The 2022 NHL Draft is right here … virtually!
You know the drill. Seven rounds. Thirty-two groups. Two days (this yr on the Bell Centre in Montreal as an alternative of the NHL’s studios in Secaucus, N.J.).
Here’s all the things I’m occupied with because the clock winds down, from closing ideas and notes to a last-minute rankings tweak and my “best of” at a wide range of expertise (taking pictures, skating, fingers, puck safety, physicality, smarts, and so forth.), in addition to hyperlinks to all of my draft protection this yr.
Rankings
Player profiles
Miscellaneous
And as at all times, for extra of our draft protection, take a look at the work of The Athletic’s Corey Pronman.
Thoughts on the goalies
After there have been no goalies on my draft board for the primary time within the 5 years I’ve been doing this work at The Athletic, I promised to dig into them earlier than the draft.
The prime two goalie prospects on this draft are believed to be Finnish product Topias Leinonen (who posted a .916 save proportion with JYP’s junior staff, was advantageous however not a standout at U18 worlds, and struggled in his transient introductions to the professional recreation in Mestis and Liiga) and Prince George Cougars netminder Tyler Brennan, who carried out properly on a subpar staff within the WHL. Of the 2, I’m keen on Brennan, however I wouldn’t take both the place they’re prone to be chosen (second/third spherical).
Leinonen is large and measured in at 6-foot-5 and 233 kilos on the mix, which shall be interesting to some groups however I’d argue that it raises crimson flags about simply how heavy he’s. Only three of the 119 goalies who performed within the NHL this season have been heavier (Anthony Stolarz, Robin Lehner and Frederik Andersen, and so they’re 28, 30 and 31 years previous, respectively). It’s probably that Leinonen will get larger and it might actually gradual him down (he already struggles at occasions along with his motion). He’d want a stronger monitor file of success to warrant a range as a blocking-style goalie who might work carefully with a goalie coach and a health/diet guru. He should still work out underneath the correct steerage, however that’s a late-round gamble for me given his monitor file.
Brennan performed his greatest hockey in Prince George’s first-round sweep to the superior Portland Winterhawks, taking the web from fellow 2022 prospect Ty Young after Young was yanked within the opener. He stopped 28 of 29 photographs in aid after which performed to 2-1, 2-0 and 2-1 losses in video games 2, 3 and 4, surrendering simply seven objectives on 153 photographs (.954 save proportion). He’s one other massive child (6-4) however he’s leaner (185 kilos) than Leinonen, he strikes higher within the internet and his technical expertise (fingers, toes, monitoring) grade out increased. He’s additionally older (born only a couple weeks from 2021 eligibility).
If my listing ran longer than 100, the reality is that neither probably would have even been the primary goalie to make an look (although Brennan would have been within the dialog for second).
The goalies I’m fondest of on this age group are literally its little guys. Hugo Hävelid, the 5-10 star of Sweden’s gold medal-winning U18 staff (he was named the match’s prime goaltender) and Linkoping’s championship-winning J20 membership (he was named the league’s prime goaltender). He’s my favourite of the bunch.
Brett Brochu, NHL Central Scouting’s No. 31-ranked North American goalie. (Tim Cornett / OHL Images)
Other names to look at are …
- Brett Brochu, the 5-11 overager (barely, as a result of he was born only a week from 2022 eligibility) who gained the OHL’s Goaltender of the Year Award this season after posting a .911 save proportion throughout 43 video games for the London Knights.
- Sergei Ivanov, the 5-11, unranked-by-NHL-Central-Scouting backstop of the SKA’s MHL-champion junior membership, along with his .928 common season and .930 playoffs.
- Thomas Milic, the 6-foot re-entry goaltender of the WHL-finalist Seattle Thunderbirds.
Each of these youngsters has a compelling draft case.
Thunderbirds basic supervisor Bill La Forge instructed me it might be a “travesty” if Milic didn’t get picked in his second go-around after his good playoff efficiency (.925 throughout 25 video games).
