Just hours after dealing Justin Peters to the Dallas Stars, the Arizona Coyotes are at it again. They’ve sent Henrik Samuelsson to the Edmonton Oilers for Mitch Moroz. Both players were selected in the 2012 draft, just five picks apart (27th and 32nd respectively).
Samuelsson was once a highly regarded prospect, going in the first round and bursting onto the AHL season as a rookie. He scored 40 points in 68 games that season and had the pedigree of his former-NHL father Ulf Samuelsson. Since that rookie season when he got a three-game taste with the Coyotes, Samuelsson has completely dropped off the map. Scoring just 12 points last season and dealing with multiple lower-body injuries has him almost listed as a bust among Arizona prospects. His skating has never been good enough for the NHL and though he’s only 22, it will be a long road ahead for him to turn it around.
Moroz, much the same story, was a teammate of Samuelsson on the Edmonton Oil Kings when they won a Memorial Cup in 2014. Selected just a few picks later he hadn’t reached the same scoring highs as his teammate but was expected to grow into a legitimate NHL power forward. Also just 22, he may still find the scoring touch that he has been sorely missing but it’s been a long three years since he left junior. In 123 AHL games, Moroz has just 22 points. Even his physical play has taken a step backwards, and he’ll need to find new motivation should he want to continue his professional career.
It’s an odd move for the Coyotes, who would be the last team expected to go after a former enforcer with little to no scoring ability. Perhaps they see something in Moroz that the Oilers have given up on, but more likely this is just a positional move as the Coyotes have a surplus of centers and the Oilers need some for their minor league squad.