Re-Drafting Logan Cooley and the Top 10 Picks from the 2022 NHL Draft

Do you ever wonder if teams wish they could go back and just redo a draft class? They definitely do, right? Unfortunately, they can't, but we can.

The 2022 NHL Draft was a really tricky one. I would argue that this was the draft class most disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, because different leagues came back to play at different times. Who can forget the OHL cancelling their entire 2020-21 season, while the WHL ran from February to May, and the QMJHL basically ran an entire season from October to April? And that's not even taking into account any European leagues, or NCAA hockey, or any of the other various places players are drafted from.

So it's no surprise that we tend to have a lot of questions about where this class landed, nor that we've shuffled their top 10 around yet again.

1. Logan Cooley, C, Montreal Canadiens

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Original selection: Juraj Slafkovský

What a world that would've been, huh?

I'm going to be completely frank: swapping Logan Cooley into the first spot over Juraj Slafkovsky is entirely 100 percent based on my thinking that Cooley was better the entire time I was scouting him pre-draft and the fact that I feel like he's really been living up to the notes I took on him that season. It's no slight whatsoever on Slafkovsky, who is a fantastic player. 

Cooley, who just this week signed an 8-year, $80 million extension with the Utah Mammoth, has been showing steady growth since his rookie season with the Arizona Coyotes in 2023-24. I tend to err on the side of recommending that college players stay longer than one season, but Cooley was always going to be a one-and-done at the University of Minnesota. He thrives against tougher competition. If he'd been drafted first overall by Montreal, he definitely would've gotten that in spades.

2. Lane Hutson, D, New Jersey Devils

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Original selection: Simon Nemec

Last time I took a whack at this redraft, he was "potential Calder winner Lane Hutson".

Now he's the actual Calder winner, Lane Hutson, who was also recently signed to an 8-year extension (though not one quite as pricey as Cooley's). 

I still don't love the idea of him on the New Jersey Devils, despite leaving him here because I firmly believe he deserves to be in this spot. I do like the idea of him playing with guys like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, whose playing styles I think would mesh quite well with Hutson's.

Their speed and hockey sense dovetail nicely, and while I've accused Hutson before of making me feel like I was getting a migraine watching his decision-making, he's growing out of that with time. (Or I think he is. We're not far into the season.)

You're simply never going to convince me that Lane Hutson deserved to drop out of the top ten, much less into the second round of the NHL Draft. Picking this guy 62nd overall was an absurd move by the Montreal Canadiens, and I hope every team who passed him up on the way is kicking themselves about it.

3. Juraj Slafkovsky, LW, Utah Mammoth (at the time Arizona Coyotes)

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Original selection: Logan Cooley

Swapping Cooley with Juraj Slafkovsky is such a fascinating proposition because the same guy is probably going to grow into at least a somewhat different player in a different environment, right? Which is not to say that either player would be better or worse — all things considered, their careers have been fairly similar, despite Slafkovsky spending time in the NHL the first season after he was drafted. 

One cannot imagine that the Arizona Coyotes, now Utah Mammoth, would've been upset about drafting a player like Slafkovsky, who, ironically, scored his first NHL goal against the franchise in question. Slafkovsky ended last season fourth in points on the Habs' roster with 51, which would've had him sixth on the Mammoth roster—still nothing to sneeze at, particularly considering there was only a 14-point gap between him and Cooley (who was second with 65).

Add to that the fact that Slafkovsky is on pace to at least hit, if not break the 30-goal mark this season (which would pass his 2023-24 total of 20 to be his best), something that only Clayton Keller did on the Mammoth roster last season, and you have to think the Mammoth would welcome him with open arms.

4. Shane Wright,  C, Seattle Kraken

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Original selection: Shane Wright

I don't know how, but both times I've redrafted this, Shane Wright has ended up staying exactly where he was drafted.

I suppose I think the Kraken got it right. Now, do I think they got it right with his development path? Not exactly. But there were also quite a lot of mitigating circumstances at play, and his time in Coachella Valley under Dan Bylsma was, I think, formative to his development. (I've often thought Bylsma is a better development coach than an NHL coach in the long term, and I think Wright is one of many players who support that argument.)

At this point in his career, I also don't want to hear anyone calling Wright a bust. Skill-wise, he's still head and shoulders above most others in his draft class, and he's only starting his second full season in the NHL. Hockey sense, playmaking ability, puck skills, and speed—you name it, he's got it. I think we'll see him pass the 20-goal mark this season, a feat he very nearly achieved last season (he ended up with 19). He's already at 3.

5. Simon Nemec, D, Philadelphia Flyers

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Original selection: Cutter Gauthier

I had Simon Nemec with the Philadelphia Flyers last time as well, and I have to say, it was kind of a slay.

An upgrade on defense as far as prospects go, and someone who probably won't request a trade to the other side of the country! I do worry that Nemec would end up in the same boat as Emil Andrae, not quite getting the consistent time he needs to develop at the NHL level and ending up on the trade block through no fault of his own, but there's no way to know that for sure.

