When the Arizona Coyotes selected Barrett Hayton 5th overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft they did it with an eye on him becoming the team’s future first-line center. He wasn’t going to make the jump right away, but the team thought he could make it in the future.
That put Hayton in a rather awkward position development-wise. Last season the team thought that he would get little to nothing returning to the OHL, but he wasn’t ready for regular NHL duty.
Last season Hayton played in 20 NHL games where he registered a goal and three assists.