2022 NHL Mock Draft: Montreal Canadiens Get It Right With Shane Wright

Often stylistically compared to Roman Hamrlik, there’s almost no doubt that with the right and proper development, Jiricek will become a number one defenceman in the NHL. He has the size, speed and skill to exceed at all levels of the game and has always played at levels above his age level, thus accelerating his learning curve. The Blue Jackets have some pretty “ho-hum” players and prospects playing behind Zach Werenski who’s going to be carrying the Jacket’s blue line for the next 6 years with his new contract starting next season. Columbus having Jiricek fall in their lap would be a smart pick, as it would allow them to develop Jiricek properly and not have to rush him over to North American ice. Then once ready, the Jackets will have some luxury on the blue line. Patrick Lortie

For a minute there, it looked like Ottawa was going to be able to put a defensive pairing of Jake Sanderson and David Jiricek. Instead, the Sens will settle for Cutter Gauthier a big winger who will bring a physical edge to an already loaded offensive unit in Ottawa. Standing at 6 foot 3, Gauthier is not just a bruiser, as he has great finishing ability and is a solid skater at his size. He’d fit really nicely into Ottawa’s top six, especially in a more secondary role, creating space for Tim Stützle and Josh Norris to do their thing. The Sens took Tyler Boucher last year, who is also physical but lacks the tools that Gauthier has, and this is the Sens’ chance to rectify that with a better player at #7. Ryan Praught

The Red Wings have little depth in their talent pool down the middle, and Frank Nazar would be a tremendous fit in an organization striving to build a modern high-skill and high-intensity team, both of which Nazar has a ton of. No player in the class attacks the middle with the ability and determination of Nazar, which makes his game very projectable to the NHL. He’s equal parts playmaker as he is a goalscorer, and he’s one of the quickest players in the class as well as a technically refined skater. He also brings more defensive value than his teammate Logan Cooley, mainly due to his intense style of play carrying over to the defensive side of the puck. Nazar’s upside is among the very highest in the draft and seeing Yzerman swinging on his combination of skill, intensity, and position wouldn’t surprise me whatsoever. Sebastian High

The best part of Danila Yurov’s game is his mind, which I love in a prospect. He is one of those players that just seems like they are in the right place at the right time to receive a pass from a teammate or intercept an opponent’s pass in the neutral zone. His mental strength makes him a great puck control and puck possession player. The question with Yurov is whether his skill is high-end enough to become a full-on offensive threat in the NHL. He isn’t afraid to play physically and chip in in the defensive zone. Yurov right now is in limbo between the MHL and KHL, but if he finds a home in North America, I think he is a very safe bet to become a middle-six, puck controlling forward in the future. Joshua Rosa

Mintyukov is honestly my favorite prospect of my selections, and his solid frame, impressive offensive numbers on a weak and overall lacking Saginaw Spirits team, and general excellent awareness, skillset, and potential as a true offensive defenseman, give me brief flashes of well, the previously mentioned Cale Makar, or at the very least, an Ivan Provorov with, hopefully, improved consistency. While the defensive aspects of his game still leave a lot to be desired, Mintyukov would fit perfectly into an organization like Anaheim’s that has, in my opinion, been picking up some top-notch rookie talent over the last while. While the sample size is small (Mintyukov had previously struggled in Russia’s MHL) and there’s noticeable flaws in his overall game, Mintyukov’s ceiling is high and honestly too intriguing to pass up at 10th overall, and in a league like the AHL, a player of his type would undoubtedly flourish. Scott Cowan

