Back in 2004, a Minnesota high school star named Blake Wheeler was the first-round pick of Wayne Gretzky and the Phoenix Coyotes. Eyebrows were raised, as Wheeler wasn't projected by anyone to be a potential top pick.

Four years later, it appears Wheeler will finally get a chance to play professional hockey.

The Minnesota Gopher junior is expected to sign a deal to join the Coyotes organization, forgoing his final year of eligibility at Minnesota. Wheeler starred at Breck School, a private school in the Twin Cities area, leading them to the 2004 Class A state championship. He played one year of junior hockey in the USHL before joining Minnesota, where he has tallied 42 goals in his Gopher career.

Some Gopher fans have been disappointed with Wheeler's production, expecting more out of a guy Gretzky was so high on when he played in high school. But Wheeler has rounded into a nice player, and he's the kind of guy whose size and hands make for a constant threat. If there's one negative to his game, it's his tendency not to play strong on his skates. Wheeler isn't a diver, but he can look like one at times, and that's as bad as actually being one.

In other signing news, we're still waiting for 2005 first-round pick T.J. Oshie to sign with St. Louis. Oshie just completed his junior year at North Dakota, helping his team to a fourth straight Frozen Four appearance. I would be lying if I said I thought Oshie would return to school, but I thought the same thing last year.

(A tap of the stick goes to Western College Hockey.)

(UPDATE: WCH now reports that Wheeler has withdrawn from classes at Minnesota and has 30 days to sign with Phoenix before becoming a free agent.)

With the Phoenix Coyotes officially out of the playoff race, the desert dogs and their fans can now turn their heads and look into the future, where a playoff spot may yet lurk in the shadows.

With Peter Mueller establishing himself as a good Calder Trophy candidate, newcomer Ilya Bryzgalov providing awesome goaltending, the coming out party thrown by Radim Vrbata, and Wayne Gretzky's improving coaching, the future has never been brighter for a club that has long struggled to make any forward progress.

One more piece of the puzzle will be Kyle Turris, the Coyotes' 3rd overall pick from this past summer's NHL Entry Draft. After playing just one season with the NCAA's University of Wisconsin, Turris took the lure of real NHL puck bunnies over college co-eds, and signed his first pro deal.

"This is incredible and I can't explain how I feel right now," said Turris, the third selection in the June entry draft. "I'm extremely excited and I've got tons of adrenaline already for my first NHL game."

Agent Kurt Overhardt wouldn't divulge contract numbers, but said the Turris deal is more than the three-year, $2.65-million entry level pact that Surrey native Colton Gillies signed Friday with the Minnesota Wild.

The Coyotes have three games left in the season, which is just enough time for Turris to get his feet wet without any pressure whatsoever to win games and carry his new club.

If Turris needs to do anything, it's get some ideas how to put on some good playing weight. Listed at a generous 170 pounds, Turris is lighter than a feather, and skinny enough to make the contestants on America's Next Top Model puke in envy.

It was only a few days ago that my FanHouse colleague Greg Wyshynski took notice of the handiwork of Phoenix winger Daniel Carcillo after the Coyotes dropped a 3-1 decision to the Canucks in Vancouver. But while his 21 penalty minutes combined with a goal might have drawn the admiration of many, it also seems have drawn the ire of a number of officials around the league. In the immediate aftermath of Tuesday night's game, even Carcillo's coach, Wayne Gretzky, admitted that Carcillo had become something of a marked man.

From Phoenix, One Fan's Perspective picks up the thread:

For the past few games, Carcillo has been unfairly maligned in the eyes of the officials on the ice. Clearly, Carcillo is not an angel, and I do recognize that. However, he doesn't cause trouble and skate away like some players in the NHL. He takes the heat and by doing so it sparks his team.

Whether there is a conspiracy afoot, or just plain incompetence, remains to be seen (but in this case, I lean to the conspiracy theory), but last night against the Los Angeles Kings was the first time ever I saw a five-minute major penalty called for interference with a game misconduct tacked on for good measure.

He's talking about this hit on Tom Preissing last night against Los Angeles:

One look at the Vancouver Canucks' roster, and it's clear they know from agitation. So I'm sure some of them have a begrudging respect for the kind of game Daniel Carcillo of the Coyotes had last night. He scored Phoenix's only goal in a 3-1 loss and tallied 21 penalty minutes: A fighting major, two roughing penalties, another for cross-checking, and 10-minute misconduct for slamming the penalty box door. (He was also in the penalty box for Henrik Sedin's game-clinching goal, but them's the breaks when you're a super pest.)