He may not be the best defenseman in this Draft class, but he's definitely worth picking at 5, just for potential alone. He's a fantastic skater, and his hockey sense is top-notch. While I love his ability to activate offensively, his overall situational awareness could still use some work. We're still seeing that even this season.

Improvement in that area tends to come with consistent playing time, though, and I think if he stays in the lineup night in and night out, we're going to see him puck-watching in his own end less as time goes on.

6. Cutter Gauthier, LW, Columbus Blue Jackets

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Original selection: David Jiricek

I wish I could say that I didn't think Cutter Gauthier would also request a trade away from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but I can't. Maybe he wouldn't! But for me, this scenario plays out very similarly to his time in Philadelphia, with maybe a whack at some NHL ice time first.

Tough luck on that one, Blue Jackets.

When he's at the top of his game, Gauthier is the player that he says he is. There's no doubting that. And it's been really nice to watch that play out, particularly as the Ducks get, well, somewhat less bad than they have been. If the Blue Jackets had managed to convince him to stick around in this hypothetical, they would've been blessed with his elite shot and phenomenal speed, both of which are gifts to any team. If he has the puck, he's shooting it. He doesn't shy away from the physical side of the game, either. I truly think we're going to see a breakout season from him this year.

7. David Jiricek, D, Chicago Blackhawks

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Original selection: Kevin Korchinski

A different defenseman in the same spot!

Maybe the Chicago Blackhawks would hypothetically do better by David Jiricek than they have by Kevin Korchinski. And then again, maybe they would not have. Jiricek, who was recently sent down to the AHL by the Minnesota Wild, appears to be having similar struggles to those he has had throughout his NHL career and to how things have unfolded for Korchinski in Chicago.

I don't hate that the Wild are being patient with Jiricek, but being yo-yoed around for five seasons at this point has to feel, at the very least, disorienting (last year's lacerated spleen likely didn't help). And I'm honestly not positive it would've been any different in Chicago, which, as a team, has absolutely been in a worse spot than either the Wild or the Blue Jackets.

With that being said, I still have faith in the potential of Jiricek—his skating, his shot, and his poise haven't gone anywhere, and I think we'll see them used to their fullest sooner than later.

8. Pavel Mintyukov, D, Detroit Red Wings

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Original selection: Marco Kasper

Pavel Mintyukov has fallen a couple of slots since the last time we did this through absolutely no fault of his own; it's just one of those times where I like what other players are doing better.

Redrafts are like one of those multiple-choice tests where sometimes the answer is A or C. One of the first things that jumps out at me with regard to having Mintyukov go to the Detroit Red Wings in this draft is that I would absolutely love to see him and Moritz Seider on the same team. Between Seider's shutdown abilities and the way Mintyukov can bait opponents into screwing up, I think it could be really fun.

So far this season, Mintyukov is averaging about 15 minutes per game, down from almost 19 in his first season and about 17.5 last year. I don't hate that for him; I think if things can spread out a little more, we'll see him thrive and really see his offensive mindset come out to play. Even without that, he's a valuable defenseman whose poise would be well received by a team like the Red Wings.

9. Kevin Korchinski, D, Buffalo Sabres

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Original Selection: Matthew Savoie

I think that I owe this hypothetical version of Kevin Korchinski an apology.

This is maybe the only place I could've sent him that would've been worse for him than the Chicago Blackhawks. But such is life. Or such are the dangers of re-drafts, anyway. I've called Korchinski out recently as a player who could use a fresh start somewhere else, but this definitely wasn't what I meant. 

I'm on record more than once as saying that Buffalo, of late, is a terrible development environment for young prospects. They're near the top of my list for the worst, alongside teams like the New York Rangers. With that in mind, I think it's a coin toss whether Korchinski would've followed the same trajectory he's had in Chicago, or if he would've been rushed to the NHL and kept there, potentially having his confidence crushed. If he'd been given room to flourish, however, these hypothetical Sabres could have a defenseman who excels in transition and frustrates opponents down that middle lane, and who one day could be a true power play quarterback.

He needs to tighten up his decision-making, and frankly, most defensemen at this age do.

10. Frank Nazar, C, Anaheim Ducks

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Original selection: Pavel Mintyukov

I'm not going to lie, I really love the idea of Frank Nazar on the Anaheim Ducks, but there's a two-way street here for how things would play out in this hypothetical universe. \

One: Nazar ends up wearing out his welcome and being sent elsewhere, only to thrive in that new place, much like Trevor Zegras. Two: he sticks around and is a key piece of the Ducks' roster for a long time. 

The University of Michigan graduate is in his second true NHL season (he played three games at the end of the 2023-24 season) and is currently a point-per-game player with 11 in 11. That feels like a much more accurate representation of who we're going to see Nazar be as a player than his rookie-season totals of 26 points in 53 games, which came in a season when the Blackhawks' general manager, Kyle Davidson, called out Nazar's "elite speed and playmaking abilities".

As Nazar gets better, maybe the Blackhawks will get better (I even nearly typed that with a straight face; did you manage to read it with one?). Regardless of the real world, Nazar on the Ducks is a really fun alternate universe. Enjoy imagining it with me.