Watch list: New England’s 2022 NHL draft prospects

NTDP product Jack Hughes, a Westwood, Mass., native, is committed to Northeastern. (Rena Laverty/USA Hockey)

It’s early, but scouts already are starting to take notes on players eligible for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Players born between September 16, 2003 and September 15, 2004 will be in their first year of draft eligibility during the 2021-22 season.

During the River Rats Jamboree and Eastern Alliance Kickoff, NHL amateur scouts were in the rinks to watch players eligible for 2021, but a couple of 2022 eligible prospects would have stood out in games that they might have been watching.

To me, the top three prospects for 2022 are pretty clear. After that, the waters get a little murkier. There’s obviously a lot of time for players to make an impression one way or another. Below is a look at the top 14 first-year-eligible prospects from New England for the 2022 NHL draft.