As players’ and teams’ seasons are ramping up around the WHL, NHL Central Scouting has released its 2022 NHL Draft preliminary players to watch list.
There are three players that have been given an ‘A’ ranking from the Western Hockey League, generally meaning that the scouting service has them pegged as first-round draft picks. In total there are 45 players named to the list.
‘B’ ranked prospects are second and third-round candidates while ‘C’ ranked prospects are fourth to seventh-round candidates.
The Winnipeg ICE has two players ranked as ‘A’ prospects, Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie. Winnipeg selected them at #1 and #2 overall at the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft. The third player on the list is Moose Jaw Warriors Denton Mateychuk, the 11th overall pick in the same draft.
10 of the players taken in the first round of the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft are listed as players to watch.
The Swift Current Broncos, Prince George Cougars, and Seattle Thunderbirds lead the way with four players on the list apiece.
Four teams do not have a player on the watch list.
The 2021 NHL Draft saw 33 WHL players selected, this follows 28 taken in 2020 and 2019.
The 2022 NHL Draft is scheduled for July 7-8, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec.
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