Wright persevered through missed season to be best player in 2022 Draft

The 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held July 7-8 at Bell Centre in Montreal. The first round will be July 7 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are July 8 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at center Shane Wright of Kingston in the Ontario Hockey League. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Shane Wright
has the confidence to succeed and the perseverance to thrive at any level of hockey.
He's really had no other choice to this point in his career.
A month after Hockey Canada granted him exceptional-player status in March 2019 at age 15, he was chosen No. 1 by Kingston in the Ontario Hockey League priority draft (regular draft age is 16). He was named rookie of the year in the Canadian Hockey League after he had 66 points (39 goals, 27 assists) in 58 games in 2019-20.
He was proving to be everything everyone expected. And then the OHL canceled its 2020-21 season due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
"It was just a lot of off-ice training, working out in my garage, the gym, trying to maintain my body as best as possible with weights, medicine balls, and I skated on rollerblades or wherever we could find ice," Wright said. "I mean, you can do all the skating you want but it's really tough to simulate a game-like scenario and that's something I missed a lot, something I definitely missed doing for sure."
He wasn't alone. But for a player of his status, a lost season was a missed opportunity to solidify his standing as the best the 2022 NHL Draft class had to offer.
To his credit, Wright did all he could this season to answer questions regarding his chances of developing into an NHL franchise player. He was eighth in the OHL with 94 points (32 goals, 62 assists) in 63 games, including 51 points (17 goals, 34 assists) in his final 32 games. He then had 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 11 OHL playoff games, including the overtime series-clinching goal in the first round against Oshawa.
The 18-year-old has established himself as a leading option to be the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Wright (6-foot, 199 pounds) was No. 1 in
NHL Central Scouting's ranking of North American skaters
from start to finish. He did so despite missing more than 13 months of competitive hockey. His last organized games prior to this OHL season was the 2021 IIHF World Under-18 Championship when he was second among all players with 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in five games while serving as captain for first-place Canada.
"He took to rollerblading, going 12 miles down park paths, until he was finally able to get ice time again," said Simon Wright, Shane's father. "Given all that was thrown at him and the world, quite frankly, he did the best he possibly could and absolutely worked his tail off."

Wright learned a lot about himself and what he needed to do to get to where he wants to be: In an NHL lineup and playing for the Stanley Cup.
The Montreal Canadiens have the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, the New Jersey Devils hold the No. 2 choice and the Arizona Coyotes will select No. 3.
"I'm someone who wants to win every single day," Wright said. "My mindset is not to win scoring titles, it's not to win MVPs, it's to win Stanley Cups. I believe that the way I play, my competitiveness and my drive to win is going to help do that."

The beginning

Tanya Wright, Shane's mother, jokes that her son was "our little border collie," growing up in Burlington, Ontario. He was always active, unable to sit still.
"He had a good imagination and he and his sister (Maddie, now 21 years old) were really close when they were little," Tanya said. "They'd play their imaginary toy games, but he was definitely just an active kid and that's why we joke that he's our border collie because he would wake up in the morning, and you had to run him, work it all out of him. Then he'd nap, wake up and you'd have to do it all over again until bedtime."

Simon remembers the competitions he'd hold with Shane during summers at the pool.
"We'd bring a ball and Shane would stand at the edge of the pool and I'd throw the ball and he'd attempt to catch it in mid-air, splash into the pool, get out, give you the ball and do it again," Simon said. "He'd want to make a competition out of everything, so I judged him on the catches.
"If he made a nice catch, I'd say, 'Oh, that was a Steven Stamkos,' so that was a 9.1 out of 10 (Stamkos wears No. 91). Every so often he'd hit a Connor McDavid, a 9.7. I'd even throw a little Wayne Gretzky at him sometimes, a 9.9 out of 10."
When you consider Wright has been playing with and against older players from when he was 6 years old, it's no wonder he's become a model of maturity. One season his parents held him back to play tyke AAA when he was 7, but after a dominant season they had him play up a level for good when he turned 8.
"He's handling social situations with fans and things with more patience than I think I would have expected even a couple years ago," Tanya said.
"There was one moment that really stuck out to me this season (against Oshawa in the OHL playoffs). A little boy came up and wanted him to sign something and take a picture, and while Shane was signing he asked the boy's name because he wanted to personalize it. After the parent took the picture, the boy said, 'Goodbye,' and Shane said goodbye but used his name. It was just a very mature interaction."

The Wright respect

Wright was playing with the Don Mills Flyers Minor Midget AAA team when he was granted exceptional-player status.
He was the sixth player to receive exceptional-player status, joining Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares (2005), Florida Panthers defensemen Aaron Ekblad (2011), Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (2012), Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman prospect
Sean Day
(2013), and Detroit Red Wings forward
Joe Veleno
(2015). Connor Bedard of Regina in the Western Hockey League became the seventh player to earn exceptional-player status in March 2020 (2023 NHL Draft eligible), and Michael Misa of Saginaw (OHL) was the eighth in April (2025 NHL Draft eligible).
"The biggest thing Shane took from that Don Mills group was culture," Simon Wright said. "The team itself obviously was incredibly skilled and the talent was off the charts. It shaped him in a lot of ways."
The 2018-19 Don Mills team won 77 games, had one overtime loss and six ties, and won the OHL Cup championship.
It was with the Don Mills program that Wright began a friendship with
Brennan Othmann
, who not only shares the same birthday as Wright (Jan. 5), but was selected right after him in 2019 OHL draft, going No. 2 to Flint at age 16.
"You don't need to be a special player to play with Shane," Othmann said. "You've just got to know where Shane is when he has the puck on his stick because he'll find you. We were buddies but really good competitors and I think that's what made me even more competitive. He and I did an outstanding job trying to get each other better."

