Oct
HockeyProspect.com is pleased to release our first 2022 NHL Draft Ranking of the season. While we always release our very early list for the following year’s draft in the previous drafts edition of our NHL Draft Black Book, the first release of the season arrives in late September or October.
Our first list is usually released slightly earlier but with the OHL not playing last season and starting a few weeks later this season, we decided to slightly delay this initial list.
Shane Wright is off to a bit of a slow start this season but he is still the player sitting at the top of our first ranking of the season. Wright was outstanding two years ago in his rookie season, posting 39 goals and 27 assists in just 58 games. Sitting second overall on our ranking is Conor Geekie from the Winnipeg Ice. Geekie had 23 points in 24 games in last year’s shortened WHL season. This year he has 3 goals and 5 assists in 9 games so far. Filling out the rest of our top five on our ranking are Logan Cooley from the USNTDP, Danila Yurov, from Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL and Owen Pickering from the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL. Pickering was not included in our top 32 ranking that we released back in June in our 2021 NHL Draft Black Book.
The number of viewings can range widely from one prospect to another on these early lists but this early ranking gives an idea of where player grades are trending with us in the early going.
We’ll be releasing more audio this week to talk about some of the players on our initial list.
Audio- Mark Edwards talk’s about the ranking release and scouting in the early season.
HockeyProspect.com 2022 NHL Draft Ranking Top 32 – October 25th, 2021
| Rank | LAST | FIRST | TEAM | LEAGUE | POS | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wright | Shane | Kingston | OHL | RC | 6'01" | 185 | |
| 2 | Geekie | Conor | Winnipeg | WHL | LC | 6'03" | 193 | |
| 3 | Cooley | Logan | USNTDP U-18 | NTDP | LC | 5'10" | 174 | |
| 4 | Yurov | Danila | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | KHL | LW/LC | 6'01" | 178 | |
| 5 | Pickering | Owen | Swift Current | WHL | D | 6'04" | 179 | |
| 6 | Slafkovsky | Juraj | TPS | Liiga | LW | 6'04" | 225 | |
| 7 | Nazar | Frank | USNTDP U-18 | NTDP | RC/RW | 5'10" | 175 | |
| 8 | Howard | Isaac | USNTDP U-18 | NTDP | LW | 5'10" | 182 | |
| 9 | Savoie | Matthew | Winnipeg | WHL | RC | 5'09" | 179 | |
| 10 | Kemell | Joakim | JYP | Liiga | RW | 5'11" | 171 | |
| 11 | Salomonsson | Elias | Skelleftea J20 | J20 Nationell | RD | 6'00" | 172 | |
| 12 | Jiricek | David | HC Plzen | CZE | RD | 6'03" | 189 | |
| 13 | Perevalov | Alexander | Loko Yaroslavl | MHL | RW | 6'00" | 191 | |
| 14 | Nyman | Jani | Ilves | Liiga | LW | 6'03" | 212 | |
| 15 | Mesar | Filip | HK Propad | SVK | RC/RW | 5'10" | 167 | |
| 16 | Ostlund | Noah | Djurgardens IF J20 | J20 Nationell | LC | 5'09" | 143 | |
| 17 | Lekkerimaki | Jonathan | Djurgardens IF J20 | J20 Nationell | RW | 5'11" | 165 | |
| 18 | Chesley | Ryan | USNTDP U-18 | NTDP | RD | 6'00" | 187 | |
| 19 | Nemec | Simon | HK Nitra | SVK | RD | 6'00" | 190 | |
| 20 | Lambert | Brad | JYP | Liiga | RC/RW | 6'00" | 175 | |
| 21 | Snuggerud | Jimmy | USNTDP U-18 | NTDP | RW | 6'01" | 186 | |
| 22 | Neuchev | Viktor | Avto Yekaterinburg | MHL | RW | 6'02" | 165 | |
| 23 | Duda | Artyom | Krasnaya Armiya Moskva | MHL | LD | 6'01" | 180 | |
| 24 | Miroshnichenko | Ivan | Omskie Krylia | VHL | LW/RW | 6'01" | 185 | |
| 25 | Luneau | Tristan | Gatineau | QMJHL | RD | 6'02" | 175 | |
| 26 | Kulich | Jiri | HC Karlovy Vary | CZE | C/LW | 6'00" | 172 | |
| 27 | Kasper | Marco | Rogle | SHL | LW | 6'01" | 183 | |
| 28 | Hughes | Jack | Northeastern | NCAA | LC | 5'11" | 165 | |
| 29 | Gauthier | Cutter | USNTDP U-18 | NTDP | LW | 6'02" | 189 | |
| 30 | Lutz | Julian | EHC Munchen | DEL | LW | 6'02" | 185 | |
| 31 | Korchinski | Kevin | Seattle | WHL | LD | 6'01" | 185 | |
| 32 | Gaucher | Nathan | Quebec | QMJHL | RC/RW | 6'03" | 208 |
Members can click here to see the FULL TOP 64 RANKING.
Shane Wright of the KIngston Frontenacs. Photo by Robert Lefebvre/OHL Images.