The NHL Draft has just about arrived and we couldn’t be more excited! There are a lot of quality players in this year’s draft, but who are our top picks? Have a read on below to see all our top NHL picks for the draft in 2022:
Logan Cooley
NHL odds for #1 overall draft pick: +2100
Cooley played alongside Cutter Gauthier in the United States Developmental National Team Program. Cooley played Centre and if he passes on making the jump to the National Hockey League this season he will be making his way to Minneapolis to play for the University Of Minnesota. He is sure to be a star for the Golden Gophers and for whichever team picks him in this draft and holds the rights to his contract. He is a consensus top five pick in this year’s National Hockey League draft despite his smaller size at the Centre position.
Last season with USNTDP Under-18s he scored 27 Goals and added 48 Assists. When you add that to his contributions with the USA-18s in the World Junior Championships where he scored three goals and added seven assists, it shows that he is able to both pass and score and is a triple threat on the offensive end of the ice. While I still expect him to head to the Twin Cites and play a year in college I still look for him to be a top three pick in the 2022 National Hockey League draft.
Tony’s NHL Picks For 2022 Draft: Logan Cooley (+2100)
Shane Wright
NHL odds for #1 overall draft pick: -310
Wright is the consensus number one overall pick in the 2022 National Hockey League draft and it is very easy to see why that is the case. When the draft opens up it is almost guaranteed that he will be remaining in his native country of Canada and putting on a Montreal Canadiens uniform for the foreseeable future. In two seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs in the OHL he scored 71 Goals and was responsible for 89 more with his huge Assist numbers. Last year with the Canadian national team at the U18 World Junior Championships, he scored 9 Goals and added 5 Assists.
Wright is a right handed shooting Centre who excels both on the offensive and defensive end of the ice and has the potential to be an immediate contributor for the Habs. He has been unstoppable at every level on the offensive end and is going to score fast and score often as well as set his teammates up whenever he can. He is rated number one overall across the board and the only thing that stands between him and that honor is the last few days before the draft.
Tony’s NHL Picks For 2022 Draft: Shane Wright (-310)
Cutter Gauthier
NHL odds for #1 overall draft pick: +10000
Despite being born in Sweden he is a US International and has played his entire career on American soil. Gauthier played alongside Logan Cooley in the United States National Team Developmental Program. Like Cooley, he is also a Centre but he was moved to the Left Wing to accommodate Cooley and have them both on the ice at the same time. That makes him a solid prospect who can play multiple different positions on the ice and makes him that much more dangerous to anyone he is playing against as well.
Much like his former teammate, there is also the possibility that he will go the college route as he is slated to play in Chestnut Hill with the Boston College Eagles if he does not go straight to the National Hockey League. Gauthier was a solid contributor in the U18 World Junior Championship for the United States as he scored three times and assisted his teammates six times. He is a consensus top ten pick and I look for him to be a solid contributor no matter where he ends up next season and beyond.
Tony’s NHL Picks For 2022 Draft: Cutter Gauthier (+10000)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
