probably watched Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli with great interest in this tournament as well as they are hoping to be a lottery winner later this year. That would certainly help them get out of this rut that they are currently in.

At 13-19-5, they will certainly be in that lottery mix. They are playing at a college rink this year (Arizona State) but hope to be in an NHL arena soon enough.

Getting some lottery ball luck in addition to great prospects like Cooley and Guenther could help them a lot with that whole situation. This World Juniors was certainly a success story for that organization.