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The 2022 NHL draft came to a close on Friday night, and each of the league’s 32 teams are hoping their new additions can one day help them contend for a Stanley Cup.
While there were some surprises throughout the draft, perhaps nothing was more of a shock than Shane Wright being passed on by the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes with the top three picks.
Wright, who was widely believed to be the best player in this year’s class, was selected fourth overall by the Seattle Kraken. The pick is now being viewed as the steal of this year’s draft.
That said, let’s give the NHL’s 32 teams a grade for the picks they made over Thursday and Friday’s action.
2022 NHL Draft Grades
Anaheim Ducks: B
Arizona Coyotes: A
Boston Bruins: C
Buffalo Sabres: B+
Calgary Flames: C-
Carolina Hurricanes: C+
Chicago Blackhawks: B+
Colorado Avalanche: D+
Columbus Blue Jackets: A-
Dallas Stars: B
Detroit Red Wings: B-
Edmonton Oilers: C
Florida Panthers: C
Los Angeles Kings: B+
Minnesota Wild: B+
Montreal Canadiens: A+
Nashville Predators: B
New Jersey Devils: A-
New York Islanders: C
New York Rangers: B
Ottawa Senators: C+
Philadelphia Flyers: A-
Pittsburgh Penguins: C
San Jose Sharks: B+
St Louis Blues: C+
Seattle Kraken: A+
Tampa Bay Lightning: B-
Toronto Maple Leafs: B
Vancouver Canucks: C+
Vegas Golden Knights: C
Washington Capitals: B-
Winnipeg Jets: B
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens took one of the best young players in the draft, selecting Juraj Slafkovsky first overall. However, their decision to pass on Shane Wright was baffling to many.
That said, Slafkovsky should be a productive player for the Habs for years to come.
The 18-year-old helped lead Slovakia to a historic bronze medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, tallying seven goals in seven contests, including two in the bronze-medal game.
He also represented Slovakia at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, finishing with three goals and six assists in five games en route to a silver medal, and played his domestic hockey in the Finnish Liiga for TPS Turku.
In addition to selecting Slafkovsky, the Canadiens also picked Filip Mesar (No. 26), Owen Beck (No. 33) and Lane Hutson (No. 62) in the first two rounds. all of whom should see plenty of time at the NHL level.
So while the Habs passed on Wright, they still get an A+ for this year’s draft as they selected multiple players that could become staples in their lineup down the line.
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken got the steal of the draft when they selected Shane Wright fourth overall.
The 18-year-old was widely expected to be the top pick in this year’s class after an outstanding career with the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs.
While Wright got out to a slow start to the 2021-22 season with the Frontenacs, he still tallied 32 goals and 62 assists for 94 points in 63 regular-season games and added three goals and 11 assists in 11 playoff games.
Wright also represented Canada at the 2021 Under-18 World Championships, helping lead the Canadians to a gold medal. He notched nine goals and five assists in five games and was one of the best players of the tournament.
Considering Wright has been compared to Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron, the Kraken may have just drafted their future franchise center.
Seattle also selected Jagger Firkus (No. 35), Jani Nyman (No. 49), Niklas Kokko (No. 58) and David Goyette (No. 61) in the second round. The Kraken have a great 2022 class that is sure to prepare them well for the future. which is why they received an A+.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche made just two picks in this year’s draft—one in the sixth round and one in the seventh, selecting a right-handed defenseman in Chris Romaine at No. 193 and a goaltender in Ivan Zhigalov at No. 225.
Colorado made a number of deals that included draft picks to make its 2021-22 squad better and, after winning the Stanley Cup, the front office probably has no regrets about losing some of those picks.
However, it’s hard to give the Avalanche a grade higher than a D when they didn’t add much to their prospect pool this week.
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