2022 NHL Entry Draft

[HKSR]

3 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhl-draft-prospect-ivan-miroshnichenko-diagnosed-with-hodgkins-lymphoma/

 

Holy $&!#. Won't play next season.

Poor kid!  Not only for his health, but also for the fact it'll seriously impact his draft situation... hope he makes a full recovery.  He's a very promising hockey player.

[DrJockitch]

3 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Poor kid!  Not only for his health, but also for the fact it'll seriously impact his draft situation... hope he makes a full recovery.  He's a very promising hockey player.

At least the prognosis is excellent and is getting treatment in Germany, so good medicine. 
Wonder how much risk someone will take on him, does he still go high or in a later round?

[HKSR]

Just now, DrJockitch said:

At least the prognosis is excellent and is getting treatment in Germany, so good medicine. 
Wonder how much risk someone will take on him, does he still go high or in a later round?

I think he'll still go in the 1st round... just a bit later than expected.

[Warhippy]

3 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/nhl-draft-prospect-ivan-miroshnichenko-diagnosed-with-hodgkins-lymphoma/

 

Holy $&!#. Won't play next season.

Draft him with a 5th!!!

[HighOnHockey]

Apparently persistent fatigue is one of the most frequent symptom of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Wonder how long he's been dealing with this and whether it has been effecting his performance this season. Interesting that he dropped from 2nd overall on Bob's pre-season ranking to 6th mid-season, and NHL scouts' rankings on him varied from 1st overall to outside the first round.

 

Between the Russia situation and now this, will be very interesting to see where he ends up going in the draft. Some team could get the best player in the draft in the 2nd round...

[Nave]

18 minutes ago, HighOnHockey said:

Apparently persistent fatigue is one of the most frequent symptom of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Wonder how long he's been dealing with this and whether it has been effecting his performance this season. Interesting that he dropped from 2nd overall on Bob's pre-season ranking to 6th mid-season, and NHL scouts' rankings on him varied from 1st overall to outside the first round.

 

Between the Russia situation and now this, will be very interesting to see where he ends up going in the draft. Some team could get the best player in the draft in the 2nd round...

Such sad news. I sincerely hope that it hasn't affected his performance for too long, because early diagnosis is so important for the prognosis. Certainly throws his draft status in the first round in the air, but a team could be getting the highest potential player in the draft beyond that. 

[DudePerfect]

I'm really starting to think that with the lack of dynamic defensemen in the first round, that the Canucks will look to some more dynamic forwards with their pick. I think its going to be Ohgren / Mesar / Kasper in that order. Ohgren's got a great shot and is such a dynamic skater as well, I think he has a great foundation plus I love his transition game where he's always looking to create plays through the neutral zone and into the opponent's end. Mesar is such a crafty player and could bring a toolkit that I think no one on the Canucks (except for Pettersson) has with vision and creativity. Kasper is a jack of all trades to me, and someone who dictates play whenever you watch him. Plays with power but with some IQ where he takes what is given to him.  

 

I'd personally love Ohgren because of where the front office wants to take this team with speed and skill. And I think he's going to climb the lists by the end of the year too.

[HighOnHockey]

4 hours ago, DudePerfect said:

I'm really starting to think that with the lack of dynamic defensemen in the first round, that the Canucks will look to some more dynamic forwards with their pick. I think its going to be Ohgren / Mesar / Kasper in that order. Ohgren's got a great shot and is such a dynamic skater as well, I think he has a great foundation plus I love his transition game where he's always looking to create plays through the neutral zone and into the opponent's end. Mesar is such a crafty player and could bring a toolkit that I think no one on the Canucks (except for Pettersson) has with vision and creativity. Kasper is a jack of all trades to me, and someone who dictates play whenever you watch him. Plays with power but with some IQ where he takes what is given to him.  

 

I'd personally love Ohgren because of where the front office wants to take this team with speed and skill. And I think he's going to climb the lists by the end of the year too.

 

Agreed about Ohgren. Still pretty raw but major upside. With all the sub 6' players ranked in and around the top ten, there's bound to be a couple bigger guys find their way into that top 12 or so. My best guesses right now would be Ohgren and Korchinski.

