Prospect Info: 2022 NHL Draft Hype

[These Are The Days]

The name Juraj Slafkovsky just screams peak Dead Puck Era. Like I feel like we're hearing about a guy in the year 2000







That said it only makes sense for the Devils to draft him

 

[Felonious Python]

Montreal picks 27th as well.

 

[Hammerlik]

Hope nobody picks Russians so we can snag some gem!

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Montreal picks 27th as well.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Marco Kasper interviewing with 30 teams this week

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

More on Jiri Kulich

"The teams want to know how I am as a player, as a person," Kulich said. "I think I'm a shooter and a fast skater. But I think I have a good shot. I like to watch David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins) and I'll try to do some of his highlights, but I think I have the same style of play as Jakub Vrana (Detroit Red Wings)."

"I hope I will be picked in the first round," Kulich said. "I want to be the leader. I'm a team player. I know how to score some goals because I've always been the shooter. I just need to work on my play in the defensive zone."

Kulich, No. 13 in Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters, said one more season in the Czech Republic might be good for his development.

"I think it's better for me is play with the senior team in Karlovy, but I don't have problem to play in the Canadian Hockey League or the American Hockey League."

The CHL import draft is July 1st. The NHL draft is not until July 7th.



Lambert could be another 1st round wildcard.

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

Jagger Firkus is going to be a steal. If he's available the Lightning will take him. Hearing it from me who heard it from them.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Kid knows they like respectful handshakes

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Dan Marr - Head of Central Scouting



On how the Russia situation is effecting the draft:

"Obviously limited in person viewings when the teams were not allowed to participate in the end of the season (U-18) world championships and games. On the scouting side of it, I'm pretty sure the management of the clubs will say 'your job is to tell us what this player is like as a possible nhl player down the road, so give us your take on what his skills and assets are, how he competes, and how he could fair down the road.' None of us know what's going to go on , what it's going to be like 2-3 years from now. Everyone's wondering how the teams are going to approach it. They're going to approach it which ever way they decide to approach it. If you're sitting there and you have a solid prospect for the nhl, are you going to go by him, or do you want to step up and take him, and cross your fingers and hope the world's in a different place in a couple years from now?"

How covid effected this draft class:

"The nhl clubs realize how difficult it's been on these players. I think they have a lot of respect for this draft class, just the way they've handled themselves. Like this is the longest, this is the season that never ends. It's been a long season for all these players. They've gutted it out, there were some tough games to watch in February and March where you could see there wasn't a lot of gas left in the tank there, and then everybody builds it up come playoff time again. The nhl clubs did have a little bit of history on some of those, but for this draft class we missed the underage year. This is where the combine this year has a particular importance. They want to know as much about the players as they can. You can only watch so much video from the past. This is going to be a very unpredictable draft year. There's some players form the 03' draft class that some teams didn't get a chance to see in their full draft year as well. They may have liked the way their development has come along. It wouldn't surprise me if there's more 19 year olds taken in the 2nd part of this draft. But I think this is going to be one of the most unpredictable drafts in a long time."

What to expect during the 1st round:

"It's a deep draft for the 1st round. When you have the luxury of having more than one pick, when it's your turn to pick what happens is it doesn't go according to predictions or projections. And then all of a sudden they have a player left with that first pick that they really didn't think would be there, and I know you hear that a lot, but it's true. So someone picking at 15 could get a guy they had in their top 10. They're going to be elated about that. So when they get to that 2nd pick they're going to look at the other names there, but they may skip over a name to take someone they kinda slotted on their lists that they have a really good feeling about, and they don't know if another team is going to step up for them or not, so they may step up and take a little bit of what you might call a riskier chance on a pick. ... It's a deep draft. There's not going to be the player of the decade that comes out of this draft class, but there's going to be a lot of players who will be all-stars down the road that are going to play in the national hockey league for a long time."

An update on Miroshnichenko:

"Ivan was still undergoing treatment in Germany during the U-18s and his agents had him in town so a number of nhl clubs were able to meet with him there. He was still showing the effects of the treatment, but the treatment was 100% successful. He's been back and cleared to train full load within his tolerance level, but they expect he's going to continue on. He's not scheduled to go back for anymore treatment. He's just training for the start of next season."

