The NHL draft is when teams are focused on the future, and there’s a lot of promising young talent available in this year’s class.
You’re starting to see the first group of young NHL prospects affected by the pandemic, which means there’s some uncertainty surrounding their development after some of these kids missed more than a year of action.
There may not be a generational talent available in this draft class like Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid. Still, there’s no doubt some of these prospects will turn into core players for the respective franchises that select them.
The Montreal Canadiens are set to host the draft for the first time since 2009, which has a lot of intrigue with the host team also boasting the number one overall selection. The last time the Habs had the first overall pick, they picked Doug Wickenheiser, which didn’t exactly go as planned for the team.
Montreal’s general manager Kent Hughes said on Monday that the club had narrowed their selection to three players, Shane Wright, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Logan Cooley. There’s a case to be made for each of these young players, and it’s going to be interesting to follow the chatter over the next 30 hours before them being on the clock.
After making a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021, the Habs went from second place to 32nd, and they now have a chance to bolster their system, which was lacking high-end talent.
If you wanted to feel old, this year’s class comprises prospects born between Sept. 16, 2003, and Sept. 15, 2004.
Who Were the Last Five First Overall Picks?2021-Owen Power (Buffalo Sabres)
2020-Alexis Lafreniere (New York Rangers)
2019-Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils)
2018-Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres)
2017-Nico Hischier (New Jersey Devils)
When and Where is the NHL Draft?
First Round
Date: Jul. 7, 2022 | Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Montreal, Quebec | Stadium: Bell Centre
Rounds 2-7
Date: July 8th, 2022 | Time: 11:00 a.m. ET
How to Watch the NHL Draft?
TV: ESPN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports | Live Stream: ESPN+
Announcers: David Amber, Sam Cosentino, Jason Bukala, Pierre McGuire, Elliotte Friedman, Jeff Marek, Caroline Cameron, and Kyle Bukauskas
You can watch the game by launching the ESPN app.
How to Bet the NHL Draft
The Montreal Canadiens have been very tight-lipped about which direction they’ve been leaning towards with the first pick. There was a time when Shane Wright was over a -1000 favorite to be the selection, but there’s been a lot of buzz around Juraj Slafkovsky, who’s likely Wright’s most significant competitor to be drafted first. With that in mind, there could be some value in buying into that price of +185 for Slafkovsky to be selected by the Habs.
If the Habs ultimately go with Wright, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding Slafkovsky to the New Jersey Devils at second overall. If both of those things transpire and Logan Cooley goes off the board at three to the Arizona Coyotes, there could be value in looking towards David Jiricek at fourth overall, which is currently priced at +172.
Right now, you can look towards who the expected first overall selection will be from the Montreal Canadiens, along with the selections from picks two to four.
First Overall Pick Odds
| Player | Odds |
| Shane Wright | -300 |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 185 |
| Logan Cooley | 2100 |
Second Overall Pick Odds
| Player | Odds |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | -200 |
| Shane Wright | 250 |
| David Jiricek | 820 |
Third Overall Pick Odds
| Player | Odds |
| Logan Cooley | -225 |
| Simon Nemec | 470 |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 490 |
Fourth Overall Pick Odds
| Player | Odds |
| Simon Nemec | -188 |
| David Jiricek | 172 |
| Logan Cooley | 610 |
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