“You look at Dustin Wolf, you look at Juuse Saros, Alexander Georgiev. This guy is like those guys. He’s that good. If some team doesn’t take him with a seventh-rounder, I don’t understand it,” La Forge mentioned.
Thunderbirds head coach Matt O’Dette echoed that sentiment.
“The way that he played in the playoffs was incredible,” O’Dette mentioned. “It’s just that height thing holding him back. I hope that narrative is starting to change a little bit. It’s kind of like the 1990s, where if you weren’t a 6-foot-4 defenseman you weren’t getting picked, only now it’s the goalies. He deserves a go.”
If a staff’s trying to take a goalie, I’d go on Brennan and Leinonen early and attempt to discover worth within the biases of others late.
Don’t neglect in regards to the overagers
One of the underlying themes of this draft continues to be the pandemic, and the yr of growth that many of those gamers misplaced. For the first-year draft eligibles, COVID-19 stripped a lot of their 16-year-old rookie seasons at varied junior ranges. But for the re-entry gamers, there’s additionally an actual perception that they have been jobbed too, and that there’s a better variety of overages who have been handed up a yr in the past as a result of they both didn’t play or groups simply didn’t have a large enough e-book on them.
Here are 11 overagers I’d take into account drafting, plus 4 extra names to look out for.
C/LW Jeremy Wilmer, Tri-City Storm: Wilmer was one among seven gamers listed in my prime 100 final yr who didn’t get picked, and he’s the very best ranked of the 2 who I’m nonetheless speaking about right here a yr later (Wilmer was No. 73 on my board a yr in the past). In his draft yr, he was one among three point-per-game gamers on the nationwide program’s U18 staff (with Ducks prospect Sasha Pastujov and Lightning prospect Dylan Duke), and he did it as a mid-August birthday. This yr, though he’s nonetheless solely a month away from first-year eligibility for 2022, he led the USHL in scoring, posting 98 factors in 60 video games with the Storm, together with 73 assists (24 greater than anybody else within the league). Next fall, he’ll begin at Boston University, the place I anticipate him to play in an offensive function from the get-go.
Impressive, proper? Well right here’s the hitch: He’s 5-foot-7 and he’s unranked by NHL Central Scouting this time round. The sense is that he may get handed over as soon as extra as some groups wait to see what he appears like in faculty and since others have already written him off. I like his odds of turning into a prime faculty producer and potential AAAA man although. He performs larger than he’s, he doesn’t draw back from contact, he performs a really conscientious recreation, he’s a pure handler and playmaker who sees the ice superbly and commonly makes tough small-area performs, and so they beloved him on the program for his quickness and his willingness to remain in battles regardless of his dimension. I’d suppose laborious about utilizing a seventh-round flier on him.
LHD Luke Mittelstadt, Madison Capitals: The second passed-over participant from my 2021 listing that I’d take into account taking in 2022, Mittelstadt is one other late 2003 who performed within the USHL this yr and is off to school (Minnesota) within the fall. Mittelstadt is a highly-gifted offensive defenseman who led all under-19 USHL defensemen in objectives (19) this yr and completed second in that age bracket in factors (55 in 60 video games, which truly led the Capitals). He additionally added one other 5 objectives and 9 factors in 14 playoff video games.
Mittelstadt, the youthful brother of Sabres ahead Casey Mittelstadt, was the star of Minnesota’s minor hockey after which highschool circuit rising up and truly declined to go to the nationwide program in order that he might play at house. He’s received a silky first contact and commonly breaks ankles off of the purpose, and he made necessary progress growing his acceleration, his health and his decision-making this yr. Both Mittelstadt and Wilmer have been first-team all-stars within the USHL this season.
Here was one supply on Mittelstadt final yr: “His talent is off the charts. Just on God-given talent, he’s above (Wild second-rounder Jack) Peart. He’s that talented. He’s a true skill guy.”
