Few college hockey fans will forget the 2021 NHL Draft’s first round. Four of the top five picks were college hockey players, all playing last season in Ann Arbor for Michigan.
As we look ahead to Thursday’s opening round of the 2022 NHL Draft, those who follow college hockey shouldn’t be as optimistic for such success.
In fact, there is a good chance that by the end of Thursday’s opening round (7 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN+) from the Bell Centre in Montreal, it will barely match or exceed the four early picks of 2021. This isn’t because of a lack of college talent. Just like this previous season, when more than a third of the players in the NHL first played in NCAA hockey, expect a solid third or better of the overall selections in this year’s draft to have college ties.
[NCAA player rankings, selections in 2022 NHL Draft]
But unlike 2021, the top prospects in this year’s draft hail either from Canadian major junior hockey or, more so, from Europe.
Most predict that Shane Wright, a center from the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League, will be selected first overall by Montreal.
The top two collegiate prospects are a Boston College commit, left wing Cutter Gauthier and Minnesota freshman-to-be Logan Cooley. Both played last season for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, a key similarity among the top-ranked players that are either committed to a college program or who have concluded their freshman year.
Either or both of Gauthier and Cooley should be in the top 10, if not top five, selections.
But after that duo, it could be a while before college players return to the draft stage.
Most others who will receive first-round consideration are coming out of the NTDP, including right wing Jimmy Snuggerud (Minnesota), defenseman Ryan Chesley (Minnesota), center Frank Nazar III (Michigan), left wing Isaac Howard (Minnesota Duluth) and left wing Rutger McGroarty (Michigan).
The top-ranked college linked skater that is not a member of the NTDP is Denver-bound center Rieger Lorenz, who was the 17th-ranked North American-born skater in the final NHL Central Scouting rankings.
Northeastern’s Jack Hughes is the top-ranked current NCAA player, appearing 26th on the NHL CSS final rankings, dropping from a midterm mark of seventh. Boston College incoming freshman Dylan Silverstein is the top-rated goaltender with NCAA ties (3rd among North American goalies), while UMass netminder Luke Pavicich is the highest-ranked goaltender among current NCAA players (23rd).
The second through seventh rounds of the NHL Draft will be conducted on Friday beginning at 11 a.m. ET.