Wright led the Greater Toronto Hockey League with 150 points (66 goals, 84 assists) in 72 games in 2018-19, with Othmann second with 146 points (66 goals, 80 assists) in 72 games. It was their third season playing together in the Don Mills program.
"Shane and Brennan just connected from Day One since they were each new to the team," Tanya said. "They bring out the best in each other, trust each other and they want the best for each other. They're like brothers."
Othmann, who this season was seventh in the OHL with 97 points (50 goals, 47 assists), three points more than Wright, was selected by the New York Rangers at No. 16 in the 2021 NHL Draft. Wright was with Othmann when New York made the pick.
"That night changed everything because he got to see his best friend's dreams be realized and he realized it was maybe getting closer for him to experience the same thing," Tanya said.
Said Othmann: "We like to joke around with teammates at Don Mills that Shane was like a robot, he's so mature. He knows exactly how to be a professional hockey player. He hasn't even seen a pro camp, hasn't played a pro game anywhere, and missed an entire year of junior hockey ... yet he still got it done as captain for Kingston this season."
There are some, however, who felt Wright failed to show enough consistency needed to be the clear-cut No. 1 pick in the draft.
"In the games I attended, Shane Wright just didn't do it for me this year," said a scout from a Western Conference team. "He's a good player, but he's no Connor McDavid."

Said Wright: "I'm kind of more methodical when I play, thinking the game ahead. I'm trying to read where the puck is going rather than skating into bad ice. I guess sometimes it can be perceived that I'm not competing hard, but I think that I'm reading the play, trying to think ahead of the play a little bit more."
Craig Button, TSN director of scouting, NHL analyst and a former NHL general manager, sees many similarities between Wright and Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron.
"The one term that really bugs me is the 'Wow factor,'" Button said. "Let's pull out the Patrice Bergeron file and show me how many nights he pulls you out of your seat. He is what he is. If Shane Wright was more selfish, he would have had 50 goals and 140 points, but that's not part of his DNA.
"Shane makes so many plays that are team-oriented and that's translating to the NHL with better players because better players are going to be able to take advantage, better players are going to be able to think at his level."

Connecting with Kesler

Wright has a connection with former NHL forward Ryan Kesler through their shared agent.
"He'll give me advice and has been such a good mentor," Wright said. "I'm really thankful to have someone I can lean on like that."
Kesler played 15 NHL seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks. Selected by the Canucks in the first round (No. 23) of the 2003 NHL Draft, Kesler had 573 points (258 goals, 315 assists) in 1,001 regular-season NHL games and 65 points (24 goals, 41 assists) in 101 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Among the topics Wright discussed with Kesler were face-offs, playing in the NHL, and maintaining a positive outlook during difficult times.

"Ryan's feedback was pretty simple and to the point when it came to face-offs," Simon said. "You get in that circle, look the guy in the face and say to yourself, 'I'm going to win this [darn] draw.' It's one of those instances where you have to have that hate and that 1-on-1 battle mentality when you enter the circle."
Wright won 49.9 percent of his face-offs this season while taking the fourth-most face-offs in the OHL (1,355) and winning the seventh-most (676).
"Ryan's helped ground Shane with respect to the League itself and understanding it because it's daunting," Simon said. "The NHL is a League where people get paid millions of dollars and it's the best of the best. He told Shane, 'I've seen you play, and you can do it.' He's been a good source of confidence in that sense."

Best player available

Button is steadfast in his claim that Wright is the best player available for the 2022 draft.
"Shane seems incredibly comfortable in his own skin and I think he's incredibly comfortable being his own player," Button said. "I see a brilliant, thinking player who can play in any situation. In every square inch of the ice he can make an impact."
NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr oversaw the meetings to determine the final rankings of North American skaters eligible for the 2022 draft.
"At the end of the day, it was just this completeness that there is to Shane Wright's game that was the determining factor to keep him No. 1 in Central Scouting's ranking," he said. "He has the innate ability to rise to the level of play required to get results, whether it's with his speed, his exceptionally quick hockey wits or just competing with a never give up approach."
Tanya, Simon and Maddie look forward to celebrating the moment Shane gets selected in the first round of the draft at Bell Centre in Montreal on July 7.
"I can't even imagine what it's going to be like," Tanya said. "I'm honestly just as excited about watching the reaction of Shane's grandparents and the immense pride they're going to feel for their grandson. It makes me tear up right now thinking about it."

Wright knows his actions on and off the ice will play a big part in any future success. The experience he's gained over the years, particularly under difficult circumstances, has played a vital part.
"At the next level, in the NHL, it's the best of the best so every little mistake you make, every bad play, is going to get exposed," Wright said. "I feel like I am ready. I feel like I can step in and I want to be a difference maker. I just don't want to be a guy that's kind of cruising along. I want to make sure that I make a difference in that League and for the team that I'm playing for.
"It's always been my attitude throughout this year and throughout my life that I want to be the best."
Photos:Wright family; Robert John Boucher, Kingston (OHL)
---
Listen: New episode of NHL Draft Class