 

I do not agree about a lack of dynamic defensemen in the first round though. Seamus Casey is about as dynamic as they come. I believe he's not that far off from guys like Makar, Hughes, Drysdale. Same goes for Ty Nelson; not as smooth or shifty a skater as Casey, but pretty explosive and immensely skilled. Then there's Denton Mateychuk; probably not as dynamic as Casey or Nelson but has elite hockey IQ. All those guys are on the small side, but Korchinski and Mintyukov are over 6' and are both highly skilled in their own rights.

[DudePerfect]

1 hour ago, HighOnHockey said:

 

Agreed about Ohgren. Still pretty raw but major upside. With all the sub 6' players ranked in and around the top ten, there's bound to be a couple bigger guys find their way into that top 12 or so. My best guesses right now would be Ohgren and Korchinski.

 

I do not agree about a lack of dynamic defensemen in the first round though. Seamus Casey is about as dynamic as they come. I believe he's not that far off from guys like Makar, Hughes, Drysdale. Same goes for Ty Nelson; not as smooth or shifty a skater as Casey, but pretty explosive and immensely skilled. Then there's Denton Mateychuk; probably not as dynamic as Casey or Nelson but has elite hockey IQ. All those guys are on the small side, but Korchinski and Mintyukov are over 6' and are both highly skilled in their own rights.

I think the defensemen after Nemec & Jiricek are all in the same group where I wouldn’t take them top 15 because they have noticeable flaws that could hold them back… size (Nelson), defensive acumen (Mintyukov). I like Mateychuk the best out of those guys just because of the IQ you mentioned but also how translatable his game is and the potential growth from that. 
 

Who do you think is the most realistic and best option for the Canucks seeing if they are picking around 12-15? I’d say Ohgren or Mesar

Edited March 4, 2022 by DudePerfect

[HighOnHockey]

15 minutes ago, DudePerfect said:

I think the defensemen after Nemec & Jiricek are all in the same group where I wouldn’t take them top 15 because they have noticeable flaws that could hold them back… size (Nelson), defensive acumen (Mintyukov). I like Mateychuk the best out of those guys just because of the IQ you mentioned but also how translatable his game is and the potential growth from that. 
 

Who do you think is the most realistic and best option for the Canucks seeing if they are picking around 12-15? I’d say Ohgren or Mesar

I'd mostly agree about the next tier of defensemen after Jiricek and Nemec, except for Korchinski. I haven't seen a ton of him, but based on the stats, frame, plus the couple games I've seen, I think he's a top 15 pick.

 

I said in a post recently that I think there's a fairly clear top 12. We can subtract Miroshnichenko from that group now, making it a top 11. If any of those guys falls to the Canucks they should jump on the opportunity. Best guesses would be Geekie or Lekkerimaki. I believe Yurov is a top five quality prospect, but if he were to fall due to the Russia situation, I could see the Canucks rolling the dice on him. Assuming all of those top 11 are off the board by the Canucks pick, then yeah Ohgren and Mesar seem like pretty realistic options for the Canucks.

[hammertime]

Well I haven't done one of these in a while. Had the day off  figured I'd make a mock draft. I know it's super early but I feel like things are starting to settle in with the standings teams may shift a spot or 2 here and there. 

 

1 ARI Wright has to be you go full rebuild you start with your future Cap

2 MTL Cooley They need high end skill Cooley is their best chance for a true franchise player. 

3 KRAK Nemec Ron Francis laying the foundadtion as he did in Carolina from the D out

4 BUF Slafkovski they always seem to draft on news paper clippings Slafkovski is so hot right now.

5 PHI Geekie Screams Phlier to me. 

6 NJ Savoie Speed and skill.

7 OTT Lambert I think they take a chance on him.

8 CBJ Gauthier I think he's a really good fit for them 

9 NYI Jiricek he falls due to injury I think they will be patient in their re build. 

10 DET Kemell Edvinsson and Sieder solidify their D Zadina struggles they will want a sniper. Possibly Lekkerimaki but I'd take Kemell he's more feisty Stevie will place value on game within the game qualities.  

11 SJ Nazar BPA They need everything.

12 CBJ Casey They are light on RHD prospects I think they would covet Casey above the players available to them here. He's got the biggest upside they can afford a gamble with Gauthier being a safe pick. 

