Clayton Keller

Clayton Keller (born July 29, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey forward, currently playing for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Keller was selected 7th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Coyotes.

Amateur
Keller played in the 2010 and 2011 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the St. Louis Blues minor ice hockey team.

Keller joined the US National Team Development Program in 2014 and finished his NTDP career in 2016, setting the record for all-time points with 189, ahead of Phil Kessel, Patrick Kane, Jeremy Bracco, and Auston Matthews. His record was eventually broken by Jack Hughes in 2019. Keller also finished his NTDP career second all-time in assists.

Keller freshman season with Boston University was the 2016-2017 season, where he led the team in scoring with 21 goals and 24 assists in 31 games. He was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Year for 2016–17.

Professional
Keller was selected 7th overall by the Arizona Coyotes at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He was one of the five first round picks in 2016 that hailed from Greater St. Louis. With Boston's exit from the NCAA tournament, he signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Coyotes on March 26, 2017 and played in his first NHL game the next night against his hometown team, the St. Louis Blues. He earned his first NHL point with an assist in the next game, also against the Blues.

Keller was named NHL Rookie of the Month for October 2017 after he became the franchise's first rookie to record at least nine goals in one month since Teemu Selänne in March 1993. He also became the franchise's first rookie to record 15 points in a month since Selänne and Keith Tkachuk in March 1993. On March 21, 2018, passed Peter Mueller for most points, 55, by a Coyote rookie since the franchise relocated from Winnipeg before the 1996-97 season. Keller was again named the NHL Rookie of the Month in March, after he led all rookies with 13 assists and 19 points in 17 games and recorded a 10-game points streak, which was the longest by any rookie in the 2017–18 season. Before the conclusion of the regular season, Keller was awarded three team awards; Team MVP, Leading Scorer Award, and the Three Star Award. Keller completed his rookie season with 42 assists and 65 points, leading the team in points and goals, as well as tying for assists. On April 22, 2018, Keller was named one of the finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to top first-year player.

On September 4, 2019, the Coyotes re-signed Keller to an eight-year, $57.2 million contract extension. On December 22, 2019, Keller became the first player in franchise history to go four games with at least three points prior to turning 22. By January, Keller was second amongst the team in scoring with 29 points and was thus listed as a “Last Man standing” option for the 2020 NHL All-Star Game, allowing fans to vote him into the competition. During the pause in play due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Keller competed in a league-wide NHL Player Gaming Challenge tournament with teammate Conor Garland.

International play
Keller played for Team USA at the 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, winning the silver medal, where he finished as top scorer.

Keller was a member of Team USA that won a gold medal at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships. At the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships, Team USA won the bronze medal and Keller was Team USA's scoring leader. Keller was awarded MVP of the tournament. At the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Team USA won the gold medal and Keller led Team USA in scoring and was named to the tournament All-star team.

Keller was selected to represent Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Championship, held in Paris, France, and Cologne, Germany. Team USA finished in 5th place. Keller registered five goals and two assists in 8 games. On April 19, 2019, Keller was selected to represent Team USA for the second time at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, held in Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia. Team USA finished in 7th place. Keller registered two goals and two assists in 8 games.

Records

 * Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes rookie points record - 65
 * Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes record for fewest games needed to reach 100 career points - 132 games

Personal life
Keller was raised in Swansea, Illinois, an eastern suburb of St. Louis. He was born to Bryan, a certified public accountant, and Kelley Keller. Keller's younger brother also plays hockey. Clayton is 6'2