RW Lucas Edmonds, Kingston Frontenacs: The solely 2001-born participant mentioned right here, Edmonds, who turned 21 in January, may need performed simply sufficient to get drafted this yr along with his 113-point season because the OHL’s third-leading scorer (on a Frontenacs staff that drew a whole lot of scouts for Wright). The son of NHL agent Randy Edmonds, Lucas is a heady, clever, spatially conscious winger who could make performs with the puck on his stick but additionally understands tips on how to affect the sport in all three zones on and off of it. If you’re a staff on the lookout for some AHL ahead depth for subsequent yr, he makes a whole lot of sense as a late choose or a minor-league contract supply if he slips via.
C Logan Morrison, Hamilton Bulldogs: The No. 98-ranked participant on my 2020 draft listing, Morrison is a double overager who had one final probability to stake his declare as a worthwhile choose this yr and did so emphatically with 100 factors in 60 regular-season video games and a playoff efficiency for the ages (17 objectives and 39 factors in 19 video games) with the OHL-champion Bulldogs.
He’s a gamer who at all times appears to play properly — I nonetheless haven’t seen him play a nasty recreation — and has a toolsy pro-style recreation that retains him across the puck. Concerns about his skating and whether or not or not his processing would take the mandatory steps ahead resulted in him slipping via the cracks beforehand, however he assuaged each of these this yr and I believe they have been overstated beforehand. He was so dominant this yr that he shouldn’t go via the draft for a 3rd time. He appears like he’ll be a very good AHLer on the very least and I’d strongly take into account the high-floor wager with a mid-to-late choose.
Logan Morrison. (Brandon Taylor / OHL Images)
RW Connor Kurth, Dubuque Fighting Saints: Kurth is one other Minnesota child and University of Minnesota commit who hockey of us there communicate very extremely of, and a child who a number of NHL scouts instructed me they have been pushing to draft final yr after his 41-points-in-52-games rookie season within the USHL. This yr, he adopted that up with a 35-goal, 81-point season as Dubuque’s main scorer and the USHL’s fifth-leading scorer (and a second-team all-star). He’s a heavyset 5-11 ahead (NHL Central Scouting has him at 207 kilos) who performs, as one supply as soon as described to me, a “sandpaper game with skill.”
C Tucker Robertson, Peterborough Petes: Robertson was one of many unfortunate 2003s who didn’t play anyplace final yr. Then he got here out of the gate sizzling this season and had a whole lot of scouts speaking (particularly contemplating his late-June birthday), earlier than coming again all the way down to earth a bit of because the yr progressed. The finish consequence was a 41-goal, 81-point season as one among simply 4 under-19 OHL gamers to hit the 40-goal mark (alongside first-rounders Brennan Othmann and Wyatt Johnston, in addition to Oilers sixth-rounder Matvei Petrov). He performs a tough, sincere, inside recreation constructed round well-rounded ability and a constant shift-to-shift method. He’s additionally bodily mature for his 5-foot-10 1/2 body. There are questions on what he’ll be past junior, however he looks like somebody who deserves to get picked and I wouldn’t be shocked if he turns into a depth man on the subsequent degree.
LW Mikey Milne, Winnipeg Ice: The Ice have been a well-liked scouting vacation spot for NHL groups this yr as a consequence of their younger stars (2022’s Matt Savoie and Conor Geekie and 2023’s Zach Benson), a glut of already-drafted prospects, and in addition the truth that it’s an NHL metropolis. As a consequence, Milne, who turns 20 in September, received to each play with good gamers and do it in entrance of eyeballs. There are nonetheless questions on whether or not he was extra passenger than driver, however his 100 factors in 83 mixed regular-season and playoff video games made a compelling case, and a few grew keen on his potential to play with good gamers and complement his linemates as a hard-working, pushed and versatile ahead who can perform a little little bit of all the things offensively.
C Ben King, Red Deer Rebels: Two of the extra dominant gamers within the WHL this yr have been Rebels veterans King (whose 52 objectives have been one higher than Connor Bedard’s 51 to steer the WHL in tallies) and Arshdeep Bains (since signed by the Canucks). King’s positively going to be picked — which I can’t say about most different names right here — and he turned a whole lot of scouts into believers for the roundedness of his massive, sturdy, intentional 200-foot recreation. He appears like your typical, projectable bottom-six man on the subsequent degree, although I do surprise if he tops out as an AHLer.
