Re-Drafting the Top 10 Players From the 2022 NHL Draft

Looking at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft with the benefit of everything we know now and trying to re-draft the top ten spots was not an easy task. This is mainly because there are several guys who end up roughly on the same tier for me. Little things I like about their individual approaches to the game are what became the separating factor here, as well as thinking through who teams might've gone for with the benefit of hindsight. 
Some guys who could've potentially made this re-draft and just missed: Conor Geekie, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Matthew Savoie. I also looked at Denton Mateychuk and Frank Nazar, but much like the three I just listed, while I like what they've done so far and expect them to have promising NHL careers, they just didn't quite break into the top 10.

1. Juraj Slafkovsky, LW, Montreal Canadiens

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Obviously, Slafkovsky is still going to keep the top spot here. He might've felt like a reach when the Canadiens drafted him, but he's done everything in his power since then to prove he was the right choice. With roughly two and a half NHL seasons under his belt, we've got a lot to work with here, and I like what we've seen so far.

Slafkovsky only just turned 21 in March, but he already has 200 NHL regular-season games and 111 points. Not record-breaking, but we've got to stop judging very good players by the standards of their freakshow (that's a compliment) peers. It's a very good start to his career.

He was fourth in points on this season's Habs roster, and he spent a good chunk of time with captain Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the team's top line, helping drive that line's possession and scoring abilities. I can't see the Habs giving him up for anyone else in the class, even in a hypothetical scenario.

2. Lane Hutson, D, New Jersey Devils

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Don't fight me, Habs fans, I'm only taking him away from you in a hypothetical sense.

Potential Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson may look like he's made quite the unbelievable leap to reach second overall, but I'm going to go a step further and argue that it's not that far, because he never should've slipped out of the first round in the first place.

Sure, sometimes I play a game called "migraine aura or Lane Hutson decision-making" when I watch him. (If a mobile high-risk high-reward defenseman doesn't make you want to tear your hair out, is he even deserving of the title?) Sure, he was a scrawny little guy way back when—scrawny enough that 16 teams didn't even bother talking to him at the draft combine.

But the end of the day, even in his draft year, Hutson's offensive benefits, his ability to fake out opponents, and the way he could distribute the puck were evident. Were the people who had questions about his ability to translate his game to the NHL wrong? Definitely not.

We've got to start taking a chance on the scrawny guys when their potential is as obvious as Hutson's is, and was. What are draft picks for, otherwise?

3. Logan Cooley, C, Arizona Coyotes (now Utah Mammoth)

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Logan Cooley ends up precisely where he started, and after his 65-point season, I imagine the now-named Utah Mammoth are very thankful for that. I was a big proponent of Cooley in the leadup to his draft, and I'd still fight someone online about him. His passing, and the fact that he's able to do that, distributing at his top speeds? Unreal.

Cooley is two seasons into his NHL career now, one with the Arizona Coyotes and one with the team formerly known as the Utah Hockey Club. He made about a 20-point leap in scoring from last season, and he's currently showing off in international play as a key part of the Team USA roster that is playing for their first World Championships gold in 91 years. Not too shabby, huh?

I fully expect Cooley to be a key part of the Mammoth for many years as he matures both on and off the ice, so sit back and enjoy watching him play.

4. Shane Wright, C, Seattle Kraken

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This guy also stays where he initially ended up, which is good and fine because it worked out well for him the first time around.

I'm convinced that despite the weird and haphazard start to Shane Wright's career (thanks, COVID-19 pandemic, for throwing things off for everyone), the seasons that Wright spent in Coachella Valley were a key part of his development. Keeping that environment part of his journey feels right, and means we're likely to get the same solid player we see today.

It was popular for a while to rag on Wright and call him a bust, but he is still one of the best in this class. That's just a fact, skill-wise. And the Kraken wouldn't hesitate to select him again, I imagine.

During his tenure with the organization, we've seen his speed, hockey sense, playmaking ability, and puck skills—including his lightning-fast release—shine through in the way we all hoped they would initially. This past season, he played 79 games and ended up nearly hitting the 20-goal mark, landing at 19 by the end of the regular season.

5. Simon Nemec, D, Philadelphia Flyers

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Now this would've been an interesting situation. Hop Nemec over the state line from Jersey to Philadelphia and see what happens? I'm down.