The Sharks are going nowhere and they need prospects that will sell tickets. Enter Jonathan Lekkerimaki. This kid has all the potential in the world to score goals by the bunches at the NHL level. He has incredible vision, a high hockey IQ, a fantastic slapshot, an equally great wrist shot and is also a very underrated playmaker. The issue, however, is that San Jose, or anyone else for that matter, has to draft him with an important fact in mind – he won’t carry the team on his own. That’s not saying that there’s anything wrong with his attitude that he’s selfish or that he doesn’t have the drive. Lekkerimaki is a great teammate. The issue is that he’s a very below-average skater. Hopefully, as he keeps maturing his skating and lower body strength will improve to hopefully reach NHL standards. That’s the best we can hope for at this time. The issue behind his poor skating is that you can only use him in specific offensive situations. It will likely bring you success, however, seeing him trying to backcheck is like skating through slush. Still, too good offensively to pass up. Patrick Lortie

The Blue Jackets added some serious talent up front in last year’s draft with Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger. This year, the Jackets address the back end first taking Jiricek, and now adding Mateychuk with their second pick of the first round. Mateychuk is a player that I think is a little underrated in this draft. I think his upside is pretty high, with the opportunity to be a very good offensive defenseman in the NHL. Mateychuk is great with the puck on his stick, and he would certainly be classified as a puck-moving defenseman, the question will be about how he can play away from the puck. But I think Columbus adds a very good player to an increasingly good blueline with this pick here. Ryan Praught

Marco Kasper may not be available when the 13th pick of the draft rolls around, but if he is, I’d be shocked if the Islanders passed on him. Kasper plays a high-energy game. He’s one of the best forecheckers in the class, one of the best defensive forwards in the class, and I’d argue that he’s also the most NHL-ready player in the class. His game will be very effective in an NHL middle-six as an intense, responsible, and gritty centreman. He isn’t the most dynamic or skilled player, but he plays a simple and highly effective game. He’s a great net-front presence with the hand-eye coordination to deflect pucks, the intensity to wreak havoc, and the determination to whack in rebounds and loose pucks. He will score his goals from close proximity to the crease. The virtual guarantee of getting a decently impactful NHL player is too much for Lou Lamoriello to pass up here. Sebastian High

Joakim Kemell is really fun to watch when he doesn’t have the puck. It is like a masterclass on where to go and what to do in the offensive zone when one of your teammates has the puck. He is always open to fire a very good one-timer off a pass from a teammate, or to pounce on a rebound. The problem is that he struggles to produce offense on his own and playing physically. It is important to note that Kemell has been playing in the Liiga, Finland’s top league, and producing good offensive numbers, which could explain some of his physical and defensive timidity. The skill is there, if Kemell can develop his physical and on-puck game, he can be a very dangerous offensive threat. Joshua Rosa

The brother of current Seattle Kraken forward Morgan Geekie, Geekie fits a description not to a dissimilar to a lot of prospects who have come through the woodwork over the past few seasons, especially for the Canadiens. Think of a Riley Kidney, or Joshua Roy, or even a Xavier Simoneau, and amplify parts of their respective qualities, and Geekie would be an intriguing and promising addition to a Canucks team full of prime, potentially deadly offensive talent. Much like Dawson Mercer with the New Jersey Devils this year, I could see Geekie quickly fitting into an NHL role in the bottom six to begin, akin to have Conor McMichael or Alex Newhook fared this year. With solid offensive awareness and playmaking abilities, Geekie is a secure and talented selection at 15th overall and would only add to Vancouver’s already deep pipeline. Scott Cowan

For some reason, the name Jimmy Snuggerud sounds perfect for the Buffalo Sabres. Don’t ask me why. It just does. That being said, it’s finally time to say that the future is finally starting to look bright in Buffalo and Snuggerud would definitely bring in an extra level of excitement offensively. As a high-end playmaker, Snuggerud shows great skills offensively and works extremely hard to improve on all aspects of his game. While he does tend to stay on the high end of the defensive zone, he will sometimes get involved physically and throw a couple of hard hits to get the game going. He also surprised many when he started unleashing his inner Guy Carbonneau and blocking shots not only at the back end of the ice but offensively as well in order to prevent clearouts. An intriguing prospect with a similar personality has garnered comparisons to Brandon Saad. Patrick Lortie

