GDT: The 2022 NHL Entry Draft Thread

[surixon]

Wonder if Savoie’s injury is serious if he’ll drop… not that I would ever hope for that for a kid, though.

I still am not sure what happened. It was close to right infront of me but I didn't get a good look. Did he just get tangled or was it knee on knee.

 

[snowkiddin]

I still am not sure what happened. It was close to right infront of me but I didn't get a good look. Did he just get tangled or was it knee on knee.

Heard that he took a puck in the Achilles and then fell awkwardly.

 

[Mud Turtle]

The American USNDTP are also fascinating to me.

Isaac Howard has consistently either flat out outperformed Logan Cooley and Frank Nazar or at least been very close yet is considered a 20ish pick while Cooley is going to be a top 3 and Nazar a likely top 10.

2020/2021 - USNDTP U17 Team:

Howard - 34GP - 27G, 27A - 54 pts - 1.59 pts/gm
Nazar - 45GP - 28G, 27A - 53 pts - 1.18 pts/gm
Cooley - 28GP - 16G, 16A - 32 pts - 1.14 pts/gm
McGroarty - 34GP - 17G, 18A - 35 pts - 1.03 pts/gm
Gauthier - 44GP - 20G, 17A - 37 pts - 0.84 pts/gm
Snuggerud - 45GP - 15G, 17A - 32 pts - 0.71 pts/gm

THIS SEASON

USNDTP U18

Cooley - 43 GP - 23G, 40A - 63 pts - 1.46 pts/gm
Howard - 52 GP - 25G, 44A - 69 pts - 1.33 pts/gm
McGroarty - 46 GP - 27G, 33A - 60 pts - 1.30 pts/gm
Nazar - 49 GP - 25G, 37A - 62 pts - 1.26 pts/gm
Gauthier - 46 GP - 31G, 22A - 53 pts - 1.15 pts/gm
Snuggerud - 51 GP - 20G, 36A - 56 pts - 1.10 pts/gm

Style of game:

Cooley - Kind of Mitch Marner-ish but plays Centre - only 5'10, but lots of speed and puck skill. Comes back full speed on back check too

Nazar - Matt Barzal'ish maybe? Nice hands, great skating, makes people miss, attacks all the time

Howard - Maybe a bit like Kyle Connor? Always attacking at top possible speed, darty, shifty, lots of breakaways ... but also very engaged physically

McGroarty - Maybe Sam Bennett'esque? Not the fastest, a bit gritty, but score alot, great offensive instincts

Gauthier - Power Forward that scores - Andrew Ladd'ish? Hard nosed, straight lines, battles

Snuggerud - Solid size, Sick release, can score from distance - some clever passes, nice hands when he wants to ... almost like Jamie Benn 10 years ago

If I had to rank them:

Cooley (2-4)
Nazar (7-13)
Howard (10-25)
McGroarty (15-32)
Snuggerud (15-32)
Gauthier (15-32)

I would be thrilled to get Howard. To me he should go much higher than what is predicted.

 

[surixon]

I would be thrilled to get Howard. To me he should go much higher than what is predicted.

He'd be a player to look at if the Rangers pick turns into a first. I wouldn't use pick 13/14 on him.

I'm hoping for Geekie, big center who has a lot of skill, vision and a heavy shot. He's production is likely depressed a bit due to being on such a deep team.

 

[Guardian17]

Wonder if Savoie’s injury is serious if he’ll drop… not that I would ever hope for that for a kid, though.

It’s a shame for the ICE’s run, that’s for sure

I still am not sure what happened. It was close to right infront of me but I didn't get a good look. Did he just get tangled or was it knee on knee.

Savoie was injured in Friday night’s 3-1 win, taking a puck to a sensitive area, possibly the knee, and having to be helped off the ice surface.

Ice coach James Patrick said Savoie is day-to-day and will make the trip to Prince Albert for Games 3 and 4.

No leading scorer, no problem, as Winnipeg Ice flattens Prince Albert Raiders to take 2-0 lead in best-of-seven

So far, everything is going according to plan for the Winnipeg Ice.

winnipegsun.com

 

[surixon]

Savoie was injured in Friday night’s 3-1 win, taking a puck to a sensitive area, possibly the knee, and having to be helped off the ice surface.

Ice coach James Patrick said Savoie is day-to-day and will make the trip to Prince Albert for Games 3 and 4.

No leading scorer, no problem, as Winnipeg Ice flattens Prince Albert Raiders to take 2-0 lead in best-of-seven

So far, everything is going according to plan for the Winnipeg Ice.

winnipegsun.com

That's good. Looks like it might have been a stinger.

