2022 NHL<\/a> Draft.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/b>1. Shane Wright \u2013 Center — OHL Kingston \u2013 Montreal Canadiens <\/b>\u00a0<\/span> \n<\/span><\/p>\nLook for Shane Wright to go first overall to the Canadiens. He has dominated at every level, including this year, where he scored 32 goals and added 62 assists in 63 games with Kingston in the OHL, which put him eighth in the league and third for undrafted players.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFor years, Wright has been thought of as the first overall pick in his draft-eligible year. He was just the sixth player (joining names like McDavid and Tavares) to be granted exceptional status to enter the Canadian Junior levels a year earlier than allowed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n2. Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd <\/span><\/b>\u2013 Left Wing — TPS Finland \u2013 New Jersey Devils\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/span> \n<\/span><\/p>\nThe New Jersey Devils pick second overall, and if Shane Wright is off the board, look for them to select Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd out of Finland.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe Devils have depth down the middle, so passing on Logan Cooley makes sense. Slafkovsk\u00fd, at 6-foot 4 inches and weighing close to 230 pounds, is already built for the NHL game. At the Beijing Olympic games this year, he was the youngest player in the tournament, and named the Most Valuable Player after leading the tournament with seven goals in seven games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/b>3. Logan Cooley \u2013 Center — USA U-18 NTDP \u2013 Arizona Coyotes\u00a0 <\/b>\u00a0<\/span> \n<\/span><\/p>\nA two-way playmaking center is what Logan Cooley will bring to the NHL. While he is already committed to the University of Minnesota next season, that will not deter his would-be suitors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAt the 2022 IIHF Juniors Tournament, Cooley helped the USA finish second with 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in six games. As a member of the NTDP last season, he finished second in team scoring with 27 goals and 48 assists in 51 games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n4. \u0160imon Nemec<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Defenseman — Nitra Slovakia \u2013 Seattle Kraken<\/b>\u00a0<\/span> \n<\/span><\/p>\nLook for \u0160imon Nemec to be the first defenseman taken in the draft, ahead of another standout defenseman in David Jiricek.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nNemec has played the past three seasons in Slovakia\u2019s top men\u2019s league, starting when he was 15 years old. With a right-handed shot and ability to think on offense, Nemec possesses the skills to be a top NHL defenseman.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhile playing in the 2022 IIHF World Championship, he tallied six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in eight games for Slovakia, which are the most ever by an 18-year-old defenseman in the tournament. His +\/- last year was +13.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n5. Joakim Kemell \u2013 Right Wing — JYP Finland \u2013 Philadelphia Flyers<\/b>\u00a0<\/span> \n<\/span><\/p>\nAnother potential star in the league is Joakim Kemmell out of Finland. While he may be undersized at 5-foot 9 inches, he has all of the ability to find the back of the net. And while a shoulder injury sidelined him for more than two months, he still led all rookies in his league with 15 goals and was second with 23 points in 39 games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAll signs point to Wright being cheered by the hometown crowd in Montreal as they get set to pick first overall on Thursday night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the NHL draft just a few days away, it\u2019s time to look at the future stars of the league and the draft class of 2022.\u00a0 The Colorado Avalanche are the new Stanley Cup Champions after defeating the two-time defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning. Led by several former first-round draft picks in Gabriel Landeskog (2011 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":219823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
NHL DRAFT PREVIEW: Shane Wright Expected First Overall Pick<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n