Depending on how the board falls, the Preds may be in the market for a defenseman, as their prospect pool is currently stocked with plenty of forwards. But, in this mock, with the best defensemen already gone, passing on Brad Lambert at 17 is just not an option. Lambert has fallen in the rankings leading up to the draft, in large part because of a disappointing season in Liga. But Lambert has a lot of upside, and in the right situation could become the steal of the draft. Lambert has a ton of speed and is a very creative player, but some have questioned his ability to utilize his teammates. Lambert is expected to come over to the WHL next season, which may be the best move for him as he continues to develop. The Preds are getting great value at pick #17 and add a very good player to an already exciting prospect pool, this is a great get. Ryan Praught

Noah Östlund has one of the best combinations of speed, skill, and intelligence in the draft class. Add to that his high-end playmaking ability, dangerous one-timer, and responsible defensive play and you have yourself a high-upside player that the Stars can’t pass up. While drafting a defenceman in the first round would address more of Dallas’ needs, they see Östlund as someone that shouldn’t have fallen to them and they happily add another skilled player to their prospect pool. Östlund’s main area of weakness is his physicality. He’s quite slight of frame and gets out-muscled by junior-level players regularly. However, his speed and handling skill allow him to weave through pressure very effectively. While he’s the least certain of his line (with Öhgren and Lekkerimäki) to make the NHL, he has the highest upside as well. Sebastian High

If this was a draft for best hockey name, Gleb Trikozov would definitely be at the top. On the ice, Trikozov has a really intriguing mix of size, speed and skill. He stands at 6-foot-1, but can burn players in transition with his speed and ability to shrug off a lot of defenders while driving into the offensive zone. But he isn’t just a long set of legs, Trikozov can shoot and pass with equal aplomb, making him a true dual-threat. Unfortunately, he can often be a non-entity in the defensive zone, and can be a problem when he isn’t as involved in the play as he could be: the prototypical power forward dilemma. Trikozov is best when he has a full head of steam and playing with confidence. With that, Trikozov could easily become a consistent middle-six option. However, he will need to work on his 200 foot game and consistency issues. Joshua Rosa

Hughes is yet another case of a player with a small sample size but large upside, and again, fits to a Capitals prospect pool with many similarly projected players, such as 2020 first rounder Hendrix Lapierre. The son of Canadiens GM Kent Hughes (yes really) there’s a chance Hughes could drop to a point where the Canadiens could grab him, but at 20th overall he’s a high upside pick in my opinion. While he’s played just 43 games in the USHL and just completed his first season of Collegiate Hockey, Hughes has produced everywhere he’s went and would benefit from a deep prospect pool and overall roster not unlike that of the Capitals. While, like Geekie, he’s a fairly standardly projected player, he has great playmaking abilities and has shown tremendous potential thus far at the collegiate level. Scott Cowan

See Lane Hutson article here. Patrick Lortie

The Ducks already have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL, which doesn’t even include Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale who have both “graduated” to the NHL. After adding Pavel Mintyukov at 10th overall, they get another solid player in Liam Öhgren at #22. Öhgren is considered to be a solid, all-around player who has one of the highest floors in the draft. With Öhgren, you know what you’re getting. For the Ducks, at 22 this is a tremendous pick. Öhgren can develop into a really good top-six player, and with McTavish and Zegras already in the organization, Öhgren would slide in perfectly as a secondary player on that team. Öhgren is a smart player with a great shot, and solid skating and he’s the kind of player that every NHL team would love in their middle six. And that isn’t to say Öhgren has a low ceiling. He is a prototypical low-risk, high-reward kind of player and a great pick for the Ducks at 22. Ryan Praught