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Seamus Casey, a right-shot defenseman with the U.S. NTDP Under-18 Team, is No. 29 in Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters.

He had 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 48 games this season and hopes to become the first player born in Miami to play in the NHL.

"It's exciting for me and my family because they've helped me so much," Casey said. "For Florida hockey, I think it's really big. There's been a few players who have gone to the NHL from Florida and I think being born in Miami, and kind of growing up in the Florida Keys, it's definitely a cool story.

"I'd be honored to be a part of anything to try to grow the game in Florida."

He's a big fan of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"I always loved Steven Stamkos," he said. "The team did their spring training at our rink in Fort Myers (Hertz Arena), so I got to meet them, get autographs, pictures. I think it inspired me a lot, watching those guys."

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Just about every scout or executive I spoke to feels this draft will be as unpredictable as any they’ve ever seen. Typically, we start to see the draft splatter after the first 10-15 picks, but that splatter will start well inside the top 10 of this draft. The effects of the pandemic will once again wreak havoc on this class.

Informally canvassing some GMs and scouts, the general consensus is that the in-person draft will make for more action on draft day. It’s much easier to walk over to another GM’s table than it is to try and text, or conference a GM to initiate discussion while the clock is ticking.

Lane Hutson: The USNTDP defenceman was measured at 5-foot-8, 148 pounds in Central Scouting’s final rankings. From an on-ice perspective, he’s a surefire first-rounder. From a size perspective, he would be the smallest defenceman in the NHL, if and when he plays. Of note, Hutson brought a report from an endocrinologist to the Combine, which indicates he has almost two more years of bone growth left in his body. Essentially, growing to 5-foot-10 is not out of the question. If Hutson was 5-foot-10 today, he would be projected to go inside the top 15 picks of this draft.

Austrian Marco Kasper was one of the most impressive interviews we conducted. He learned Swedish in three months, adding to his Austrian and German language repertoire. And, by the way, he’s also learning French in school.

Kasper left Austria at 16 to play for Rogle in Sweden's SHL. His parents dropped him off in the small Swedish town and stayed with him for two weeks before leaving him on his own.

The Combine provides a forum in which you can talk to players casually before or after their testing, or in the hallways of the hotel. Had great conversations with Luca Del Bel Belluz, Noah Warren, Owen Beck, and Tristan Luneau. One player I sought to speak with was Kingston’s Paul Ludwinski. Awesome young man who has experienced his fair share of adversity in his life and it shows in his play. He plays like his hair’s on fire, and does so consistently.

Adam Kimelman on Lane Hutson:

"What stood out to me (at the combine) was we talked to Lane Hutson from the US National Team Program. One of the knocks about Lane, really the only one, is his size. He's listed at 5'8" and 148 lbs, but maybe he was the most impressive I've ever heard as far as prep work for an interview. He went and saw an endocrinologist, and the endocrinologist told him that his bone age is younger than his chronological age, and what that means is he hasn't finished growing yet. He's 5'8" now, but there's nothing that say that in 3 years he could be 5'11"... there's some more growth Lane could go and then you look at the skill set that he has, we talked about this, if Lane Hutson was 6'1" he might be a top 5 candidate. ... He said when he went to show this information to teams, they were really impressed and really surprised, and I wonder if the opinion got changed on a few draft boards."

Mike Morreale:

"I guess the question for Lane Hutson right now is where is he going to go? In our recent mock drafts I have him going late in the 1st round. That's an area I think he may go. If not, someone will be able to get him early 2nd, and that will be a huge asset for them later on down the road."

30. Tampa Bay Lightning

Kimelman -- Lorenz: Lorenz's work ethic and physicality drive his highly-skilled offensive game. He patterns his game after Lightning forward Alex Killorn, so adding a similar type of skilled, gritty player could be intriguing for Tampa Bay.

Morreale -- Del Bel Belluz: A responsible, high-end center used in all situations with good speed and skating ability, Del Bel Belluz has excellent hands and puck skills. He was second on Mississauga with 76 points (30 goals, 46 assists), including 27 power-play points (12 goals, 15 assists), in 68 games.

