As most European and Junior leagues begin to prepare for their upcoming seasons, I want to share twenty draft-eligible prospects that I’m keeping my eye on during the 2021-22 season.
The majority of the names I have listed are expected to be first round selections. There are a handful of others who are players I believe could take a huge step in their development this season, and could improve their potential draft ranking. There are also a couple players on my list that are son’s of former NHLers that I think could be drafted this year. Without further ado, let’s dive right into the twenty players on my list.
| Player | Country | Position | 2021-22 team | Initial draft projection |
| Shane Wright | Canada | Center | Kingston Frontenacs (OHL) | First round (Top 3) |
| Brad Lambert | Finland | Center/Right Wing | JYP (Liiga) | First round (Top 3) |
| Matthew Savoie | Canada | Center | Unknown, likely Winnipeg Ice (WHL) | First round (Top 10) |
| Simon Nemec | Slovakia | Defence | HK Nitra (Slovakia) | First round (Top 5) |
| Ivan Miroshnichenko | Russia | Left Wing | Omskie Yastreby (MHL) | First round (Top 10) |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | Slovakia | Left Wing | TPS (Liiga) | First round (Top 10) |
| David Jiricek | Czech Republic | Defence | HC Plzen (Czech) | First round (Top 15) |
| Jack Hughes | USA | Forward | Northeastern University (NCAA) | First round (Top 15) |
| Rutger McGroarty | USA | Center | USNTDP (USHL) | First round (Top 15) |
| Marco Kasper | Austria | Center | Rogle BK J20 (J20 Nationell) | First round |
| Joakim Kemell | Finland | Right Wing | JYP (Liiga) | First round |
| Noah Ostlund | Sweden | Center | Djurgardens IF J20 (J20 Nationell) | First round |
| Ludwig Persson | Sweden | Center/Left Wing | Frolunda HC J20 (J20 Nationell) | Second round |
| Adam Zlnka | Slovakia | Left Wing/Right Wing | Unknown, possibly Assat U18 (U18 SM-sarja) | Third round |
| Marek Hejduk | USA | Forward | USNTDP (USHL) | Fourth round |
| Joshua Niedermayer | USA/Canada | Defence | Penticton Vees (BCHL) | Fourth round |
| Patrik Gabriel | Slovakia | Center | SaiPa U20 (U20 SM-sarja) | Fourth round |
| Arseni Gordeyev | Russia | Forward | AKM Novomoskovsk (MHL) | Fifth round |
| Julian Lutz | Germany | Forward | EHC Munchen (DEL) | Fifth round |
| Kenta Isogai | Japan | Forward | Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) | Sixth round |
I will update this list a couple times throughout the season and give my input on if they have moved from the initial draft projection I have in this post.
Thanks to everyone who has been reading, I appreciate it.
-Cooper.