Carcillo earned the fighting major for this first period scrap with Rick Rypien of Vancouver, which offered one of the season's most impressive punches-per-second ratio. Fun Fact No. 1: Rypien is the cousin of former Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien (thanks, Wikipedia!). Fun Fact No. 2: Both of these players were born after the first "Police Academy" movie was released. Excuse me as I search for my AARP card...oh, and the verdict from the Hockeyfights.com jury is Rypien in a rout.

Wayne Gretzky and those pesky Phoenix Coyotes just continue to pile up the wings, and now find themselves sitting in that precious eighth place in the Western Conference. Is anyone else here just in total and utter shock? How can THAT team be doing so well?

One big reason for the Coyotes' success has been rookie Peter Mueller (drafted 8th overall in 2006), the 19-year old forward who is playing like a 10-year veteran, and was just named the NHL's rookie of the month.

[Mueller] led all rookies in scoring with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 14 games to help the Coyotes to a 9-4-1 record last month.

Mueller edged Washington Capitals centre Nicklas Backstrom, Chicago Blackhawks right-winger Patrick Kane and New York Rangers centre Brandon Dubinsky for the award.

With his January outburst, Mueller now sits pretty with 34 points in 52 games, and has crawled into the Calder Trophy discussion with his fine 2-way play.

Of course, Mueller hasn't been the only pleasant surprise for the desert dogs this season.

Looks like Wayne Gretzky is going to get his old buddy back behind the bench again. Here's Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic with the latest news on the saga Rick Tocchet:

I've learned that [NHL Commissioner Gary] Bettman is on his way to Denver, and with the Coyotes in town to play the Avalanche, there seems to be little doubt that he will meet with Coyotes officials.

Tocchet will be back behind the bench Thursday when the Coyotes return home after a five-game road trip, and fans likely will see an even more energetic Coyotes team take the ice.

Gintonio goes on to mention that he felt that Tocchet should have never been suspended in the first place, something that's a bit problematic as the fact that running an independent gambling operation is still illegal in the state of New Jersey. But to be fair, if it wasn't for Tocchet's connection to the NHL and Gretzky, it's safe to say that nobody outside the New Jersey State Police would have ever heard of "Operation Slap Shot".

HT: Kukla

Previously on FanHouse:
I'll Bet Rick Tocchet's a Happy Man Today
Tocchet Gets Probation in Gambling Case
Spare Me the Moralizing and Let Rick Tocchet Coach Again

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

The Phoenix Coyotes haven't qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2002, and have never advanced past the first round. If you want to use last night's win in Columbus as a gut-check for a young team, the Yotes came off looking tougher than leather: Rallying from two deficits, scoring all three goals of the third period and taking a 4-2 decision from a team ahead of them in the Western Conference.

The Coyotes are, as of Wednesday morning, the No. 8 seed in the West -- a postseason spot that earns some lucky team a hasty beat-down from the Big Red Wing Machine. But they're only four points away from the No. 5 seed. I know the odds are against Phoenix actually winning the Stanley Cup -- 80-to-1 at last count -- but riding Ilya Bryzgalov to the team's inaugural second-round berth isn't out of the question. It's just too bad Coyotes management refuses to do what it takes to win and reward their long-suffering fans.

(Coming Up Next: Last Night's Losers, Guys Hugging the Stanley Cup Are Fan-tastic, Super Cool Hockey Ratings News, Tonight's Must-See Games and a Surreal Old School Hockey Fight Between the Kings and Canucks.)

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

If that "slam dunk" contest doesn't pan out this All-Star Weekend, I think Dion Phaneuf just discovered the next great NHL skills competition: Long Distance Shattering.



But Dion's window treatments weren't the biggest stunner in last night's 2-1 Calgary win that propelled Mike Keenan's boys to the top of the Northwest Division.

(Coming Up Next: Last Night's Losers, Hockey Cheerleaders Are Fan-tastic, When You Know You're Addicted To Hockey, Tonight's Must-See Games and Some Disturbing Claymation Shootout Action.)