Bahl looks to make mark with Coyotes
The Coyotes have quite a liking for defensemen, a position they’ve used for 13 of their past 23 picks since the 2016 NHL draft.
The first defenseman they took in the 2018 draft was a big one: Kevin Bahl, a 6-6, 212-pounder from New Westminster, British Columbia.
At Coyotes development camp this week, he showed agility beyond what should be expected from a player his size.
Bahl’s size will help, especially if he shows overall improvement in his game, when it comes to making an NHL roster down the road. And he knows it.
“Oh yeah, it’s definitely a big advantage,” Bahl said. “The biggest thing for me is keep working on the skating and keep on getting quicker. If I’m a great skater and I’m a big guy, I mean that’s just the ultimate advantage. You can’t do anything to overcome that.”
Development camp isn’t only a way for players to impress representatives from the team, but to also learn about the life of being a professional athlete at the highest level of hockey. Not just training on the ice, but learning about finances, nutrition and lifestyle.
“I mean it’s amazing,” Bahl said. “Coming from the draft, you just kind of blank. Everything I’ve done since I’ve been here has just been amazing. I don’t know, it’s just part of the journey, you don’t know what’s coming and it’s all unexpected, and just great timing too.”
The unexpected was part of Bahl’s draft process, as he was unaware of the interest the Coyotes had in him prior to their selection, as he relayed in his NHL draft diary.
I had no idea Arizona was interested in me. I actually for a second thought it was going to be Washington. They were picking No. 47 and they said, “Ottawa 67s” and I looked at my sister, Christina, but then they said, “Kody Clark,” and I said, “Oh, no.” But I do feel amazing for Kody. He’s worked his tail off his whole career.
When the Coyotes finally called my name, it was amazing. I looked at my sister and she had the greatest smile on her face. Mom was almost in tears, dad was extremely happy. Everything goes through your head in that one moment.
I got to go down to the Coyotes draft table and meet some of the scouts and people there, they just said “Congratulations, welcome to the team.
“It’s kind of the same thing for the OHL,” Bahl said. “I thought I was going to go a tiny bit higher, I went like 31. Same thing, I mean, when you see all these kind of things, people tell you where you’re gonna go.”
One of the reasons he didn’t know Arizona was interested in him is because during the combine process when he met with a bevy of teams, most the questions were bland and didn’t give any inkling of a high level of interest. It was the basic questions most prospects across all major sports get, but there was one question that stood out to Bahl.
Would you rather play one season in the NHL and win a championship or play 10 seasons without a championship?
As daunting of a question it might seem at face value, to play one season and end your dream job, or participate in your dream job and not reach the highest achievement, the choice was easy for Bahl.
“If I have a ring I can go anywhere and do anything,” said Bahl, admitting “that was the weirdest question” he received throughout the process.
With Bahl done with the draft process and hoping to make an impression on the Coyotes staff, one of the early questions is if he’ll return to Ottawa.
Regardless, Bahl is comfortable playing another season in the OHL.
“If I go back to juniors, that’s going to be awesome,” Bahl said. “Go back and play with the Ottawa 67’s again, we’re going to have a remarkable team. I feel like this is really going to be our year coming up, so that’d be great.”