Swinging on a defensively-responsible and highly-mobile puck-moving defenceman is never a bad idea, especially past the 20th overall pick. Odelius is exactly this. He’s one of the better in-zone defenders in the class and is able to play a fairly physical game as well. While he may slip in the draft due to a relatively quiet U18 tournament, he’d be a high-value selection in this range. St. Louis likes its defensive defencemen, and Odelius has that side of the game covered while adding an element of offensive distribution and puck-moving to their ranks. Sebastian High

Jagger Firkus’ strengths lie in playing with the puck on his stick. Firkus has a really good shot and possibly even better hands. He can routinely beat goalies with his shot, and can use his hands to put himself into great positions to use that shot. He even scored a Michigan goal as a member of the Moose Jaw Warriors. The other aspects of his game are okay. He isn’t an explosive player, or a great defender (something that will force him to be a winger in the NHL), but they aren’t major deficiencies. Sometimes Firkus can overestimate his abilities in attempting a highlight reel play which leads to a turnover, especially in his passing. More often than not, Firkus will attempt a pass that would have been incredible if he made it through the seam, but more often than not will lead to the puck going the other way. Once he gets a handle on his abilities and plays within his means, there is certainly NHL upside here. Joshua Rosa

Across the board, Zhilkin is a reliable, talented, promising two-way center at 6’1″ and 189 pounds and is a stable and solid pick for a team like the Leafs at 25th overall. With players like Nick Robertson, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, and Rasmus Sandin there to offset the Matthews, Marners and Nylanders, I feel as though Zhilkin would fit right and benefit greatly from the talented cast around him. Toronto’s AHL team was admittedly a bit of a toass this year, lacking much besides promising mid-range youngsters in Jospeh Duszak and Alex Steeves, along with an AHL regular in Brett Seney. Rebuilding a roster akin to the Calder Cup champs of old will no doubt be helped by prospects like Zhilkin, and should the Leafs choose to keep the pick, I could see him being a solid selection at 25th overall. Scott Cowan

Coaches love versatility but they also love knowing that a player excels in one particular department. For Nathan Gaucher, he is without a doubt among the best defensive centres in the QMJHL, which is saying something considering this is a league that heavily favours offensive. Gaucher is projected to be a safe pick as it gets for the Canadiens and unless an unmitigated disaster, will make it as a bottom-six center and be your top penalty kill ambassador. He has shown some flashes of offensive skills too. Despite being a big player he is a very smooth skater and is not choppy in any of his plays. He finishes his checks well and has a good shot. Some claim there might be some favourable comparisons to former Canadiens centre Philip Danault here, while others see more of a Rob Niedermayer instead. Regardless, Should the Canadiens rely on their top lines on the shoulders of Nick Suzuki and Shane Wright, having someone like Gaucher face the opposing team’s top lines and kill heavy penalty minutes would be an incredible ace to have up your sleeve. Patrick Lortie

Like many players in this draft, there isn’t a general consensus on where Filip Mešár should go in this year’s draft. I’ve seen him listed as high as 9th as many people think Mešár has tremendous upside and top six projectability. For Arizona, getting Mešár at 27th, a pick that once belonged to the Canadiens before the Christian Dvorak trade, is incredible value. Mešár is a great skater, and is great with the puck on his stick, creating for himself and his teammates. At just 5 foot 10, he has a smaller frame that he will need to add muscle to, but he has all the tools to become an effective top-six player. Mešár is also versatile, capable of playing both centre and the wing, and his skating should allow for that to be true in the NHL as well. With Arizona adding Dylan Guenther last year and now Logan Cooley at third overall this year, the Yotes are putting together a pretty exciting young core and Mešár should be a part of that. Ryan Praught

