NHL Draft Blog: 28 WHL players selected
Montreal, QC – The 2022 NHL Draft festivities have commenced in Montreal and the two days promise to be full of exciting moments. It’s our goal at Winterhawks.com to keep our fans updated on all the happenings on the draft floor inside the Bell Centre this week.
Before we can get to the day two coverage of the draft, a day that will hopefully feature a few Winterhawks selected, let’s recap the first 32 picks of the draft.
ROUND 1
There was no shortage of Western Hockey League talent selected in round one of the NHL Draft. Six skaters who played in the league this past season were drafted Thursday night, which is tied for the most players selected in round one of the draft by any league.
Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Kevin Korchinski was the first WHL talent selected on Thursday, going 7th overall to the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago made a blockbuster trade with the Ottawa Senators hours before the draft to acquire the pick and they got their guy on the Winterhawks’ rival team.
A pair of Winnipeg ICE forwards – Matthew Savoie (9th overall to the Buffalo Sabres) and Conor Geekie (11th overall to the Arizona Coyotes) – heard their names called soon after Korchinski and Moose Jaw’s defenseman Denton Mateychuk went 12th overall to Columbus to give the WHL four of the first 12 picks.
Rounding out the WHL selections in the first round were Swift Current Broncos defenseman Owen Pickering (21st overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins) and Thunderbirds forward Reid Schaefer (32nd overall to the Edmonton Oilers).
Winterhawks prospect Jimmy Snuggerud heard his name called by the St. Louis Blues brass with the 23rd overall selection. Snuggerud played for the U.S. National Development program during the 2021-22 season and he’s expected to enroll at the University of Minnesota in the fall. The 6-foot-2, 187-pound winger will remain on the Winterhawks protected list and there’s always a chance down the road for Snuggerud to become a Winterhawk. For now, we’ll be cheering him on as a Gopher.
Also of note, a few unsigned prospects selected by Canadian Hockey League clubs in recent CHL Import Drafts were chosen in the first round. Focusing on the WHL prospects, Jonathan Lekkerimäki (Vancouver Giants), Joakim Kemell (Regina Pats), and Brad Lambert (Seattle Thunderbirds) were all first-round selections. We’ll see if those top end prospects opt to play juniors in North America next season.
The moment of the draft so far? Three Slovakian players were selected in the first round, which is the most Slovakian-born players ever drafted in the first round. Childhood friends Juraj Slafkovsky and Filip Mesar were both selected by the host team, the Montréal Canadiens, and fellow countryman Simon Nemec shared a celebratory embrace outside the Bell Centre.
Best moment of the #2022NHLDraft, and it’s not even close 🇸🇰 pic.twitter.com/bgUtGFS6IT
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) July 8, 2022
ROUND 2
The momentum continued for the WHL as two more skaters were selected in the first six picks of the second round.
No more than 90 seconds into Day 2 coverage of the draft, the Seattle Kraken were quick to take Moose Jaw Warriors forward Jagger Firkus. The Alberta native was named the Player of the Game for Team White in the 2022 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and ranked third in the WHL among draft eligible players with 36 goals this season.
Three picks later, the Toronto Maple Leafs headed west to select Kamloops Blazers forward Fraser Minten. The Vancouver, B.C. native had a productive season north or the border and finished strong with 16 points in 17 playoff games. Minten, 18, is the first of what could be a couple of Blazers selected today.
Eight Western Hockey League players in the first 38 picks? The most of any league by that point. You love to see it.
ROUND 3
A WINTERHAWK IS OFFICIALLY OFF THE BOARD.
With the 93rd overall pick in the third round, the Florida Panthers selected Winterhawks defenseman Marek Alscher with their first pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. Alscher recorded 16 points in 61 games during his first year in Portland. He became the third ever Winterhawk to be drafted by Florida, joining former Memorial Cup Champion and Winterhawks captain Joey Tetarenko and two-time recipient of the Winterhawks Defensive Player of the Year award John Ludvig.
