The 2022 NHL draft is one for the history books. Broken promises, future superstars for draft picks, and mid-draft retirements, all just in the first round. There is so much to unpack from this year’s draft so let’s jump right in.
Shane Wright Upset
Shane Wright has been the No.1 prospect from this draft class for years and the Montreal Canadiens were all but expected to take him until they didn’t. Instead, Juraj Slafkovsky became the first overall pick. Wright watched as three players everyone expected to go after him had their names called from the stage. Then the waiting game was over. The Seattle Kraken took the stage and called Shane Wright’s name. He did admit later though that it hurt that it wasn't the Canadiens.
“That team [Montreal] said to my face that they were gonna draft me, tonight they made the worst mistake in their franchise history. I promise you that.” He told reporters after the pick, “I’m definitely gonna have a chip on my shoulder from this for sure. Definitely a little more motivation.”
Wright seems to be on track to prove not only to Montreal but also to New Jersey and Arizona that they made a mistake by passing him over.
Chicago is Open For Business
The biggest winners, at least on the movement front, would be the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks had no first-round picks going into the draft on Thursday. That changed very quickly. The Chicago Blackhawks traded forward Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators for three draft picks, No. 7 overall, where they picked up USNTDP product and future Michigan Wolverine Frank Nazar, along with receiving the No. 39 pick in this year’s draft and Ottawa’s third-round pick next year.
That seems like it would be enough, especially as they had picks No. 38 and No. 57 in the second round and picks No. 81, No. 90, and No. 94 in the third round, but the Blackhawks weren’t done yet. In a shocking turn of events, Chicago traded forward Kirby Dach, their top prospect from the 2019 draft, to the Montreal Canadiens for picks No. 13 and No. 66.
It will take a few years to see if Chicago’s wheeling and dealing pay off, but with the prospect pool they acquired in just one draft, it'll be interesting to see what they do in upcoming years.
Goaltenders on the Move
A rather understated story from the draft this year was the amount of goalie movement that took place. The Colorado Avalanche acquired goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers for two of their draft picks and also selected goaltender Ivan Zhigalov with the last pick in the draft. The Detroit Red Wings traded for goaltender Ville Husso and the New Jersey Devils picked up Vitek Vanecek from the Washington Capitals. Marc-Andre Fleury signed a two-year deal with the Minnesota Wild, all while teams were picking the future of their creases in Montreal.
The goaltending movement will be the thing to watch this off-season with more and more goalies around the league becoming free agents or being traded. To see where the chips fall at the end of the summer maybe some of the most exciting news of the off-season.
A Michigan Snub
The biggest snub that came out of the draft this year is one that many people will probably overlook. Mark Estapa, a sophomore forward currently attending the University of Michigan, wasn’t chosen by any team in Montreal. Admittedly Estapa needs more development but what better way to do that than gain access to a whole NHL organization’s development program? The recent release of development camp invites though throws a little bit of gas on the fire. Estapa was invited to the Vegas Golden Knights development camp which could be a good sign for next year. He joins fellow Michigan teammates Brendan Brisson, Steve Holtz, and Nolan Moyle next week in Nevada.
If this is what the 2022 NHL draft had in store for viewers, it will be interesting to see what next year’s draft, one that has been long been considered the deepest draft since 2019, gives to both the viewers and teams alike.
Originally Published: July 2022 - Original Work
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