Arizona Rookies Provide Promise for Future
The Phoenix Suns and Arizona Coyotes will both miss out on their respective leagues’ playoffs, but the rookies on each team made huge strides this season.
The Arizona Coyotes drafted Max Domi with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft and he made a tremendous impact in his first full season on the ice for Arizona. Domi played in 81 games this season and totaled 18 goals and 34 assists, while racking up 72 penalty minutes.
Domi was helped out by Anthony Duclair and Jordan Martinook as a tremendous threesome of rookies. As a unit, the three rookies netted 51 goals and added an additional 83 assists for a total of 134 points.
Duclair scored 20 goals this season, which was just two goals short of the Coyotes’ rookie record. Duclair finished with a hat trick in his third career game against the Anaheim Ducks. Duclair also finished with six goals in his five games against the Pacific Division champion Ducks.
On the defensive side of the ice, Louis Domingue provided great play in net for the Coyotes when Mike Smith went down with an injury mid-season. Domingue won NHL Rookie of the Month honors for the month of January when he posted a 6-3-2 record with a 2.20 GAA and a .925 save percentage.
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On the hardwood at Talking Stick Resort Arena, Devin Booker put on (with no exaggeration) an absolute show all season long. Booker is averaging 13.7 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game. Since January 2nd however, Booker has put up 18.4 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 84.3 percent from the free throw line.
Booker reached the 1,000 point mark on the season on April 9 against the New Orleans Pelicans. He became the fourth youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points in his career behind Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant. Additionally, Booker scored at least 30 points in six games this season. It was the first time since Blake Griffin in 2010 that a rookie reached 30 points in six games.
For a few weeks, Booker was the main offensive option for the Suns following the Eric Bledsoe season-ending injury and the Brandon Knight injury. Booker’s numbers have not dropped since Knight’s return to the lineup as defenses have not been able to solely key in on the sharp-shooting rookie from Kentucky.
Next: MLB Power Rankings: Week Two
Although the Suns and the Coyotes aren’t making the playoffs this season the play of these young stars could land these clubs in the playoffs before we know it.