Coyotes officially name John Chayka general manager

John Chayka was officially named the new general manager of the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

Chayka, 26, joined the club last season as assistant general manager/analytics, and, under Don Maloney, was involved in all areas of hockey operations.

"We're very pleased to name John as our new general manager," said Gary Drummond, who was also appointed president of hockey operations Thursday. "John is among the best and brightest minds in hockey. He is knowledgeable and driven and has an incredible passion for the game. He brings an innovative approach to assessing talent and looking at player development and combined with his strong analytics expertise, we feel that he's the right choice for the direction we want to go with our franchise."

"I am extremely grateful for this opportunity," Chayka said. "(The Coyotes) are excited about the challenge ahead and focused on taking our team to the next level. We have a great core of players and prospects here and a very bright future ahead of us."

Chayka comes from a heavy analytics background, which will likely be evident in how he goes about his role.

Chayka becomes the tenth GM in the history of the Coyotes (dating back to the Winnipeg era), and the sixth since the club moved to Arizona in 1996.