 

[voyageur]

He'd be a player to look at if the Rangers pick turns into a first. I wouldn't use pick 13/14 on him.

I'm hoping for Geekie, big center who has a lot of skill, vision and a heavy shot. He's production is likely depressed a bit due to being on such a deep team.

I know BPA is the preferred draft route, but at some point the Jets are going to have to draft an impact RHD or trade for one. I'd say there's a limited chance Kovacevic becomes a regular 3rd pairing defenseman. He's already 3 years from free agency as is. Gawanke I'm not sure puts it together. Simon Lundmark seems to have some smarts, but I've read some critiques. He's the most likely to be an NHL regular, but it's thin at RD for the Jets, now and in the future.

I was watching some of the U18, and I was wondering if Ryan Chesley would be the kind of defenseman to draft with a late 1st (pulling for the Rangers to make the ECF with gnashed teeth)?

As for Geekie, I'm wondering if there is a thing about the Jets drafting home town players? Is the city too small, that everyone knows your business? Is it a distraction having too many friends and family around? This is another good draft for Manitobans, but I'd be surprised to see Chevy draft one, it would be a change of direction.

 

[surixon]

I know BPA is the preferred draft route, but at some point the Jets are going to have to draft an impact RHD or trade for one. I'd say there's a limited chance Kovacevic becomes a regular 3rd pairing defenseman. He's already 3 years from free agency as is. Gawanke I'm not sure puts it together. Simon Lundmark seems to have some smarts, but I've read some critiques. He's the most likely to be an NHL regular, but it's thin at RD for the Jets, now and in the future.

I was watching some of the U18, and I was wondering if Ryan Chesley would be the kind of defenseman to draft with a late 1st (pulling for the Rangers to make the ECF with gnashed teeth)?

As for Geekie, I'm wondering if there is a thing about the Jets drafting home town players? Is the city too small, that everyone knows your business? Is it a distraction having too many friends and family around? This is another good draft for Manitobans, but I'd be surprised to see Chevy draft one, it would be a change of direction.

Hard to say on The home town angle. I would think getting an impact Manitoban would help to sell the product but you could be right about the pressure aspect.

If one of those two big named RD fell I'd take them in a heart beat but if that doesn't happen I see Geekie as being the BPA there.

I'll have to look into the player you mentioned as I am not at all familiar with him.

 

[Duke749]

I go to a bunch of Winnipeg Ice games. That's pretty much it for live viewings.

Other than that, I'm fairly obsessive with watching AM Scouting (all shifts for multiple games) / Scouching Reports / EP Rinkside / Wolf Scouting etc ... essentially, anything that's more than a players highlight package.

The problem with a highlight package is that it's just all goals. The majority of great things you do in hockey may not end up as a goal, yet are more interesting to watch. I have to create 10 chances to score one goal. The 'shift by shift' videos show the amount of chances a player actually gets in a game, which is often more useful than simply watching a guy tap in a rebound.

I'll say something else that's a core belief of mine: A big chunk of NHL players are interchangeable parts and don't require draft capital to acquire. The KHL / SEL / Liga / AHL are littered with 6'1, 200 lbs players that skate well and can shoot a puck. Let's call them all Jansen Harkins or Dominic Toninato. The difference between Harkins / Toninato getting 10 pts a year vs 40/50 pts per year is simply opportunity. If Harkins played 82 games with PLD and Kyle Conner + was given PP time, I have no doubt he can score 50 pts. As could Toninato, Barron, Armia, Galiardi, and about 500 other players. They're all available in free agency, the waiver wire, or via recruiting from other leagues.

The problem is you want 70-90 pts (not 50 pts) out of top line players and PP guys. So it never makes sense to waste draft capital on a player that's projected to simply become an average NHL player. There's an overabundance of *average* available for cheap.

ALWAYS DRAFT FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL. If they bust, who cares? Why waste a draft pick on a *safe pick* when you could have simply acquired the same type of player for free?

What's special? Ehlers. Connor. Scheifele. Perfetti. Petan. Burmistrov.

I purposefully included Burmistrov and Petan. Yes, both busts. But both had a special skill too. That's a worthwhile gamble. The upside was worth drafting for.

When I'm watching players, I'm looking for that something special that's rare in players. Skill, IQ, fluidity. I'm not just looking for a player than can go up and down a wing and bang bodies. That's too easy to acquire in Free Agency.

Sometimes the skill works out (Kaprisov, Point, Kurcherov, Debrincat). Sometimes it doesn't (Petan, Burmistrov). That's nearly impossible to decipher when they're 18 years old. But they all had a very unique skillset that made them worthwhile picks.

