An educated guess at the Coyotes’ opening-night roster

This Coyotes training camp is noticeably absent of the roster intrigue that accompanied previous seasons. The team was kind enough to remove any remaining drama in its penultimate practice before a one-week road trip to conclude the preseason.

If you attended Sunday’s practice at the Ice Den in Scottsdale, you would have counted 23 men on the ice. It is no coincidence that that is also the NHL roster limit. Nobody has said it outright, but 22 of those 23 players will be on the final roster, with defenseman Victor Söderström the lone exception. We’ll get back to the Söderström plan in a moment, but first, here is our educated guess at the 23-, er, 22-man roster that will board the flight to Anaheim for the season opener on Oct. 3, with some analysis of their roles, their health, the position battles ahead and the most likely candidates for call-ups.

Forwards (13)

The 13: Derek Stepan, Clayton Keller, Phil Kessel, Nick Schmaltz, Christian Dvorak, Vinnie Hinostroza, Carl Söderberg, Lawson Crouse, Christian Fischer, Michael Grabner, Brad Richardson, Conor Garland, Barrett Hayton.

Why not 14? The Coyotes do not plan to keep a 14th forward to begin the season, coach Rick Tocchet said Sunday. When the team takes lengthy road trips, it could choose to carry two extra forwards rather than have them make the cross-country flight in a pinch when injuries occur, but there is money to be saved against the cap by carrying 13 instead of 14, and the move allows that 14th forward to play in the AHL, rather than sit in the press box in the NHL, eating subpar hot dogs.

Position battles: Tocchet will tell you that nobody’s position is secure. All players have to have to perform, but of the 13 guys listed above, Garland, Fischer and Hayton are the ones who will have to fight the most for ice time and a regular role. Tocchet has made it clear that he does not want Hayton to be a spare part, but there isn’t much value in sending him back to Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League for another year and he is not AHL-eligible due to that annoying CHL-NHL agreement that could become a talking point for the next collective bargaining agreement.

“The one thing I can tell you is the last thing we’re going to do is have (Barrett) on our team and then play him four for five minutes a night,” Tocchet said. “That’s not going to develop him. That’s not what we’re looking to do here so he’s got to check the boxes.”

That said, president of hockey operations John Chayka has cited the approach the St. Louis Blues took with forward Robert Thomas last season as an example of how the Coyotes might handle Hayton. The Blues brought their 2017 first-round pick along slowly, gradually increasing his role and minutes until he became a significant contributor in their run to the Stanley Cup.

Garland has had a good camp, bringing the same sort of energy that he brought after his call-up last season in the wake of injuries to other players. Fischer must take a step forward as he approaches restricted free agency. Tocchet wants to see him do more than win battles in the corners and along the walls. He wants to see Fischer make plays out of those battles, or get to the net for scoring chances whether that be on his own for deflections or rebounds or screens. Tocchet sees a lot of himself in Fischer’s game.

Schmaltz’s health: We wrote about Schmaltz’s importance to an improved offense and the overall success of this team. He said this week that he is feeling no ill effects or pain from the meniscus surgery he had last season, but he hasn’t played a regular-season game in nine months. It showed early in the preseason, but he looked a little sharper in a 4-3 shootout win against the Ducks on Saturday.

Best camps: For what it’s worth, Stepan, Keller, Dvorak and Garland have looked sharp in the preseason. Dvorak leads the Coyotes with a goal and three assists in three games, and he was tied for third in the NHL in points before Sunday’s games, a good sign that the 20 games he played at the end of last season helped him move past an injury-riddled year. Stepan and Keller are coming off down years in production. The Coyotes will need more from both in their top-six roles.

What about call-ups? There is a long list of veteran call-ups available to the Coyotes. Anybody who watched Saturday’s game saw the energy that the Lane Pederson-Michael Chaput-Michael Bunting line brought. All of those players are potential call-ups, assuming they clear waivers to be re-assigned to Tucson (none is waivers exempt). Other candidates include hard-luck, 2015 first-round pick Nick Merkley, Andy Miele, Hudson Fasching and Beau Bennett. Call-ups depend on a variety of variables including which position the Coyotes need filled due to injury, matchups, how those AHL players are playing at the time and the schedule.

Defense (7)

The 7: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jason Demers, Alex Goligoski, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jakob Chychrun, Jordan Oesterle, Ilya Lyubushkin.

What’s the plan with Victor Söderström? Tocchet said the Coyotes will keep Söderström with them for the next week to gain experience. He will accompany the team on its preseason road trip to Edmonton, Vancouver and Anaheim, but with the defense corps “pretty set,” he is not expected to remain with the team for the regular season.

The Coyotes have likely decided where Söderström will play next season, but they have not divulged that publicly. He will either return to Sweden to play for Brynäs, which should have an improved team, or he will play for Tucson (he is AHL eligible because he was drafted out of the SHL, not the CHL). Playing in Tucson would clearly allow him to adapt to the smaller ice surface of the North American game, while also acclimating to American culture. Playing in Sweden would allow an 18-year-old kid to be in more comfortable, secure surroundings while still playing against men in an elite league.

Both choices have their merits.

“Players develop best where they feel comfortable,” Chayka said. “It’s easy to say, ‘Put them where you want to put them’ but they are the ones living there, and they have to feel like they are getting the most for their careers.

“The ice surface creates a different game and a different style of play and you have different styles of players over in Europe so what’s the best benefit: him being in North America, playing a more North American style or being over in Sweden where he has played before and has that level of comfort and family? With some young players, family is more important so you have to take everything into consideration.”

The captain’s health: Ekman-Larsson returned to full practice last week and played his first preseason game on Saturday. He looked sharp and he played with that subtle edge that lets you know he is dialed in and at the top of his game. The Coyotes wanted to be careful after Ekman-Larsson had what the team termed a minor offseason procedure, but he appears ready to go for the season opener. That’s a huge benefit in a number of areas, not the least of which is the rebuilt power play, which has been taking a lot of reps in practice with Ekman-Larsson at the point.

What about call-ups? If Söderström heads to the AHL, he is one possibility. So is Kyle Capobianco if he is ready to go after ACL surgery in February. Chayka said previously that the Coyotes wanted to be cautious with Capobianco in camp, but he has not played a preseason game so he may need a little more time.

Keep an eye on Aaron Ness, whom the Coyotes signed to a two-year, two-way contract in July. He has quietly stuck around camp. Ness led all AHL defensemen in points last season with 55 (50 assists) for Hershey, a Washington Capitals affiliate. Robbie Russo and Dysin Mayo are also options.

Goalies (2)

The 2: Antti Raanta, Darcy Kuemper

How is Raanta looking? A little rusty, as expected after knee surgery. He hasn’t played a regular-season game in 10 months and the fourth goal he allowed against Los Angeles in a preseason loss was evidence, but Tocchet also thought he made some good saves early in that game (he did). He’ll get a chance to play more on this upcoming road trip. Kuemper has played well, so Raanta is in a battle to be the opening-night starter.

What’s the plan in goal? We’re glad you asked. We asked goalie Corey Schwab. You can read his articulate and detailed responses here.

What about call-ups? Adin Hill remains the first guy in line, but if you want to get a feel for the organizational depth chart, Cat Silverman did all the legwork you need in a thorough piece.

(Photo of Vegas’ Max Pacioretty, left, and the Coyotes’ Nick Schmaltz during their preseason game Sept. 15: Stephen R. Sylvanie / USA Today Sports)