RHD Miguel Tourigny, Acadie-Bathurst Titan: An honorable point out on my listing final yr and this yr, Tourigny is a highly-gifted and equally clever however tiny — 5-8, 168 kilos — offensive defenseman who posted an astonishing 34 objectives and 85 factors in 73 regular-season and playoff video games break up between two QMJHL groups this season (after he was invited to Team Canada’s summer time showcase for the world juniors final summer time). He’s typically the smallest man on the ice however he doesn’t play prefer it. He additionally performs laborious defensively, matching his exercise degree offensively with a busy and concerned defensive recreation. The odds are at all times stacked towards a defenseman his dimension however taking a flier on him as a third-pairing power-play specialist gamble will not be any riskier than any of the opposite gamers accessible within the draft’s closing rounds.
RHD Zach Bookman, Brooks Bandits: Bookman is one other offensive defenseman who posted forward-like numbers this yr, with an remarkable 102 factors in 55 video games to outscore the AJHL’s next-most productive defenseman by greater than two-to-one(!). Bookman performs a daring, attacking model (offensively and defensively) constructed round taking what’s given to him and utilizing his toes and ability to place opposing gamers on their heels. The problem is that he’s already 20, he’s dedicated to Merrimack College (which is a program that normally retains gamers for 4 years) and groups could not wish to await a 24-year-old smallish defender at this level.
C Michal Gut, Everett Silvertips: Gut’s not ranked by NHL Central Scouting and he’s a double overager (although his August 16, 2002, birthday left him only a month shy from first-year eligibility for 2021 as an alternative of 2020), however he impressed me at any time when I watched the contending Silvertips this season, in addition to briefly on the short-lived world juniors (the place he was arguably Czechia’s greatest participant early). He’s an athletic child who sees the ice very well as a passer and makes use of a clean, flowing skating stride to hit holes and makes defenders miss in transition. He’s extra of a development-camp invite than a draft choose for me, however my intestine tells me he’s higher than his manufacturing (74 factors in 56 video games).
Other re-entry names to know: David Spacek, James Hardie, Matthew Maggio, Tyler Haskins.
Last-minute draft rating tweaks?
Every yr, after my closing draft board is launched, I spend the few weeks between its publication and the precise draft having extra conversations about these youngsters, watching a few of them end out their playoffs (some league finals and the Memorial Cup, which I simply received again from, have taken place since my listing was printed), and even reviewing tape for the odd participant (normally after a type of conversations encourages me to re-check a sure software of a prospect).
The result’s normally continued flip-flopping on a few rankings that I’ve been flip-flopping on for some time, in addition to altering the odd slotting that I wasn’t beforehand contemplating.
Notably, I wrote in 2019 that Moritz Seider, who ranked thirty fifth on my closing rating, which was printed on May 6 that yr, would have ranked within the teenagers had I been in a position to replace it nearer to the draft following his stellar play at males’s world championships (performed from May 10-26 that yr) and conversations with of us on the scouting mix (hosted from May 27-June 1 that yr). In hindsight, Seider within the teenagers was nonetheless too low and was an indication that I didn’t play catch-up on his growth that yr quick sufficient.
This yr, I’ve been stewing on these:
- I’d most likely transfer slight-but-high-skilled winger Jagger Firkus as much as the very prime of my fourth tier. For reference, I ranked him No. 34 and my fourth tier begins at No. 29. So a five-slot bump. That would slide every of Jack Hughes, Ryan Chesley, Tristan Luneau, Ty Nelson and Jordan Dumais down one consequently as properly.
- I’d be actually tempted to maneuver Kevin Korchinski up a few spots from No. 17 to No. 15 (sliding Rutger McGroarty and Geekie down by one apiece).
- I’d transfer Cameron Lund up six spots and perhaps extra from No. 78 to at the very least No. 72.
There’s another hair-pulling that I’ve been doing, however these are three that I really feel fairly good about etching into the general public file.