13 WPG Yurov Dispite the Russian conflict I cannot see Yurov falling any further. WPG should be looking long game. 

 

Which brings us to the Canucks the players at this pick I could see us targeting would be Kaspar, Gaucher, Lekkerimaki, Chesley. I would probably take Chesley.  With that being said if we could trade down for a later first and a 2nd I would be happier with 1 of Owen Beck/Gaucher + 1 of Lammoureux/Bichsel/Pickering/Nyman 

 

Beck and Gaucher are the 2 best right shooting natural C's in this draft both excel at making it tough for the opposition to get anything going. Both are great counter punchers. 

Nyman is Finnish Marshawn Lynch. Get him the puck he will get it up ice. 

 

Lammoureux, Bichsel, Pickering are the shut down giants of the draft.  They all skate pretty well with Bichsel being the best skater and the most physical, Pickering the best all round and Lammoreux being a righty and imo the best defensively. 

 

Salomonson, Nelson and Luneau deserve mention but I wouldn't take them at 14 and I doubt they would be on the board if we traded down further than 22. 

 

But of course all of this is moot because the Canucks will be picking 32OA.

 

Coconuts Glow!!!!!!

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by hammertime

[73 Percent]

20 minutes ago, hammertime said:

 

Coconuts Glow!!!!!!

 

[hammertime]

Since I did a mock my personal list is much different. from 10 onward is very much weighted to who I want for the Canucks.

 

1 Wright 

2 Nemec

3 Cooley

4 Yurov in a bubble completely ignoring the conflict 

5 Slafkovski

6 Jiricek He'll be ok I hope.

7 Savoie

8 Kemell

9 Lambert

10 Geekie

11 Nazar @HighOnHockey I'm coming around

12 Kaspar

13 Chesley

14 Beck

15 Gaucher

16 Nyman

17 Nelson

18 Lekkerimaki

19 Salomonson

20 Luneau. 

21 Casey

22 Gauthier

23 Korhinski

24 Beluz

25 Kulich

26 Bichsel

27 Pickering

28 Lamoureux

29 Trikozov Ill be a hypocrite and take into account current events I'd have him around 18

30 Zhilkin

31 Snuggerud

32 Forsmark

 

HM: Bystedt, Mesar, Ohgren, and most of all Miroshnichenko who my heart goes out to I hope he has a full recovery. Ignoring his condition and the events in europe he would bump Nazar at 11.

 

Yes I value C and RHD at the draft when considering BPA. All other positions can be acquired through trade but RHD and C are prohibitively expensive through trade once they show promise. There was a time you could have traded Madison Bowie for a kings ransom. 

 

Edit: Nyman twice oops he's that good lol. 

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by hammertime

[smithers joe]

On 3/1/2022 at 7:53 AM, Warhippy said:

Tiny calves.

Ginger hair.

Freckles.

Can't even see his feet.

2/10 do not want.

 

farm boy eh?

[HighOnHockey]

It's a scouting kind of night for me tonight. Caught most of the NTDP U18s vs Providence College earlier. Now watching WHL Seattle (Korchinski) vs. Tri-City (Dragicevik).

 

Interesting to see how every USA line struggled against the older competition except the Gauthier - Cooley - Snuggerud line. That top trio just took it to Providence all night long. First time I've seen anything like that from any NTDP line against DI competition since that 2019 super team. Starting to come around a bit on Gauthier as a potential top 10 pick. But holy moses that Cooley kid is something else. Shades of Pavel Datsyuk? The 2nd line tonight was Howard - Will Smith - Nazar; they looked very dangerous when they were in the offensive zone, but had a lot of trouble getting the puck out of their own zone. Not the greatest game for Nazar, and yet he finished with 2 points, bringing him up to 6 in his last 5 games against DI opponents.

 

Absolutely loving Korchinski's offensive and transition game. Sensational. Didn't get to see much of his defensive game unfortunately - Tri-City is pretty bad and barely touched the puck when Korchinski was on the ice. Regardless, I think he might be in my top 10 next time I do a ranking.

 

Pretty disappointing game for Dragicevik. I mean, he's a 16 year old playing top minutes for one of the worst teams in the league so gotta cut him some slack, but I was hoping to see a little more from him.

