Jul. 22—In what he views as a critical season for his NHL career, New Hampshire's Zach Sanford chose a team unlike any he has previously played for.

Sanford, a forward, signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes, one of the league's youngest teams, on July 14. His previous teams consisted mostly of veterans, including St. Louis, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2019 — then brought along the Cup in a visit to his old school, Green Acres Elementary School in Manchester.

A Pinkerton Academy graduate, Sanford was drafted by Washington in 2016 and has spent the past two seasons with Nashville, Winnipeg and Ottawa.

"I'm at the age (28) where I'm not a young prospect anymore," Sanford said. "I'm in between. ... I think this is a good year for me to step in and try and grab that opportunity and prove myself and kind get my career back on the right track in the NHL."

Sanford played most of last season with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville's American Hockey League affiliate, posting 12 goals 16 assists and 51 penalty minutes over 45 games. The Boston College product also recorded two goals and one assist in 16 games for the Predators.

Before playing last year with Nashville, Sanford spent the 2021-22 season with both the Senators and Jets. Sanford tallied 18 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 62 games with Ottawa before being traded to Winnipeg, where he had four assists in 18 games.

"It's been a crazy couple years for me," said Sanford, a 6-foot-4, 207-pound, left-shot forward. "You always think a fresh start is going to be the best thing and it's kind of been tough for me personally on and off the ice. Honestly, I think going to Milwaukee last year helped me a lot. I kind of took a step back and reevaluated and learned a lot more about myself as a player and got back to my roots, kind of, and realized what really did make me successful."

Sanford and Merrimack native Tim Schaller, 32, were among Milwaukee's veteran leaders last season. Sanford typically played center on one of the Admirals' top two lines and on both the power-play and the penalty-kill units.

Schaller told the Union Leader last December that Sanford was one of several hard-nosed, skilled players on a Milwaukee roster that had a little bit of everything talent-wise.

Sanford said his time with Milwaukee helped him regain his confidence and scoring touch. He finished tied for fifth on the Admirals, who reached the AHL Western Conference Finals, in goals and tied for eighth in points (28). Sanford also posted three goals, four assists and 10 penalty minutes over 16 playoff games.