Marek Alscher is heading to the Sunshine State! ☀️
The @FlaPanthers selected the Czechia defenseman with the 93rd overall pick. That's the second time in four years the Panthers have selected a Winterhawk defenseman (Johnny Ludvig, 2019) in the third round. #NHLDraft
— Nick Marek (@NicholasMarek) July 8, 2022
Two more WHLers joined Alscher in the third round. Jordan Gustafson became the third T-Bird selected in the draft when he heard his name called by the Vegas Golden Knights with the 79th overall pick. The Alberta-based centerman recorded 52 points in 58 games with Seattle during the 2021-22 season.
With the 89th overall selection, the Minnesota Wild went to Winnipeg to select overage forward Mikey Milne. Milne, 19, enjoyed a breakout season with the ICE scoring a career high 81 points while playing in all 68 regular season games. Joining the Thunderbirds, the ICE became the second WHL team to have three players selected in the first 90 picks.
Winterhawks prospect Aidan Thompson was also selected in the third round, going 90th overall to the Chicago Blackhawks. Thompson, 20, played last season with the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and will attend Denver University this year.
ROUND 4
Two Western Hockey League goaltenders headlined the four WHL players selected in the fourth round.
Prince George Cougars goaltender Tyler Brennan was the first to go in the round when the New Jersey Devils selected him with the 102nd overall pick. The 6-foot-4 Brennan was the top ranked North American goaltender according to NHL Central Scouting and he became the third goaltender selected overall.
Three WHL players went in back-to-back-to-back picks with Kamloops defenseman Mats Lindgren (#106 overall), Red Deer forward Ben King (#107 overall), and Spokane goaltender Mason Beaupit (#108 overall).
ROUND 5
It was another eventful round for the league with five current players selected, the highest output of WHL talent since the first round.
The first pick of the fifth round belonged to Montreal and they went with Seattle forward Jared Davidson. The 19-year-old center led the Thunderbirds in scoring with 89 points in 64 games.
Swift Current watched another player go off the board as Connor Hvidston was selected 139th overall by Anaheim. Ty Young, the second Prince George Cougars goaltender, was selected by Vancouver with the 144th pick and Spokane watched their second player get drafted when defenseman Graham Sward went 146th overall to Nashville.
Rounding out the fifth round for the WHL was Tri-City Americans forward Parker Bell. The 6-foot-4, 192-pound winger finished second on his team in scoring this past season with 49 points in 64 games.
On the prospect front, Winterhawks prospect Alex Bump was chosen with the 133rd overall pick by Philadelphia. Bump played last season with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL.
ROUND 6
Four in the fourth round, five in the fifth round, let’s go SEVEN WHL players in the sixth round.
Three Swift Current Broncos were selected in the round, as well as a pair of Everett Silvertips and Kamloops Blazers. The Broncos led all WHL clubs with five total selections during the 2022 NHL Draft.
- Josh Filmon, Swift Current (#166 overall, New Jersey)
- Daylan Kuefler, Kamloops (#174 overall, New York Islanders)
- Ben Hemmerling, Everett (#177 overall, Vegas)
- Matthew Seminoff, Kamloops (#179 overall, Dallas)
- Ryan Hofer, Everett (#181 overall, Washington)
- Reid Dyck, Swift Current (#183 overall, Boston)
- Josh Davies, Swift Current (#186 overall, Florida)
ROUND 7
Rounding things out, Saskatoon Blades forward Brandon Lisowsky was the last Western Hockey League player to hear his name called from the draft floor of the Bell Centre. The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted the 5-foot-9, 180-pound forward with the 218th overall selection after Lisowsky set new career highs with 33 goals and 58 points in 68 games.
In total, 28 Western Hockey League players were drafted and 82 of the 225 total picks hailed from the Canadian Hockey League.
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