I just hate when people pick low producing Forwards from junior leagues thinking their game will better *translate* at the NHL level. I mean, if their huge size doesn't give them an edge against smaller junior players, what makes them think it will work out in the NHL? Boston learned the hard way in 2015 with three brutal picks of low producers.

Good lord this is such an enlightening post. Definitely agree with this mindset and i love how you made your points that makes it easy to understand. Honestly one of the best posts I’ve ever seen on these boards.

 

[snowkiddin]

So after some preliminary research, here's my first top 20 ranking:

1. C Shane Wright (Kingston, OHL)
C with a strong two-way, all-around game.

2. C Logan Cooley (USNDT)
Silky playmaker with high IQ and compete. Likely a winger at the NHL level.

3. LW Juraj Slafkovsky (TPS, Liiga)
Scoring winger with good size and rocket of a shot.

4. C Matt Savoie (Winnipeg, WHL)
High-end offensive instincts with great speed and mitts. His size probably makes him a winger in the NHL.

5. D Simon Nemec (Slovak League)
Steady, all-around defender is the best blueliner in the class.

6. RW Jonathan Lekkerimäki (Swedish Juniors)
Scoring winger might be the best in the draft at putting the puck in the net.

7. D David Jiricek (Czech League)
Smooth-skating defenceman might see his draft position fall after an injury.

8. RW Joakim Kemmell (JYP, Liiga)
High-compete player with good tools and offensive instincts.

9. D Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw, OHL)
Offensive-minded defenseman with great skating and puck skills that make him a threat to lead the rush.

10. C Frank Nazar (USNDT)
Crafty playmaker who reminds some people (i.e. me) of Nikolaj Ehlers.

11. C Conor Geekie (Winnipeg, WHL)
Big, mean, imposing C who plays like a machine and possesses surprisingly good puck skills and vision.

12. RW Danila Yurov (KHL)
Do-it-all Russian winger who might fall in the draft due to the situation in Ukraine.

13. LW Brad Lambert (Pelicams, Liiga)
Has all the tools, maybe not the toolbox. Was once thought to be competing for 1st overall but has plummeted down the rankings in recent times.

14. C Rutger McGroarty (USNDT)
Aggressive, physical, no-nonsense power forward C with a cool name.

15. C Liam Öhgren (Swedish League)
What he lacks in flash he makes up for with IQ. One of the more NHL-ready players in this draft.

16. LW Cutter Gauthier (USNDT)
Complete player with high-end offensive and defensive senses. Physical and knows how to fill the net.

17. LW Isaac Howard (USNDT)
Leads the American Development Team in scoring with elite offensive skills. Lacks size and defensive game.

18. D Denton Mateychuk (Moose Jaw, WHL)
Steady, two-way defenseman with especially good vision.

19. D Tristan Luneau (Gatineau, QMJHL)
Injuries have slowed the former No. 1 QMJHL draft pick, but Luneau can still dazzle scouts and fans alike with his ability to set up teammates with scoring chances.

20. D Ty Nelson (North Bay, OHL)
Smart puck-moving defenseman who continues his ascent up the draft charts.

Based on this list, I'd be very happy with either Geekie or McGroarty at our pick. Öhgren also intrigues me.

I'd be going after Ivan Miroshnichenko or Ryan Chesley with the Rangers pick if it becomes a 1st.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

I ran the draft simulator and these were my picks

Just some quick notes as to why

Lekkermaki was a no brainer at that spot. A lot of the top centers were gone as well as the D. Right shot goal scoring machine
Del Bel Belluz in the 2nd was easy as well. I think he goes in the 1st but you have potential 1/2 guy there.
Brennan big modern day goalie future replacement for Helly
Dorrington good sized good skating D going to Northeastern next year. So so offensive numbers but I think he could improve ont hose
Dumais - Small scoring machine. If I knew he was there at the Dorrington pick I would have taken him there. A sure fire steal for someone this draft
Brown good sized Right shot D man going to Denver.
Kmec - Big Right shot D who I think could explode offensively next year on a very young Prince George team

 

[Jetsetter]

Geekie won't be available when we pick at 14. If he is we will be getting an quality prospect! Geekie-Please!

 

[surixon]

Geekie won't be available when we pick at 14. If he is we will be getting an quality prospect! Geekie-Please!

14 is right around where he is slated to go atm. He may not be there but I'd say chances are decent that he is.

 

[snowkiddin]

14 is right around where he is slated to go atm. He may not be there but I'd say chances are decent that he is.

Knowing the Jets we will stay away from him if he’s still there.

I’m sure we will target a guy like McGroarty from the U.S. National Development Team.

 

[surixon]

Knowing the Jets we will stay away from him if he’s still there.

I’m sure we will target a guy like McGroarty from the U.S. National Development Team.

