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Getting to know U-tah: Newly extended forward Dylan Guenther
Through training camp, ALLCITY Network will publish profiles of players and staff on the Utah Hockey Club’s hockey operations side to help Utah fans get to know their new team before the first puck drop on Oct. 8 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Delta Center.
Dylan Guenther
Position: Forward
Height/weight: 6-2, 190
Shoots: Right
Age: 21
2023-24 stats: 45 games, 18 goals, 35 points
Career stats: 178 games, 24 goals, 50 points
Contract status: Signed eight-year contract extension that kicks in next season and runs through 2032-33 (AAV: $7,142,857
Agent: Kevin Epp
Dog: Zoey
Ever since the Coyotes selected Dylan Guenther with the No. 9 overall pick in 2021, the source of his fuel has been provided by the team.
When the Coyotes loaned him to Hockey Canada for the IIHF World Junior Championship in December 2022, he wanted to stay in the NHL, but he promptly scored the golden goal in the championship game against Czechia in Halifax.
When the Coyotes sent Guenther back to the Western Hockey League later that season to play for a league title and the Memorial Cup, he was almost spitting nails during a phone interview, but he used the moment as fuel to improve.
When they sent him back to Tucson of the AHL after the 2023-24 preseason to work on elements of his game, he did just that.
“To be honest, I don’t think I had a great camp,” he said. “It was new structure, I kind of bounced around, and I was just a little tentative and overthinking it. But when I went down to Tucson, I just kind of grabbed the bull by the horn and was like, ‘Alright, let’s compete and work out of this.”
There are no more perceived slights coming Guenther’s way. Just the opposite. About five months after he turned 21, the Utah Hockey Club rewarded Guenther with an eight-year contract extension with an average annual value very close to what Clayton Keller makes on a deal signed five years ago.
“Dylan has done everything we have asked of him every step of the way,” GM Bill Armstrong said. “We are in the new NHL. When you have a good one, you have to invest early.”
So what will Guenther use as fuel now?
“I just love playing hockey,” he said. “I don’t know what else I would do if I wasn’t playing so my motivation honestly doesn’t change. I want to get better every day. I want to win a Stanley Cup and I think our team is building in the right direction.
“We’re obviously a long ways away, but it’s baby steps. It’s one day at a time, trying to improve every day and that obviously goes for me, too. With this contract comes a little bit more of a leadership role and responsibility. Taking initiative that way will help me and the team in trying to bring that mentality of just getting a bit better. Whether it’s an off day, a practice day, a game day or whatever, do whatever you can to try to improve.”
Like most players, Guenther has worked on most aspects of his game this offseason, but he has zeroed in on some fine details to help make him more effective.
“I did a lot of rim pick-ups and play along the wall,” he said. “So much of the game is played along the boards that you have to be able to hold on to pucks down low. I think that’s something I still have to work on, and just creating a little bit of space and separation from defenders down low when the puck’s on the yellow [the kickplate at the bottom of the boards] and kind of in those hard areas.”
All that said, Guenther knows what his best pitch is. He is an elite shooter and Utah is counting on him to become an elite goal scorer — a trait that he hinted at by scoring 18 goals last season; 15 over the final 34 games.
“Fine tuning the other parts of my game is important, but I have to make sure that when I get chances I’m putting the puck in the net,” he said. “I’m trying to get it off quicker; trying to be able to shoot from different spots, and scoring inside a little bit more.
“I’m pretty good from from the slot and the top of the circle when I get a good look, but tipping pucks, jumping on rebounds, and scoring on spinning pucks — that’s kind of an underrated skill when the puck is spinning and you’re able to still shoot it and get the shot off.”
Guenther had a lot of his success last season after he was paired with center Logan Cooley. The two expect to play together again this season — and perhaps for another decade after that.
“We’re slotted together right now and we like playing with each other,” he said. “We kind of feed off each other. We’re both young. We’re in it together and I think the chance to grow up with a player similar in age, coming in around the same time, it’s fun.
“We both look ahead. We want to try to dominate every game. We want to change every single game. That might not happen right now with us being younger, but I think if we continue that mentality of just trying to push the pace and control the game, then as we get older, it’s going to help us a lot.”
There are those who wonder if Guenther left money on the table by signing a full season before he was scheduled to reach restricted free agency.
Guenther never gave it much thought. He left the negotiating up to agent Kevin Epp, he involved his parents, Russ and Nadine, in all of the contract talks, and when the process was complete about three weeks after it began, he celebrated with his proud parents and took stock of the franchise’s commitment to a 21-year-old who has yet to play a full NHL season.
“I wanted to stay here and play here for a long time and I have that opportunity now,” he said. “It’s a huge honor to have management and the team believe in you — and not just verbally, but really commit to you. I’m super honored and grateful that that’s how they view me. I’m excited to go out there, play well and prove them right.”
Related Guenther links
The importance of Dylan Guenther: Revisiting a trade that jump-started the Coyotes’ rebuild
Dylan Guenther’s greatest attribute may be his attitude
What’s the best path for Coyotes’ Dylan Guenther: NHL, AHL or mix of both?
If you’d like to watch Saturday’s news conference with Armstrong and Guenther, here it is.
Top photo of Dylan Guenther via Getty Images
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