[HighOnHockey]

18 hours ago, hammertime said:

Since I did a mock my personal list is much different. from 10 onward is very much weighted to who I want for the Canucks.

 

1 Wright 

2 Nemec

3 Cooley

4 Yurov in a bubble completely ignoring the conflict 

5 Slafkovski

6 Jiricek He'll be ok I hope.

7 Savoie

8 Kemell

9 Lambert

10 Geekie

11 Nazar @HighOnHockey I'm coming around

12 Kaspar

13 Chesley

14 Beck

15 Gaucher

16 Nyman

17 Nelson

18 Lekkerimaki

19 Salomonson

20 Luneau. 

21 Casey

22 Gauthier

23 Korhinski

24 Beluz

25 Kulich

26 Bichsel

27 Pickering

28 Lamoureux

29 Trikozov Ill be a hypocrite and take into account current events I'd have him around 18

30 Zhilkin

31 Snuggerud

32 Forsmark

 

HM: Bystedt, Mesar, Ohgren, and most of all Miroshnichenko who my heart goes out to I hope he has a full recovery. Ignoring his condition and the events in europe he would bump Nazar at 11.

 

Yes I value C and RHD at the draft when considering BPA. All other positions can be acquired through trade but RHD and C are prohibitively expensive through trade once they show promise. There was a time you could have traded Madison Bowie for a kings ransom. 

 

Edit: Nyman twice oops he's that good lol. 

 

 

This is the most I've agreed with one of your lists. Still think you're drastically over-rating centers just for being centers. Haven't seen much of Beck or Gaucher (more of Beck) but going by the stats, they barely look like first round picks.

 

Mesar is widely considered to be in the 10-20 range. For me he's on the periphery of that group, but to have him out of the first round altogether is surprising, to say the least. And then Ohgren is currently sitting 2nd all-time in p/g by a U18 in SuperElit, and brings a more than NHL projectable frame. I've seen a fair amount of him and both by the stats and eye test I can't really see him falling out of the top 20.

[hammertime]

2 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

 

This is the most I've agreed with one of your lists. Still think you're drastically over-rating centers just for being centers. Haven't seen much of Beck or Gaucher (more of Beck) but going by the stats, they barely look like first round picks.

 

Mesar is widely considered to be in the 10-20 range. For me he's on the periphery of that group, but to have him out of the first round altogether is surprising, to say the least. And then Ohgren is currently sitting 2nd all-time in p/g by a U18 in SuperElit, and brings a more than NHL projectable frame. I've seen a fair amount of him and both by the stats and eye test I can't really see him falling out of the top 20.

Re Mesar Undersized skilled wingers are easily acquired via trade or free agency. They bounce around the league like ping pong balls. I place high value on C's that stifle the oppositions offence. Not every 1st round pick needs to be a 60+ point player in their prime I'm looking for guys who contribute to their teams overall success. Gaucher is a nightmare to play against Beck is a wizard in the dot and a fantastic forchecker with the ability to make teams pay for their costly turnovers with an accurate and deceptive shot. These guys tilt the ice and their contributions are greater than the sum of their stat sheets. So ya the Mesars, Howards, top 6 or bust undersized wingers take a bit of a beating on my list. It's Not at all that they aren't good players with great potential. But more so because I see a guy like Lian Bichsel 6'5 who skates like Simon Edvinsson absolutely terrorize the opposition physically @ 17 and I know if he get's even a whiff of success at the NHL level the cost to acquire such a player is through the roof. 

 

I guess it's bias from watching guys like Jordan Schroder holding WJC scoring records, Hunter Shinkaruk lighting up canucks camps, SHL MVP Anton Rodin, Sven Baertschi killer B's, guys I got really excited about with so much skill and promise flame out. And guys like Brendan Gaunce ya sure he busted too but you know what he's still pluggin away at an NHL career he's even got 5 points in 11 games for CBJ this year playing 8 mins.  

 

So all things being equal I'm looking for foot soldiers guys like Vasili Podkolzin, Bo Horvat, JT Miller, Shenn, Burroughs, Pearson, Motte, guys who are gonna win playoff rounds. 

