How Max Domi is rewarding fantasy owners and the Coyotes for their patience.

Max Domi came into the 2013 NHL entry draft as the highest rated player from his powerhouse London Knights team. However, teammate Bo Horvat beat Domi to several milestones such as getting drafted (ninth overall), playing for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships and playing in the NHL. While Domi was forced to play second fiddle to his friend and former-mate, the Arizona Coyotes patience with their top prospect appears to be paying off.

Through 21 games this season, Domi leads all rookies in goals scored with eight, and is second in total points with 18. He is on pace for a 70-point season – six more than Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Stone finished with a year ago – all while playing on a Coyotes squad that was supposed to challenge for the Austin Matthews sweepstakes. Currently, Arizona sits one point out of a playoff spot, yet has played two fewer games than the eighth place Vancouver Canucks. The immediate impact of Domi has been paramount to their early success.

Using Dobber’s Frozen Pool Line Mates Tool, we can see that Domi has played the majority of his even strength shifts next to fellow first-round pick, Mikkel Boedker.

While Domi and Boedker have had a mixed bag of centres – ranging from Antoine Vermette, Brad Richardson, and everyone in between – the top two scoring wingers have only seen about 10% of their shifts with top-line centre, Martin Hanzal. Despite the lack of a true offensive pivot, Domi has still been able to produce at a very high rate at even-strength. Of his 18 total points, 11 have come during five-on-five play.

This season, Domi has been everything the Coyotes could have asked for and more. He has been a boon to the team offensively and has generated an exciting brand of hockey – something the franchise is desperate for as they try to hang on to their current fan base, and maybe even add to it.

Domi is joined by fellow youngsters, Anthony Duclair, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Boedker to form a young nucleus that looks poised to accelerate through the franchise’s latest rebuild. The expected arrival of top-centre prospect Dylan Strome in the next season or so, could shape up to be the perfect running mate for the speedy Domi. However, can we expect Domi to continue to produce at such a high level this season?

Looking at some of the advanced stats on the Dobber Profile page, we see that Domi is converting on a likely unsustainably-high 19% of his shots and his on-ice shooting percentage at five-on-five is also quite high at 12.4%. These numbers are likely due for a regression, however as we cruise past the quarter-pole of the season, Domi and the Coyotes continue to impress.

Owners who sat on this prospect as he got sent back to junior for both his draft-plus-one and draft-plus-two seasons, are now tasting the delicious fruits of their patience. If you’re lucky enough to own the younger, and far less pugilistic, Domi, you’d be best served to hold on tight. This exciting player has a bright future, and Arizona has stocked the cupboards full of high-impact prospects to surround him with. While a 70-point campaign may be difficult to achieve this season, he has a whole bunch of them in his future.

Point-per-game outlook for the remaining schedule: 0.70 – 0.85

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