The Sabres have three first-round picks, and this is the last of them. After having drafted defencemen at first overall twice in a five-year span, they go for back-to-back-to-back forwards in the first round here, all of whom have a high floor, a high degree of intelligence, and sound defensive games (Yurov and Snuggerud were the previous picks). Beck is a Shane Wright-lite type of player. His defensive game might even outshine his OHL counterpart, but the constant support of play, play connecting, anticipation, and consistent scanning are similar strengths. Beck may not have produced at a high level this season, but that’s mainly situational due to his defensive role and more limited offensive opportunities this season rather than reflective of his actual abilities. His shot really is quite good, and his playmaking has flashed moments of brilliance. Beck is one of the fastest players in the class and excels when putting defenders on their heels, which he regularly exploits to access the middle of the ice. Sebastian High

Goalies are tough to judge in the draft, but there have been goalies taken in the first round in the past three years, and the Edmonton Oilers just might be desperate enough to take a flyer on a goalie late in the first round. Not that there is nothing to like with Leinonen. He is built like a goalie: 6-foot-5 and 216 pounds. That tall and heavy frame definitely gives Leinonen a leg up naturally, but he has good lateral speed for his size. Simply put, he has the physical body to make up for his mistakes as he grows his game. He also is not averse to playing the puck on his stick, a great skill to have for an NHL goalie. He can sometimes struggle at controlling rebounds from shots low to the ice. But when you have The Hockey Writers making references to Pekka Rinne and Carey Price in their scouting report, you know you got something interesting going on. Joshua Rosa

I contemplated taking Nelson earlier, but he ultimately slid all the way down to 30th overall, where he fits into again, a stacked, depth filled Jets roster hemmed by the likes of Neal Pionk and Josh Morrissey on the backend. Nelson is a small but well- built offensive defenseman who played a pivotal role as an 18-year-old for the OHL’s North Bay Battalion. Helmed by current San Jose Sharks prospect Brandon Coe along with Canadiens prospect Joe Vrbetic, Nelson led team defenseman in scoring by a wide margin, posting 9-42-51 totals over 66 games, along with 0-10-10 totals over 13 post-season games. At 30th overall, Nelson’s potential and impressive performance in his first season of junior earns him my nod as a solid and promising addition to a stacked Winnipeg Jets roster and pipeline. Scott Cowan

This would be such a Tampa Bay type of pick. While the chances of Kulich falling this low in the draft are slim, there is still a chance it might happen. While the Czech was spectacular at the U18 scoring a dazzling tournament-leading 9 goals in 6 games, some still question whether Kulich is capable, or willing, to translate his game on North American ice. That same year, Kulich registered only 9 goals in 49 games for his team in the Czech league, making many wonder if this was a situation where he excelled due to having better players around him or him fading away because he was unhappy. Regardless, Kulich definitely has the talent to play hockey at an elite level and for a moment he showed millions of people around the world that he can. With the Lightning’s Player Development system able to get the best out of their prospects, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t thrive on a team that already boasts a lot of firepower up front. Patrick Lortie

There may be no player that has risen up the rankings more than Kevin Korchinski this year, who went from a mid-round pick at the start of the year to a top 15 prospect on many people’s list by the end of the season. Korchinski is a tremendous skater and is a very good puck handler as well, which is a big reason why he has shot up the rankings. Getting him at 32 would be great value for Arizona. Korchinski projects to be a solid top-four puck-moving defenseman, a need for Arizona with a pretty thin prospect pool on the blueline and uncertainty surrounding Jakob Chychrun’s future in the Desert. At 6 foot 2, Korchinski has great mobility and will help Bill Armstrong to build a fast, exciting team that will attract fans to the rink. Ryan Praught

The Canadiens prospect pool is far weaker at right defence than it is at right defence, and adding a high-skill right-shot defender at the top of round 2 makes a ton of sense for the organization. Casey is an aggressive player in the offensive zone, activating from the point regularly and using his combination of mobility and handling ability to open up passing lanes that he can skillfully exploit. This would be a high-upside swing on an undersized defender for the Canadiens, but he protects his own slot very well defensively and who has a chance to develop into a high-end talent at the University of Michigan. Sebastian High

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