Bleacher Report

● By Lyle Richardson

Accuracy: 14.18%33rd Place
The 2022 NHL draft will be held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, with the first round starting at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday. Rounds 2-7 begin at 11 a.m. ET on Friday. This will be the first draft since 2019 with the respective managements and scouts of all 32 teams in an NHL arena with player prospects and fans in attendance. It should bring back a level of excitement and anticipation among NHL fans that was missing from the last two drafts, which were held remotely because of COVID-19. While the lottery on May 10 included the 16 teams that missed the playoffs, only the first two picks were determined. The Montreal Canadiens won the first overall pick, while the New Jersey Devils won the second selection. The 14 teams that left empty-handed were slotted based on the regular-season standings. The order of the remaining 16 teams was determined by elimination from the 2022 playoffs.

Top Players Not Included

These players appear in the top 32 of our

Consensus Big Board

, but do not show up in this mock.