 

Edit: Ohgren is a good pick I'd probably bump Forsmark on further consideration. He was kinda last guy picked on my dodgeball team. I would be happy with any of Ohgren, Forsmark, Mesar, Howard, Bystedt at 32 really. They each have qualities that IMO would justify them as 1st round picks. Anywhere from about 28-35 

Edited March 5, 2022 by hammertime

[HighOnHockey]

11 hours ago, hammertime said:

Re Mesar Undersized skilled wingers are easily acquired via trade or free agency. They bounce around the league like ping pong balls. I place high value on C's that stifle the oppositions offence. Not every 1st round pick needs to be a 60+ point player in their prime I'm looking for guys who contribute to their teams overall success. Gaucher is a nightmare to play against Beck is a wizard in the dot and a fantastic forchecker with the ability to make teams pay for their costly turnovers with an accurate and deceptive shot. These guys tilt the ice and their contributions are greater than the sum of their stat sheets. So ya the Mesars, Howards, top 6 or bust undersized wingers take a bit of a beating on my list. It's Not at all that they aren't good players with great potential. But more so because I see a guy like Lian Bichsel 6'5 who skates like Simon Edvinsson absolutely terrorize the opposition physically @ 17 and I know if he get's even a whiff of success at the NHL level the cost to acquire such a player is through the roof. 

 

I guess it's bias from watching guys like Jordan Schroder holding WJC scoring records, Hunter Shinkaruk lighting up canucks camps, SHL MVP Anton Rodin, Sven Baertschi killer B's, guys I got really excited about with so much skill and promise flame out. And guys like Brendan Gaunce ya sure he busted too but you know what he's still pluggin away at an NHL career he's even got 5 points in 11 games for CBJ this year playing 8 mins.  

 

So all things being equal I'm looking for foot soldiers guys like Vasili Podkolzin, Bo Horvat, JT Miller, Shenn, Burroughs, Pearson, Motte, guys who are gonna win playoff rounds. 

 

Edit: Ohgren is a good pick I'd probably bump Forsmark on further consideration. He was kinda last guy picked on my dodgeball team. I would be happy with any of Ohgren, Forsmark, Mesar, Howard, Bystedt at 32 really. They each have qualities that IMO would justify them as 1st round picks. Anywhere from about 28-35 

 

This is a good post I think. Maybe don't agree so much on certain players, but you raise some good points. Although there is definitely a threshold at which small skilled wingers have enough quantity of skill that they make a qualitative leap into a different category of value. Gaudreau, Marchand, Kane, Kucherov have all played their whole careers for one team. OK Panarin switched teams, but it took one of the biggest cap hits in the NHL. Kaprizov will probably fit that category. Does Marner count? He's 6'. Anyways, there's a handful of them. Not saying I think Mesar will reach that level, but you have to wonder if one or two of the bunch of small skilled forwards in this class might.

 

It's interesting to compare this draft with 2023. I've defended this draft as a strong class overall, but according to many of your criteria, it probably should not be considered particularly strong. It's weird how practically half of the consensus top 10-12 are sub 6' - Cooley, Savoie, Kemell, Nazar, Lekkerimaki, with Howard and Mesar not far behind. Also weird how few true centers there are in the top 15-20. 2023 is incredibly stacked with elite NHL-sized (even playoff-sized) centers. Led by Leo Carlsson, Charlie Stramel and Adam Fantilli, all of whom are 6'2+, as well as Dvorsky, Smith, Yager and Ritchie, all of whom are at least 6'. I honestly think all 7 of those kids are better NHL center prospects than anyone in this draft not named Cooley - and that includes Geekie, as well as Beck, Kasper, Gaucher, Belluz.

 

On the other hand, the top of this draft is pretty loaded with D. Some undersized, but many with highly projectable frames. This year's D crop certainly looks better than the first round of the 2020 class, and looking better than the 2023 class in that regard. The top 10 or so of the 2021 class was ridiculously loaded with elite D, but I think the top of 2022 is deeper - Power, Hughes, Edvinsson, Clarke, Ceulemans, Lambos vs. Nemec, Jiricek, Korchinski, Casey, Mateychuk, Nelson, Luneau, Odellius, Mintyukov, Chesley. This 2022 class might end up ranking somewhere among the drafts with the most D ever taken in the first round.

 

So all in all, despite the lack of size and of NHL-translatable centers, I still think this is a fairly strong draft. At the very least it is average to slightly above average.

