July 7, 2022 – Montreal
The NHL Entry Draft is once again upon us, and this year the host city of Montreal also holds the first overall draft pick.
The Montreal Canadiens also hold the 26th overall pick, and amidst strong rumours that the new-look management of the Habs are still looking at moving out veteran players in favour of young prospects and draft picks, could potentially add to their fourteen picks in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft – with ten of those coming within the first four rounds. The Habs new brass, Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes, have been rather active already, making many management changes, including replacing head coach Dominique Ducharme with former Tampa Bay Lightning star Martin St. Louis. Have traded several players, including Arturi Lehkonen, Tyler Toffoli and Shea Weber, and are potentially not done yet.
The name of star defenseman Jeff Petry continues to appear in trade rumours, with several teams rumoured to be making phone calls about the veteran puck moving blue liner. Surely, the duo of Gorton and Hughes would love to announce a huge trade, live, in front of their home fans come draft day. Other names that continue to swirl around the rumour mill, are those of Josh Anderson and Christian Dvorak.
See Also: Drafting Shane Wright the right move for the Montreal Canadiens
Another team with a wealth of picks in this draft, are the Buffalo Sabres, who hold three picks in the first round alone. Perhaps the Sabres look to deal a pick or two for a roster player, or they could continue to build for the future, and if the Jack Eichel trade is any indication – a full rebuild looks to once again be in the cards for the Buffalo squad.
Another team to watch, is the Ottawa Senators who hold the seventh overall pick and are rumoured to be trying to make moves around that selection. The buzz about the Bell Center in Montreal has been electric all day,
The 2022 NHL Entry Draft Class
1. Montreal Canadiens – Juraj Slafovsky
2. New Jersey Devils – Simon Nemec
3. Arizona Coyotes – Logan Cooley
4. Seattle Kraken – Shane Wright
5. Philadelphia Flyers – Cutter Gauthier
6. Columbus Blue Jackets – David Jiricek
7. Chicahe Blackhawks – Kevin Korchinski
8. Detroit Red Wings – Marco Kasper
9. Buffalo Sabres – Matthew Savoie
10. Anaheim Ducks – Pavel Mintyukov
11. Arizona Coyotes – Connor Geekie
12. Columbus Blue Jackets – Denton Mateychuk
13. Chicago Blackhawks – Frank Nazar
14. Winnipeg Jets – Rutger McGroaty
15. Vancouver Canucks – Jonathan Letterimaki
16. Buffalo Sabres – Noah Ostlund
17. Nashville Predators – Joakim Kemel
18. Dallas Stars – Lian Bichsel
19. Minnesota Wild – Liam Ohgren
20. Washington Capitals – Ivan Miroshnicenko
21. Pittsburgh Penguins – Owen Pickering
22. Anaheim Ducks – Nathan Gaucher
23. St. Louis Blues – Jimmy Snuggerud
24. Minnesota Wild – Danila Yurov
25. Chicago Blackhawks – Sam Rinzel
26. Montreal Canadiens – Filip Mesar
27. San Jose Sharks – Filip Bystedt
28. Buffalo Sabres – Jiri Kulich
29. Arizona Coyotes – Maveric Lamoureux
30. Winnipeg Jets – Brad Lambert
31. Tampa bay Lightning – Isaac Howard
32. Edmonton Oilers – Reid Schaefer
Rounds two through seven go down tomorrow at the Bell Center in Montreal.
