The Montreal Canadiens hold the first overall pick in the upcoming 2022 NHL Draft. They are going to be quite busy all week as they have 14 picks at their disposal right now. Two of those picks are in the first round, and we here at A Winning Habit are so excited about all the picks, we decided to do a 33 player mock draft because the Canadiens hold the 33rd overall pick as well.
Without further ado, here is our 2022 NHL Mock Draft, including the Canadiens picks at #1, #26 and #33. Enjoy!
The shady spins of non-scouts and fake experts on social media were enough to make fans nervous and members of the media create stories to boost their ratings and create clicks of panic. Ever since graduating to the OHL as an exceptional 15-year-old, Shane Wright was slotted as the #1 pick for the 2022 Draft. Now all of a sudden, and especially due to the incredible effort of one individual, in particular, everyone everywhere started having doubts about the centerman. No, he won’t be a generational player and will never be in the same topics of conversation as a Crosby or McDavid. The comparisons of Patrice Bergeron or even Nick Suzuki of the Canadiens are fairly accurate. He’s not spectacular at all. However, he does have the potential to become an excellent two-way play with 60-70 points per season upside for the Canadiens. He’s the best “ready now” player, period. Patrick Lortie
With Wright off the board to the Canadiens, New Jersey takes Slafkovsky here. While I was tempted to take one of Nemec or Jiricek, I just felt like the Devils would go with the scoring winger who would pair really nicely with one of Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier. Slafkovsky is big, standing at 6 foot 4, but he also offers a lot of finesse and skill for a player of his size. Slafkovsky has shot up the rankings in large part due to a very strong Olympics where he scored 7 goals in 7 games and was named MVP of the tournament, helping Slovakia secure a Bronze medal. New Jersey takes the winger here, banking on his high upside. Ryan Praught
The Coyotes are in full rebuild mode and need skill to form their future core, and Logan Cooley has that quality in abundance. No player in the class is as creative a playmaker or as willing to make a creative dangle to solve complex problems as Cooley. He dominates in transition, gaining zone entries at a tremendous rate with great effectiveness, and is at his best with the puck on his stick in the offensive zone. While his shot isn’t among the most threatening in the class, he knows how to get into dangerous goalscoring positions. His defensive game still needs a lot of work, he often takes his foot off the gas pedal in his own end, but that can change with time. Cooley will be able to learn a lot about how to play a high-skill game in the NHL from Clayton Keller, and he just makes sense for that organization at 3. Sebastian High
While Matthew Savoie might be overshadowed by fellow centers Cooley and Wright, it is easy to argue that Savoie is the most offensively exciting of the three. You name it, Savoie can do it in the offensive zone. He has a very accurate shot, can pass with finesse and isn’t afraid to put pressure on defenders and beat them with his slick stickhandling. He is on the smaller side at 5-foot-9, but I think that we are all past the time of thinking smaller players won’t make it in the NHL, especially with this much skill involved. He lacks the out-and-out footspeed you attribute to smaller players, but is willing to get involved in the dirty areas and defensive zone. His break-outs need work, but in the offensive zone he shines brighter than any other prospect this year. Joshua Rosa
Nemec is a reliable and promising two-way defenseman coming out of the Slovak league’s Nitra MHC. A rule of thumb I’ve come to establish in regard to a prospect’s talent is that playing in a men’s professional league as opposed to a junior league can have its benefits for development. Much like Ottawa Senators’ top prospect Tim Stützle, Nemec has played alongside a number of veteran talents in a league that’s been the host to some former Canadiens farmhands in Andrew Yogan, Matt Petgrave, and Stefan Fournier. Along with 1-25-26 totals over 39 games in the 2021-22 regular season, Nemec starred for Nitra in the playoffs with 5-12-17 totals over 19 games, and projects to be a solid and reliable NHL defenseman at the very least with unbelievable potential in my opinion. Possessing decent skating, a solid frame, and great awareness for the game, Nemec would fit perfectly into a Flyers organization desperate for quality D-men after well, (whiffing on Cale Makar) amongst other things. Overall, he’s been a solid contributor over his first two pro seasons and was a member of the Slovakian National Team in the 2022 Olympics and 2022 and 2021 World Juniors. Scott Cowan