NHL Draft Wrap: Crazy Night, But Golden Knights Not Involved

Day one of the 2022 NHL Draft is over with tons and tons of crazy moves, surprises, and picks happening in Montreal. If you are an overall NHL fan, you’re having a blast. However, if you are solely a Vegas Golden Knights fan, you’re probably asleep and skipped the draft.

The Golden Knights traded away their first-round pick in the deal for Jack Eichel which gave the Buffalo Sabres the no. 16 overall pick which they used to select Noah Ostlund.

The Golden Knights did not make any picks, trades, or signings on Thursday. They will draft six times on Friday if nothing else changes. The VGK own their own second, fifth, sixth, and seventh-round picks.

They also have the New York Ranger’s second-round pick (Ryan Reaves trade), and the Chicago Blackhawk’s fifth-round pick (Mattias Janmark trade).

The VGK will draft 48th, 95th, 135th, 145th, 177th, and 209th overall. The 2022 NHL Draft Class is said to be a deep draft that lacks true superstars but has many future NHL players in it. The Golden Knights could go after someone like Danil Zhilkin, or Adam Sykora.

Vegas Hockey Now will have full coverage on each and every pick the Golden Knights make Friday.

Now, onto a recap of the hectic day that was Thursday, June 7th in the National Hockey League.

NHL News, Trades, and Draft Selections

Montreal: With the first overall pick, the Montreal Canadiens shocked many by choosing Juraj Slafkovsky over Shane Wright. This kickstarted, for the first time in NHL history, back-to-back top-2 Slovakian picks.

Draft: Wright then fell to pick no. 4 and was picked by the Seattle Kraken. Here’s a recap of every pick.

Minnesota: The Minnesota Wild have locked up former Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to a two-year extension worth $7 million or $3.5 million per season.

Pittsburgh: The Penguins locked up Kris Letang just in time for him to announce the team’s first-round pick (named Owen!).

Colorado: The Stanley Cup Champion Avalanche traded for Alexander Georgiev, which likely means Darcy Kuemper will be leaving the team in free agency.

Chicago: The firesale has started in Chicago with the Blackhawks tearing down and trading Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators and Kirby Dach to the Montreal Canadiens.

Long Island: The Islanders were involved in the Dach deal and acquired Alexander Romanov as a result.

The Blackhawks then added Petr Mrazek from the Toronto Maple Leafs later on.

Edmonton: The Oilers got rid of Zack Kassian’s contract by shipping him off to Arizona.

San Jose: The Sharks also made a trade at the draft, but it was just to move down and add picks. They also selected Filip Bystedt with their first-round pick.

Philadelphia: The stuck-in-limbo Philadelphia Flyers drafted Cutter Gauthier with their first-round pick.

Washington: The Capitals made the decision to pick a Russian and drafted Ivan Miroshnichenko.

Detroit: Steve Yzerman has a history of selecting under-the-radar players at the draft and this year they took Marco Kasper with their pick.

Vancouver: Lastly, the Vancouver Canucks took Jonathan Lekkerimaki with their first-round pick.