NHL Draft 2022: Who are the winners and losers?

The biggest winner of the draft is not an individual or a team, but hockey itself, with the draft being held once again in person. Montreal hosted this return to normality after a two-year hiatus and the event felt like a big win for hockey fans everywhere.

With crowd reaction always playing a big part in the draft, none were more heartfelt than the shock at the Canadiens’ first overall pick as the plumped for Juraj Slafkovsky.

As the first big winner of the night, the Slovak became a surprise overall top pick, when Montreal decided to go for the goal-scoring forward rather than the expected attempt to fill a gap at the center position.

His win was also a big win for the country of Slovakia. Never before have they had a top pick, and now they had a bumper night, not only having one of their own go first, but got the second spot as well, when defenseman Simon Nemec went to the New Jersey Devils. When you take into account their bronze medal at the Winter Olympics, they are a small nation punching way above their weight.

Another big winner on the night was the Seattle Kraken who managed to pick up Shane Wright after Montreal’s out-of-the-blue move left him tumbling to fourth pick, making this the second elite center that Seattle has picked up in as many years. Ron Francis’ boast that he would build the franchise through drafts and not flashy signings seems to be working out for them so far.

The biggest losers of the draft were the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Black Hawks. With the Leafs trading the Hawks their first round pick, there was an expectation that they would suffer this draft, but the Hawks seem to have dribbled away any advantage that they might have had with their picks. They gave up a 40-goal scorer in Alex DeBrincat for even more picks, but have not yet addressed the gaping hole at the center of the organization, they don’t seem to have a general manager who knows when he is being fleeced.