The second-rounders continue with a look at Janis Jérôme Moser who will be joining the Tucson Roadrunners next season.
The 2021/22 season is fast approaching, so here at Five For Howling, we’re taking a look at this year’s Arizona Coyotes 25 best players under the age of 25.
At the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the Arizona Coyotes had three picks in the second round. We have already discussed two of those picks this week, and today we discuss the final pick, Swiss defenseman Janis Jérôme Moser.
20/21 League: NL (EHC Biel-Bienne)
Games played: 48
Goals: 9
Assists: 21
World Championship games: 7
World Championship goals: 0
World Juniors assists: 2
Highest rating: 10
Lowest rating: 22
Last year’s rankings: Not ranked
Moser is one of the more intriguing picks made by the Arizona Coyotes. He is one of the oldest, born 06/06/2000, continuing the trend of the Coyotes selecting overagers at this past year’s draft. Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the junior leagues, so the Coyotes going for players with experience seems like a sound strategy.
As an older player, the Coyotes have a few more options with Moser. He will be eligible to play for the Tucson Roadrunners next season. With his experience playing against older players in Europe, he hopefully won’t take too long to adjust to North American ice.
The Coyotes have already signed Moser to an entry-level contract, and he is set to play with the Tucson Roadrunners next season.
Moser took his game to the next level last season. He was named captain of EHC Biel-Bienne and had career highs in goals, assists, and points by a wide margin. He couldn’t crack 10 points in his previous two seasons but finished last season with 30. And it wasn’t an issue with playing more games either; he played 48 games in 2020-21, compared to 40 in 2019-20 and 43 in 2018-19.
It is generally agreed that defensemen take longer than forwards to develop. There are exceptions, of course, like Jakob Chychrun, but as a general rule, it tends to hold up. With that in mind, it isn’t surprising that Moser is starting to click now that he is 21.
Moser being older should help the Coyotes in their rebuild. The Coyotes defensive corp was blown up this past offseason, and most of the players brought in are not signed past next season. That gives Moser a few years to adjust to North American ice with the Tucson Roadrunners and then plenty of room to make the transition to the NHL if he is ready.
Moser being older should help the Coyotes in their rebuild. The Coyotes defensive corp was all but blown up this past offseason, and most of the players that were brought in are not signed past next season. That gives Moser a few years to adjust to North American ice with the Tucson Roadrunners, and then plenty of room to make the transition to the NHL if he is ready.