Frank Nazar. (Rena Laverty / U.S. NTDP)
Class superlatives
Best skaters
- Frank Nazar, C, U.S. NTDP
- Matt Savoie, C, Winnipeg Ice
- Brad Lambert, C, Pelicans
- Logan Cooley, C, U.S. NTDP
- David Goyette, C, Sudbury Wolves
- Michael Fisher, RHD, St. Mark’s School
- Jake Livanavage, LHD, Chicago Steel
- Denton Mateychuk, LHD, Moose Jaw Warriors
- Zakary Lavoie, RW, Mississauga Steelheads
- Isaac Howard, LW, U.S. NTDP
Honorable mentions: Kocha Delic, Owen Pickering, Paul Ludwinski, Danny Zhilkin, Noah Ostlund, Julian Lutz, Cedrick Guindon, Vinzenz Rohrer.
Best shot
- Jonathan Lekkerimaki, RW, Djurgardens IF
- Cutter Gauthier, LW/C, U.S. NTDP
- Jiri Kulich, C/RW/LW, HC Energie Karlovy Vary
- Joakim Kemell, RW, JYP
- Shane Wright, C, Kingston Frontenacs
- Matt Savoie, C, Winnipeg Ice
- David Jiricek, RHD, HC Plzen
- Rutger McGroarty, LW, U.S. NTDP
- Liam Ohgren, LW, Djurgardens IF
- Josh Nadeau, RW, Penticton Vees
Honorable mentions: Viktor Neuchev, Isaac Howard, Gleb Trikozov, Jagger Firkus, Ryan Chesley, Elias Salomonsson, Mattias Havelid, Ivan Miroshnichenko.
Best fingers
- Logan Cooley, C, U.S. NTDP
- Matt Savoie, C, Winnipeg Ice
- Jagger Firkus, RW, Moose Jaw Warriors
- Jonathan Lekkerimaki, RW, Djurgardens IF
- Isaac Howard, LW, U.S. NTDP
- Noah Ostlund, C, Djurgardens IF
- Juraj Slafkovsky, LW, TPS
- Brad Lambert, C/RW, Pelicans
- Markus Vidicek, C, Halifax Mooseheads
Honorable mentions: Seamus Casey, Viktor Neuchev, Jack Hughes, Danny Zhilkin.
Best puck safety
- Matyas Sapovaliv, C/LW, Saginaw Spirit
- Logan Cooley, C, U.S. NTDP
- Conor Geekie, C, Winnipeg Ice
- Juraj Slafkovsky, LW, TPS
- Lane Hutson, LHD, U.S. NTDP
Honorable point out: Rieger Lorenz.
Most bodily
- Rayan Bettahar, LHD, Swift Current Bronco
- Reid Schaefer, LW, Seattle Thunderbirds
- Jack Sparkes, RHD, St. Michael’s Buzzers
- Lian Bichsel, LHD, Leksands IF
- Noah Warren, RHD, Gatineau Olympiques
- Maveric Lamoureux, RHD, Drummondville Voltigeurs
Honorable mentions: Samuel Mayer, Josh Davies, David Jiricek, Nathan Gaucher, Ryan Chesley, Devin Kaplan, Michael Mastrodomenico.
Smartest
- Lane Hutson, LHD, U.S. NTDP
- Simon Nemec, RHD, HK Nitra
- Shane Wright, C, Kingston Frontenacs
- Mats Lindgren, LHD, Kamloops Blazers
- Noah Ostlund, C, Djurgardens IF
- Jordan Dumais, RW, Halifax Mooseheads
- Marco Kasper, C/RW, Rogle BK
- Jordan Gustafson, C, Seattle Thunderbirds
- Tristan Luneau, RHD, Gatineau Olympiques
Honorable mentions: Denton Mateychuk, Jack Hughes, Fraser Minten, Lucas Edmonds, Danila Yurov.
(Top picture: Luke Durda / OHL Images)
NHL Draft ideas: Class superlatives, prime goalies and the overagers
Source: Panapanahon News
0 Comments