Why do you say that? They have gone after plenty of WHL players over the years. The WHL is their most picked from league.

 

[snowkiddin]

Why do you say that? They have gone after plenty of WHL players over the years. The WHL is their most picked from league.

Maybe I’m suffering recency bias from steering clear of Lambos, but I think they generally avoid picking Manitoban players.

 

[surixon]

Maybe I’m suffering recency bias from steering clear of Lambos, but I think they generally avoid picking Manitoban players.

I doubt that plays a role at all. I think BPA is how they role and well Lambos didn't have the best draft year. Plus the team was stacked at LD I our prospect pool.

Jets have drafted 15 WHL guys and 8 USHL players.

 

[snowkiddin]

I doubt that plays a role at all. I think BPA is how they role and well Lambos didn't have the best draft year. Plus the team was stacked at LD I our prospect pool.

Jets have drafted 15 WHL guys and 8 USHL players.

We haven’t drafted a ton from the WHL in a number of years, and they’re usually late round picks.

But I agree, they don’t have anything against Manitobans or WHL players, I’m just trying to temper my expectations in the event we don’t get Geekie since I really want him lol

 

[surixon]

We haven’t drafted a ton from the WHL in a number of years, and they’re usually late round picks.

But I agree, they don’t have anything against Manitobans or WHL players, I’m just trying to temper my expectations in the event we don’t get Geekie since I really want him lol

Fair enough lol. We could have said the same thing about Russian players and bam look at last draft.

 

[snowkiddin]

Fair enough lol. We could have said the same thing about Russian players and bam look at last draft.

Even if we don’t get Geekie I’m sure we won’t be that disappointed. We’re gonna get a pretty solid prospect no matter what in this spot it looks like.

 

[surixon]

Even if we don’t get Geekie I’m sure we won’t be that disappointed. We’re gonna get a pretty solid prospect no matter what in this spot it looks like.

Yeah I'm not set on anyone in particular but he seems to have the attributes this team seems to covet in their centers. Size and skill. We've traded for/signed a couple players of the ilk he could develop into in Jokinen, Hayes, Dubois. Scheifele wasn't that dissimilar of a junior player as well.

Edit: I'd rather one if those two high end RD fall to us as it is a bigger need. I see Perfetti taking Scheifele's center slot in a couple of years and I expect Dubois to still be here.

 

[Jetsetter]

14 is right around where he is slated to go atm. He may not be there but I'd say chances are decent that he is.

I sure hope so!!

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

We currently sit in the 14th spot. Consolidated rankings have Cutter Gauthier there. A 6'3 C/LW with some interesting looking stats and a Jets connection. His father was drafted by the Jets in '91. Sean Gauthier, G, 9th rd, 181 OA.

 

[Mortimer Snerd]

I know BPA is the preferred draft route, but at some point the Jets are going to have to draft an impact RHD or trade for one. I'd say there's a limited chance Kovacevic becomes a regular 3rd pairing defenseman. He's already 3 years from free agency as is. Gawanke I'm not sure puts it together. Simon Lundmark seems to have some smarts, but I've read some critiques. He's the most likely to be an NHL regular, but it's thin at RD for the Jets, now and in the future.

I was watching some of the U18, and I was wondering if Ryan Chesley would be the kind of defenseman to draft with a late 1st (pulling for the Rangers to make the ECF with gnashed teeth)?

As for Geekie, I'm wondering if there is a thing about the Jets drafting home town players? Is the city too small, that everyone knows your business? Is it a distraction having too many friends and family around? This is another good draft for Manitobans, but I'd be surprised to see Chevy draft one, it would be a change of direction.

Corson Ceulemans went just 7 picks after Lucius. Big RHS Dman, with skill. I was hoping for him all along last year. I still think he is who we should have taken. Nothing against Chaz.

 

[cbcwpg]

The Winnipeg Jets have a 1.5% chance to win the upcoming 2022 NHL Draft Lottery, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 10.

Actually a higher chance winning the lottery than making the playoffs for a while there.

Montreal Canadiens – 18.5%
Arizona Coyotes – 13.5%
Seattle Kraken – 11.5%
Philadelphia Flyers – 9.5%
New Jersey Devils – 8.5%
Chicago Blackhawks* – 7.5%
Ottawa Senators – 6.5%
Detroit Red Wings – 6.0%
Buffalo Sabres – 5.0%
Anaheim Ducks – 3.5%
San Jose Sharks – 3.0%
Columbus Blue Jackets – 2.5%
New York Islanders – 2.0%
Winnipeg Jets – 1.5%
Vancouver Canucks – 0.5%
Vegas Golden Knights** – 0.5%