2022 NHL Draft: Best prospects at every skill

The 2022 NHL Draft is now less than two weeks away. The closer we get to the eventual draft day, the more this class has grown on me. I still think it’s closer to an average, maybe a little bit below average group, but there is going to be a good number of these players that will reach the NHL and a few that could have pretty impactful careers.

One of the ways we hope to be able to predict that level of impact is how players perform in specific skills. This is a draft class where there are a lot of projects, but they have those one or more traits that are clearly translatable to the NHL. If a player can excel in specific skills, there’s at least an indication more of their game can come with it. If a player has no discernible NHL traits by now, it’s a lot harder to see them developing them in the coming years. So I wanted to get a look at the players that are particularly special at a number of key skills that I look for in players.

I kept this largely focused on players ranked as first-round talents, but a few others are included just because I think they’re exceptional in that particular trait relative to the rest of the field.

Hockey sense: Shane Wright

It’s a catch-all term, but it’s also a critical tool. Hockey sense is often the biggest separator for top prospects from the field. Wright has a complete understanding of what makes him successful and how he has to play to be effective. On top of that, he reads the game at a high level and can exploit weaknesses in defenses as a result. He plays the game at a cerebral, deliberate pace and it works for him. His vision is among the best in this draft, too.

Others of note: Conor Geekie, Logan Cooley

Overall playmaker: Logan Cooley

Cooley makes so many plays in a given game, it becomes hard to track. What makes him unique to the class is that he does everything pretty fast. His processing speed is special. He isn’t just a fast skater, he makes plays fast. Whether it’s in traffic, on the rush or creating space for himself, Cooley makes a lot of tough plays look easy. He distributes well and shows good creativity to open up more chances for his linemates. He has the hands to beat defenders 1-on-1, the vision to give his teammates a chance to score, the speed to create problems and the hockey sense to exploit mistakes or openings for offense. While I think he’s deadlier as a passer, he’s shown an ability to score on his own as well.

Others of note: Shane Wright, Matthew Savoie

Skating, forward: Brad Lambert

When Lambert gets going, he can fly. His skating stride is smooth and he has explosiveness, but it’s effortless. His ability to speed through the neutral zone is one of the biggest assets to his game. Not only is he good in straight lines, he can make moves with speed and exploit gaps. His mobility is probably the single biggest reason he still is perceived as a ‘top half of the first round’ prospect. It’s such an asset in the modern NHL that it’s going to make teams want to work with him to address other deficiencies in his game.

Others of note: Logan Cooley, Frank Nazar

Skating, defenseman: Seamus Casey

There are quite a few highly mobile, good-skating defensemen. I think the best overall feet for the blueliners, however, belong to Casey. He’s quick and shifty on his feet and is able to use his speed to his advantage when it comes to retrieving pucks ahead of the forecheck and escaping pressure in the defensive zone. There’s a fluidity to his stride and his ability to change direction quickly makes him tougher to track. As a smaller defenseman, he’s had to adapt his game both offensive and defensively and it all starts with his skating.

Others of note: Denton Mateychuk, Mattias Havelid

Wrist shot: Joakim Kemell

One of the best pure goal scorers in the draft, Kemell has a quick and accurate shot that he can get off from just about anywhere. He has a tight release that gets the puck off his stick in a hurry and beat goalies clean from distance many times this season. Kemell is very fluid in his shooting ability, which makes his shot more deceptive and surprising for goaltenders.

Others of note: Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Juraj Slafkovsky

Slap shot: David Jiricek

Any time you see Jiricek wind up, it feels like an event. He has a blistering slap shot that is heavy and accurate. Jiricek shoots to score and gets shots through with pretty solid regularity. He also has a great one-timer. Every time he leans into one, it’s to the net in a hurry and goalies just don’t see it coming. I think he could be a 15-goal scorer fairly consistently from the back end and would likely be on a top power play unit with that weapon.

Others of note: Elias Salomonsson, Rutger McGroarty

One-timer: Jiri Kulich

Kulich doesn’t always have that big windup and hammers the puck, but he connects so well for goals off the pass. He did it a ton at the U18 World Championship and there were plenty of examples in his regular season too. The thing that makes Kulich effective at this particular trait is his timing, his ability to find space and the precision with which he connects with his linemates. Sometimes it’s a big windup, most times it’s a quick snap and the goalie has no time to react. When he gets cooking, he’s a tough goal scorer to stop.