Kimelman:
29. Jagger Firkus
30. Rieger Lorenz
31. Rutger McGroarty
32. Ivan Miroshnichenko

Morreale:
29. Ryan Chesley
30. Luca Del Bel Belluz
31. Jiri Kulich
32. Liam Ohgren

 

[HanTykje]

32. Ivan Miroshnichenko

Have a high upside for the future?

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

32. Ivan Miroshnichenko

Have a high upside for the future?

Yeah, he's a super talented prospect with star potential. For a team like us that hasn't had a 1st round pick for a few seasons and might not pick in the 1st again for a while, this would be quite the homerun swing if he fell all the way to us.

 

[Peacefool]

32. Ivan Miroshnichenko

Have a high upside for the future?

I liked him when watching Russian young pplayers played, he looked good with Muchkov, and alone without him, smart,good technic something Perry looking player. Dont know about his future, but I liked him.

 

[Peacefool]

But he is definetly top 6 player. Maybe top 9. Creative and can score, dont know about his "gritt" possibilities, but he needs to play in scoring lines.

 

[Gulf Coast Pucks]

Miroshnichenko at 32 would be an absolute steal. Top 10 talent slides due to Russian signing factor and recent illness. Owen Beck would be another good pick if available. Think he has more offensive upside than he has shown in junior due to limited opportunity.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

25. Rutger McGroarty
26. Luca Del Bel Belluz
27. Ivan Miroshnichenko
28. Jagger Firkus
29. Alexander Perevalov
30. Jiri Kulich
31. Ryan Chesley
32. Noah Warren

 

[Felonious Python]

25. Ivan Miroshnichenko
26. Gleb Trikozov
27. Rutger McGroarty
28. Mattias Havelid
29. Ryan Chesley
30. Brad Lambert
31. Conor Geekie
32. Jiri Kulich

 

[HanTykje]

Miroshnichenko at 32 would be an absolute steal. Top 10 talent slides due to Russian signing factor and recent illness. Owen Beck would be another good pick if available. Think he has more offensive upside than he has shown in junior due to limited opportunity.

Think that Miroschenko have a bigger potensial to success in NHL than Beck, think Beck will be one of those that will in the long run maybe be a lower league team or bottom NHL.

 

[StammerHammer]

What a crap shoot the draft is. GMs pretty much guessing. 2012 Koekkoek 10th pick. The Lightning’s first pick. Next pick Filip Forsberg, 16th Tom Wilson, 19th Vasy. At least the Lightning got Vasy.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

List of '22 draft eligibles invited to Canada's national junior team summer camp:

G - Tyler Brennan
G - Chase Coward
G - Thomas Milic

LD - Kevin Korchinski
RD - Christian Kyrou
RD - Tristan Luneau
LD - Denton Mateychuk
LD - Owen Pickering

C - Luca Del Bel Belluz
RW - Jagger Firkus
C - Nathan Gaucher
C - Conor Geekie
C - Ryan Greene
C - Tucker Robertson
C - Matthew Savoie
LW - Reid Schaefer

This camp is normally in August, but is being moved to July 23-27 because of the rescheduling of the 2022 WJC

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Craig Button’s Final Rankings

Four Russians are ranked in the first round in Pavel Mintyukov (No. 11), Danila Yurov (No. 12), Ivan Miroshnichenko (No. 15) and Alexander Perevalov (No. 21).

Two of the biggest risers in the Craig’s List final ranking are Austrian centre Marco Kasper, who went from No. 27 to No. 17, and USA Hockey National Team Development Program defenceman Lane Hutson, who leaps into the first round after going from No. 39 to No. 31.

Hutson is one of seven USNTDP players ranked in the first round of Craig’s List alongside Cooley (No. 4), Cutter Gauthier (No. 7), Jimmy Snuggerud (No. 8), Frank Nazar (No. 25), Rutger McGroarty (No. 26) and Isaac Howard (No. 32).

The current record for number of USNTDP players to go in the first round is eight, which was set in 2019