[hammertime]

8 hours ago, HighOnHockey said:

 

This is a good post I think. Maybe don't agree so much on certain players, but you raise some good points. Although there is definitely a threshold at which small skilled wingers have enough quantity of skill that they make a qualitative leap into a different category of value. Gaudreau, Marchand, Kane, Kucherov have all played their whole careers for one team. OK Panarin switched teams, but it took one of the biggest cap hits in the NHL. Kaprizov will probably fit that category. Does Marner count? He's 6'. Anyways, there's a handful of them. Not saying I think Mesar will reach that level, but you have to wonder if one or two of the bunch of small skilled forwards in this class might.

 

It's interesting to compare this draft with 2023. I've defended this draft as a strong class overall, but according to many of your criteria, it probably should not be considered particularly strong. It's weird how practically half of the consensus top 10-12 are sub 6' - Cooley, Savoie, Kemell, Nazar, Lekkerimaki, with Howard and Mesar not far behind. Also weird how few true centers there are in the top 15-20. 2023 is incredibly stacked with elite NHL-sized (even playoff-sized) centers. Led by Leo Carlsson, Charlie Stramel and Adam Fantilli, all of whom are 6'2+, as well as Dvorsky, Smith, Yager and Ritchie, all of whom are at least 6'. I honestly think all 7 of those kids are better NHL center prospects than anyone in this draft not named Cooley - and that includes Geekie, as well as Beck, Kasper, Gaucher, Belluz.

 

On the other hand, the top of this draft is pretty loaded with D. Some undersized, but many with highly projectable frames. This year's D crop certainly looks better than the first round of the 2020 class, and looking better than the 2023 class in that regard. The top 10 or so of the 2021 class was ridiculously loaded with elite D, but I think the top of 2022 is deeper - Power, Hughes, Edvinsson, Clarke, Ceulemans, Lambos vs. Nemec, Jiricek, Korchinski, Casey, Mateychuk, Nelson, Luneau, Odellius, Mintyukov, Chesley. This 2022 class might end up ranking somewhere among the drafts with the most D ever taken in the first round.

 

So all in all, despite the lack of size and of NHL-translatable centers, I still think this is a fairly strong draft. At the very least it is average to slightly above average.

I mean it's not all about size though I love me some Connor Garland, Joe Pavelski, Gallagher,  Tyler Motte.

 

I'm all aboard on picks like Artym Manukian and Petrus Palmu in later rounds. Maybe you use 10 6th round picks and 9 bust and you get 1 Gallagher makes it all worth it. 

 

But in the 1st I'm taking Jani Nyman over Howard every time. And I'll live with it if Howard turns into Marchessault. 

Edited March 6, 2022 by hammertime

[Isam]

On 3/4/2022 at 4:17 PM, hammertime said:

Since I did a mock my personal list is much different. from 10 onward is very much weighted to who I want for the Canucks.

 

1 Wright 

2 Nemec

3 Cooley

4 Yurov in a bubble completely ignoring the conflict 

5 Slafkovski

6 Jiricek He'll be ok I hope.

7 Savoie

8 Kemell

9 Lambert

10 Geekie

11 Nazar @HighOnHockey I'm coming around

12 Kaspar

13 Chesley

14 Beck

15 Gaucher

16 Nyman

17 Nelson

18 Lekkerimaki

19 Salomonson

20 Luneau. 

21 Casey

22 Gauthier

23 Korhinski

24 Beluz

25 Kulich

26 Bichsel

27 Pickering

28 Lamoureux

29 Trikozov Ill be a hypocrite and take into account current events I'd have him around 18

30 Zhilkin

31 Snuggerud

32 Forsmark

 

HM: Bystedt, Mesar, Ohgren, and most of all Miroshnichenko who my heart goes out to I hope he has a full recovery. Ignoring his condition and the events in europe he would bump Nazar at 11.

 

Yes I value C and RHD at the draft when considering BPA. All other positions can be acquired through trade but RHD and C are prohibitively expensive through trade once they show promise. There was a time you could have traded Madison Bowie for a kings ransom. 

 

Edit: Nyman twice oops he's that good lol. 

 

Chesley is a little too high hammer. I like him alot, but his offensive game needs to take the next step.