Rookie Kyle Turris, left, joins sophomore Peter Mueller up front for Phoenix. (Danny Moloshok/Associated Press)

This time around it might be the Phoenix Coyotes putting up two players for consideration for NHL rookie of the year.

Peter Mueller of the Coyotes impressed with 54 points last season but didn't garner a Calder Trophy nomination due to the impressive play of Chicago duo Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, as well as Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals.

Kyle Turris of New Westminster, B.C., leads a quartet of promising young forwards who are starting the 2008-09 season with the Coyotes.

The others are Mikkel Boedker, the highest drafted Danish player ever, Viktor Tikhonov, grandson of the legendary Russian coach of the same name, and Kevin Porter, Hobey Baker Award winner last season as top U.S. college hockey player.

The foursome average just under 20 years of age. The team could choose to send Boedkker back to Kitchener in the Ontario Hockey League for his next six games, while Tikhonov was expected by many observers to begin the year in the American Hockey League.

But general manager Don Maloney told CBCSports.ca as the team prepared to play in Ottawa and Montreal that the Coyotes are prepared to go the distance this season with all of them.

"We have no intention of sending our young players anywhere," Maloney said. "They're young people but good players."

Turris and Boedker scored their first NHL goals in the same game on Oct. 12 in Anaheim, with Porter notching two assists so far in three games.

Phoenix won their first two of the season before hitting a bump in the first of a four-game road trip, a 4-1 loss in Chicago on Wednesday.

"Yeah, they'll have their nights where things go not as well but they've all got talent, they all compete hard and we've got a coach that plays young players," said Maloney.

Of course, in Wayne Gretzky the four have a coach with more than a bit of knowledge about how a core group of young, talented players builds cohesion and then wins championships.

"To me, that's the key for our success, having Wayne behind the bench, [who] will be able to take a deep breath when a young guy turns the puck over or gets run over a couple of times, and throws him right back on the ice," said Maloney. "That's how we'll improve as a franchise."

It's not like the Coyotes were greybeards to begin with. Phoenix had the second-youngest team last year, introducing the likes of Mueller, Michal Handzal, Daniel Winnik and Daniel Carcillo to the NHL.

Turris, 19, is clearly perceived as the head of not only Phoenix's rookie class, but maybe of the entire league.

Turris starred with gold-medal world juniors

Maloney credits Keith Gretzky, head of amateur scouting, for the 2007 draft selection of Turris, the pick of Hockey Night in Canada Radio's Jeff Marek to win this year's Calder.

The six-foot, 170-pound Turris is seen as having innate hockey sense and starred at the last world junior championships, with eight points in seven games as Canada took gold.

"We're thrilled to have him," said Maloney. "He's had a good start. He's intelligent and shines up every time he's on the ice. He's still a little slight right now and has to get stronger, but he's a hockey player and will only get better over time."

Mueller, barely 20 himself, set a good example for Turris with his display last year.

The young players are expected to contribute, but not carry the freight. Maloney acquired Olli Jokinen from Florida in the summer to lead the way offensively.

Jokinen has 111 goals and 140 assists in the last three seasons, although he has yet to appear in the playoffs after more than 700 regular-season games.

"It was so difficult to find top front-line centre icemen; when a deal for Olli came our way, to me, the price was very affordable," said Maloney.

"What Olli does, with Shane Doan, is take the heat off our young players to produce offence. They can play against top people and have success; they've done it their whole careers."

The trade for Jokinen cost Phoenix defencemen Nick Boynton and Keith Ballard. Maloney admitted depth on the blue-line past the solid veteran trio of Ed Jovanovski, Derek Morris and Zbynek Michalek is an issue the Coyotes are focused on.

There was a collective sigh of relief after Morris escaped serious injury in Chicago when a linesman inadvertently stepped on his hand.

Hobey Baker winner Kevin Porter, left, and Viktor Tikhonov, who shares a name with his legendary grandfather, are among Phoenix's rookie crop. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Defensive issues can sometimes be papered over with great goaltending. Ilya Bryzgalov finished in the top 10 in save percentage last season and has allowed just seven goals in three games. And unlike other league tandems, where one goalie is forced to carry the load 70 times a season, in Mikael Tellqvist, Phoenix has a backup competent and content enough to appear in 20 to 30 games.

Because they're fully committed to young players who may one day require substantial pay raises, the Coyotes, more than most teams, keep an avid eye out for complementary players who have been victim to the numbers game in other NHL cities.

"We are value shoppers in the desert in these days," said Maloney.

David Hale from Calgary and Kurt Sauer from Colorado, acquired to bolster the back end, fit that bill.

The team's crop of forward prospects aren't particularly big — and they lost out on six-foot-four college player Blake Wheeler, who opted to sign with Boston — so Brian McGrattan (Ottawa) and Todd Fedoruk (Minnesota) were added up front to help ensure the opposition doesn't take liberties.

Phoenix is an avid and crowded sports market and while the Coyotes haven't made the playoffs since 2002, they made a 16-point jump last season.

You can't sell promise forever, though, and the goal this season is a Western Conference playoff berth.

"I know we're trending the way we need to trend to win the championship," said Maloney. "That's what brings people in. I look at Phoenix no different than Anaheim five or six years ago, or Carolina or Tampa or any of these so-called 'non-traditional markets.' "

Phoenix at Montreal will be shown regionally on CBC Sports on Saturday and streamed live at CBCSports.ca (6:30 p.m. ET).