I think Nemec needs a little more time to develop before going full-time in the NHL—we've seen more of what is best about his game during his time in the AHL and I want him to get some consistency with that, so maybe being picked by the Flyers isn't the best move. He might've ended up in the NHL sooner, and after seeing his promising moments in this year's playoffs cratered by a disastrous period against the Hurricanes, that's not the best idea.

And yet I would still pick him at 5. The potential is still there, he just needs to cook a little longer. Highlights of Nemec's game for me include: his excellent skating, his high-end hockey sense, and his offensive activations. His situational awareness seems to be a bit of a problem at the NHL level, but improvement in that area only comes with time and consistent play.

6. Pavel Mintyukov, D, Columbus Blue Jackets

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Defenseman Pavel Mintyukov had a pretty good introduction to the NHL in the 2023-24 season with the Anaheim Ducks, and though his offensive output backslid some this season, his play is good enough that I feel comfortable bumping him up the list to 6th. We're working with the benefit of hindsight here, of course, as with all these other picks, but the idea of Mintyukov going to the Columbus Blue Jackets is an appealing one to me. 

Would he have made the roster sooner than fellow defender David Jiricek? There's no way to know. If he had, though, here's what fans could've expected: a player who is capable of dictating the tempo of the game when he steps onto the ice.

He's very poised and able to use that poise and his brain to bait his opponents into making costly mistakes. That alone would be enough for me, but he's got a solid offensive mindset to top it off and cannot stray so far out of position as to damage his team's chances.

7. Cutter Gauthier, LW, Chicago Blackhawks

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I cannot decide whether Gauthier in Chicago is a nightmare scenario or the perfect fit.

What I do think is that he might've made the NHL sooner, and possibly would not have asked for a trade. A note: for me, he and Jiricek both could've gone at 7 here, but someone had to come first, and I'm a big fan of Gauthier's scoring touch, particularly when paired with eventual hypothetical teammate Connor Bedard. Wouldn't that have been fun?

The biggest boxes that Gauthier ticks for me are as follows: his speed and his shot, both of which are, frankly, elite when he uses them well and consistently. I'm not surprised that it took him a while to warm up to the NHL, as he was on a not-so-great team and one of the things he can still stand to improve is his overall situational awareness.

But this guy is going to be scoring goals in the NHL for a long time.

8. David Jiricek, D, Detroit Red Wings

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Sometimes you see a player and you're like, yeah, you would make a lot of sense on the Detroit Red Wings. Or is that just me?

David Jiricek was still on the board when I got to this pick, somehow, and slotting him in here just felt like a no-brainer. 

The former Columbus Blue Jackets pick and current Minnesota Wild defenseman got bounced around quite a bit this season, making appearances for both NHL teams as well as their AHL affiliate clubs. His season came to an end in March when he suffered a lacerated spleen.

When you combine all those factors, we're going to hold off on judging him from his performance this year. The Wild made the right call trading for him; a young defenseman with Jiricek's skating, shot, and poise doesn't come onto the trade market very often.

9. Kevin Korchinski, D, Buffalo Sabres

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Oh, Kevin Korchinski. I'm so sorry to banish you to Buffalo—you don't deserve this—but unfortunately, other guys got moved up the list and someone had to move down.

Korchinski won't even be 21 until the end of June, but he's already got two professional seasons under his belt, and with a not-great team to boot. At least that will be familiar as he lands with the Sabres in this re-draft. 

The flashes of brilliance we've seen from Korchinski offensively so far in his career aren't a fluke; they're who he could be as a player if he were on a roster that had the necessary skill to allow him to play his game freely.

At his best, he's constantly frustrating opponents in the middle lane, stunning in transition, and he's got the potential to be a true power play quarterback. With that comes the almost-obvious caveat that he needs to be better in his end, but he's been working on improving his decision-making, including, crucially, decisions about when to take risks. If he can tighten up that area, he'll be a blessing to any roster.

10. Marco Kasper, C, Anaheim Ducks

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Much like Korchinski before him, Marco Kasper really only got bumped down because other guys rose above him.

I loved his game this season, and watching some of it back made me wonder about the kind of role he would play with the Ducks in this hypothetical re-draft. I didn't really take team fit into account when slotting him in at 10th; this pick was more because I couldn't leave him out of the top 10.

Kasper brings a lot to the table. He's not going to be the flashiest player on the ice. He's a physical guy, but he's physical productively, knowing how to use his body to separate an opponent from the puck or using his skating to win races to loose pucks. He's not going to create fancy, deceptive plays, but he will get the puck to his teammates through traffic.

In short, he's effective and will only be more so as he continues to adjust to the NHL.