Clayton Keller will make his NHL debut on Monday night when the Arizona Coyotes visit the St. Louis Blues, Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett confirmed.

Keller signed his entry-level contract with the Coyotes on Sunday, one day after Boston University's season ended in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

He was seventh overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft.

Keller scored 21 goals and added 24 assists in 31 games with Boston University this season. 

Tippett told Airzona Sports on Sunday he expects spending time in the NHL to end the season will help Keller's long-term development.

“I think he’s going to find out how hard it really is to play in this league,” Tippett said. “You know, young players, they’re, all the way through, they’re always top, top younger players. You get to this league and it’s all the top players in the world, not just a few of them.”

“Speaking from personal experience, when I first came to the NHL, I played 17 games at the end of one year after the Olympics,” Tippet continued. “I remember looking back and thinking how much that helped me going into training camp the next year. You just know how everything is done.”

Keller can spend the remaining seven games of the Coyotes season with the team without burning a year off of his ELC.