New England prospects were shut out of the first round at the 2022 NHL Draft Thursday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The lack of locals among the first 32 picks wasn’t all that surprising, although Northeastern center Jack Hughes (Westwood, Mass.) was once considered a potential first-round pick.
Hughes’ father, longtime NHL agent Kent Hughes, was able to soak up some of the spotlight as he made the first overall pick in his first year as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, the host of the draft. Hughes and the Canadiens selected Slovakian left wing Juraj Slafkovsky with the first pick. He was the top-rated European skater, according to NHL Central Scouting. Fellow countryman Simon Nemec, a defenseman, went second to the New Jersey Devils.
With the fifth overall pick, the Philadelphia Flyers plucked NTDP left wing Cutter Gauthier, a Boston College commit. The Northville, Mich., native is a goal-scoring power forward who has always been at the top of the American '04 class, but his draft stock soared considerably this past season. In 54 games with the NTDP he scored 34 goals and 31 assists.
Below we'll run down New England options for day 2 of the draft.
