It all went to another level earlier this week when the highly regarded Bob McKenzie released his final list and ranked Juraj Slafkovsky first overall, ahead of Shane Wright.
Remember that McKenzie has never been wrong in his predictions of the first overall pick in over 13 years.
We're just stating the facts here. Our Habsfanatics rankings are as follows:
1- Shane Wright
2- Logan Cooley
3- Juraj Slafkovsky.
Now that we know all this and are slowly starting to digest the fact that Wright may not be the first overall pick, here comes another expert to add a big layer.
The highly respected Corey Pronman of The Athletic is probably one of the most connected and informed experts in the business. (When it comes to the NHL Draft) He's very close to many NHL team scouts and every year his Mock Draft is among the most reliable.
Pronman just released his famous Mock Draft 2022, in which he attempts to predict picks #1 through #225 (the entire draft) and he predicts quite a surprise regarding Shane Wright.
See his top-5:
1- Juraj Slafkovsky (to Montreal Canadiens)
2- David Jiricek (New Jersey Devils)
3- Logan Cooley (Arizona Coyotes)
4- Shane Wright (Seattle Kraken)
5- Cutter Gauthier (Philadelphia Flyers)
So The Athletic's expert predicts a surprise exclusion from the top-3 for Shane Wright. Wow.
We're talking about a kid who earned outstanding player status, in the OHL, at just 15 years old and dominated junior at 15. (Top scorer on his team)
If he actually makes it to the fourth pick, it would be a very big deal. Can you believe it?
To see Corey Pronman's other picks, it's here:
POLL | ||
Who do you think is the best player in the 2022 NHL draft? | ||
Shane Wright | 196 | 74.5 % |
Juraj Slafkovsky | 46 | 17.5 % |
Logan Cooley | 13 | 4.9 % |
Other | 8 | 3 % |
List of polls |