Others of note: Rutger McGroarty, David Jiricek

Release: Jagger Firkus

After watching a lot of clips on these players, the thing that always stood out to me about Firkus is how fast he gets pucks off his stick and how quickly the puck gets to the net. Firkus can shoot in stride, he can fire it from a stationary position, it just doesn’t matter. He scored 36 goals in the WHL this season and I think he’s going to be near unstoppable in that circuit next season. Goalies have a hard time picking up his shot.

Others of note: Joakim Kemell, Ivan Miroshnichenko

Puck handling: Logan Cooley

Been saying it for a while that Cooley is the most dynamic player in this draft. A lot of that has to do with his creative puck skills and ability to beat defenders 1-on-1. The speed/skill combo he has was uncontainable by most of his junior opponents this season. I think Cooley can sometimes overhandle, but it’s somewhat understandable given his success rate with the puck on his stick. His puck skills allow him to be even more dangerous in transition.

Others of note: Isaac Howard, Noah Ostlund

Passing forward: Shane Wright

When I’ve said in the past that I didn’t think Wright was particularly dynamic, I don’t want that to get confused. He tremendous touch on the puck, and can make those soft skill plays. You see it in both his shot and his passing. It’s quick, it’s accurate and even though he’s not quick or flashy about it, it’s precise. Vision and hockey sense go hand in hand with his distribution skills. Wright reads plays so well that it seems like he always makes the right decision with the puck and it’s made those on the ice with him a lot better.

Others of note: Logan Cooley, Noah Ostlund

Puck-moving defenseman: Lane Hutson

Hutson is one of the most dynamic, creative defensemen in this class. If he was even two inches taller, I bet we’re talking about him in the same breath as Simon Nemec and Jiricek. What I’ve always found fascinating about Hutson’s game is his ability to spot plays long before anyone else. He can make plays all over the ice and makes good decisions with the puck. He can carry pucks out of his own zone, but he can also create plays in the offensive zone by taking some chances and always finding the right option to distribute the puck to. His 63 points this season were the second highest ever for an NTDP defenseman, four points better than Adam Fox and 10 points better than Quinn Hughes’ best seasons at the same age at the program.

Others of note: Simon Nemec, Denton Mateychuk

Power game: Juraj Slafkovsky

Slafkovsky is just figuring out how to use his massive frame against professionals. We saw him really drive the net and win pucks off the walls more in the men’s World Championship. He can lower his shoulder and get to the inside with enough regularity that it’s becoming a more threatening part of his game. Slafkovsky has the ability to score from distance, but if he sees a lane to get to the inside and get to the net, he’s taking it and he’s difficult to stop.

Others of note: Conor Geekie, Cutter Gauthier

Compete level: Marco Kasper

One of the reasons Marco Kasper has risen up draft charts is because of how well he played down the stretch of this season, particularly in the SHL playoffs. He took on more minutes, played against tough competition and he handled himself well. What helps make him successful is that he plays with some edge and just never quits on any puck. As a younger player, he has to battle against older, stronger competitors and he still wins his share of those battles. The way he competes, plays with some speed and some snarl, is an especially attractive quality in a middle-six center, which is what he looks like he’ll be.

Others of note: Lane Hutson, Matthew Savoie

Best overall athlete: Cutter Gauthier

One of the top performers at the combine, Gauthier possesses athleticism that translates well to hockey. He has good strength, especially in puck protection. He doesn’t seem to tire and keeps his motor running. To be as big as he is and to play the game as fluidly as he does, while maintaining some edge on top of it, is a rare commodity and a big reason teams have viewed Gauthier as an especially high-upside player projected inside the Top 10.

Others of note: Maveric Lamoureux, Marco Kasper

Most physical: Noah Warren

A 6-foot-5, 225-pund right-shot defenseman, Warren checks a lot of boxes that teams are looking for. I like his mobility, but I think his strength and physicality are what could get him drafted a lot higher than I ranked him on my final list (No. 62). He wins his share of battles and can plant forwards on their behinds with a good, clean check. Warren is the kind of guy who makes the opposition think twice about going in the corner with him.

Others of note: Rayan Bettahar, Lian Bichsel

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2022 NHL Draft: Best prospects at every skill

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