On Thursday night in Montreal, the 2022 NHL Draft will take place at the Bell Centre. Fittingly, the Canadiens will be on the clock with the top pick.
Will it be Shane Wright or Juraj Slafkovsky? Or might Les Canadiens surprise everyone and select top rated American Logan Cooley? Who knows.
That’s what makes the top 10 so intriguing. This is one of those first rounds where you don’t know who will go where. You can make a strong case for any of the top three prospects. Whether it’s Wright going to the French Canadian speaking Montreal or the potential scoring capability of Slovakian Slafkovsky, or the potential explosiveness of Team USA hopeful Cooley, they can’t go wrong.
What happens at number two with the Devils is anyone’s guess. They want to upgrade their roster. It could be available for the right player (Alex DeBrincat???) to dramatically alter a franchise that’s been irrelevant for a decade. If they kept the pick, they’d probably prefer Slafkovsky or a highly rated defenseman like Simon Nemec, who they could trade down for.
Following the Devils at number two are the Coyotes. The rebuild continues for the franchise who won’t have an NHL arena to play in starting in ’22-23. Instead, they’ll be playing their home games at Arizona State without the team logo. Hard to imagine.
The NHL remains committed to hockey in the desert. With a new arena proposed that would keep the team in Arizona, hopefully they can survive. As far as what they need, that could be a variety of things. It could include a top center to build around, a scoring forward and a hard-nosed defenseman that can anchor the blue line. Especially if Jakob Chychrun ($4.6 million thru ’24-25) is dealt.
Here is the top 10 at the moment:
1. Canadiens
2. Devils
3. Coyotes
4. Kraken
5. Flyers
6. Blue Jackets (from Blackhawks in Seth Jones deal)
7. Senators Blackhawks (Alex DeBrincat trade)
8. Red Wings
9. Sabres
10. Ducks
Of the remaining 22 picks in the first round, the Sabres have two more picks (16 and 28) to work with. Also with number nine, they could be a candidate to package a couple and trade up for a coveted player.
The Blue Jackets also possess the 12th pick. They are also picking at six. The Coyotes boast three picks in Round One including 3, 27 and 32. The Ducks own the 10th pick and 22nd.
The Wild own picks 19 (Kevin Fiala trade with Kings) and 24. By accepting the first round pick from the Rangers as part of the Andrew Copp trade, the Jets also have two picks. They are numbers 14 and 30.
Here is a top 10 Draft mock from one Brian Sanborn. He has particular interest due to the Sabres having three picks including the ninth overall. He has read plenty of scouting reports and has a feel for it.
1. Montreal – Shane Wright
2. New Jersey – Juraj Slafkovsky
3. Arizona – Cutter Gauthier
4. Seattle – Simon Nemec
5. Philadelphia – Logan Cooley
6. Arizona (From Columbus) – David Jiricek
7. Ottawa – Joakim Kemell
8. Detroit -Jonathan Lekkerimaki
9. Buffalo – Matthew Savoie
10. Anaheim – Marco Kasper
If we go based off his projected top 10, he has the Coyotes trading back into the top six to take defenseman David Jiricek. That might work. He is a physical right defenseman who is expected to become a top pair player.
It’ll be interesting to see how well he’s recovered from that ugly knee injury at the postponed U20 World Junior Championships. Luckily, it wasn’t serious. But it forced him to miss the remainder of the season. Along with Nemec, he could be the first defenseman off the board.
Updating this post, the Blackhawks traded Alex DeBrincat to the Senators for picks 7 and 39 this year. Plus received a third round pick in 2024.
It was expected. Ottawa is on the upswing. By adding a proven finisher in DeBrincat, they increase their chances of competing next season. Boasting a good nucleus that features Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson, the Sens add a key piece who can help them contend for the playoffs.
As for Chicago where they’re also listening to offers for Dylan Strome and recent third pick Kirby Dach (’19), it’s all part of a rebuild. They didn’t maximize the return for DeBrincat, who’s twice scored 40 goals while playing with Patrick Kane. Who else will go?
There could be some more deals. As the first round draws closer, we’ll see if anything else happens tonight in Montreal.
Brian also notes to keep an eye on Danila Yurov. A Russian forward who could slip due to what’s happening over there with Ukraine. Tampa GM Julien BriseBois indicated to reporters that they won’t shy away from selecting Russian players.
Given their success landing Nikita Kucherov at number 58 and Andrei Vasilevskiy in the first round, that’s no surprise. Not every team feels the same way about Russians.
Whatever happens later, it should be exciting for the fans. Especially the Montreal contingent. Their team picks first. Will it be Shane Wright? We’ll see.
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