2022 Draft: Wright, Slafkovsky, Cooley to share spotlight at Combine

Shane Wright, Juraj Slafkovsky and Logan Cooley, each a projected top-three pick in the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft, are among 96 prospects invited to participate in the 2022 NHL Scouting Combine at KeyBank Center and HarborCenter in Buffalo beginning Monday.

It marks the first time in three years the combine will be held with the event canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. The combine will run May 30-June 4.
"The NHL Combine is a rite of passage on a players' path to the NHL and is an event that NHL clubs and prospects look forward to participating in," said Dan Marr, Director of NHL Central Scouting. "Leading up to the 2022 draft, everyone in hockey has embraced the resumption of a full hockey season and playoffs and are both anxious and eager to partake in the combine experience."
The combine gives the 32 NHL teams physical and medical assessments of the top prospects ahead of the 2022 draft at Bell Centre in Montreal on July 7-8.
"The NHL Combine is the final showcase event before the NHL draft and it's a week full of interviews, medicals and fitness testing where the players get to interact with NHL personnel and the NHL clubs get to learn as much as possible about the future stars of our game," Marr said.
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The one change originally planned for 2020 is the incorporation of NHL and American Hockey League strength coaches in the role of fitness test administrators.
There will be 63 forwards, 30 defensemen, and three goalies attending the combine. All are listed in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings of North American and International skaters and goaltenders.
Teams can have 1-on-1 interviews with the prospects at KeyBank Center from Monday through Friday. The medical examinations will take place Wednesday, and seven of the 11 fitness tests will occur at HarborCenter on Saturday (standing height, wingspan, standing long jump, bench press, pro agility test, pull ups, Wingate Cycle Ergometer test).
No player can test until clearing medical screening.
Wright (6-foot, 191 pounds), a center with Kingston in the Ontario Hockey League, is No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters eligible for the 2022 draft and expected to be chosen No. 1 by the Montreal Canadiens. The New Jersey Devils hold the No. 2 selection, and the Arizona Coyotes have the No. 3 pick.
The 18-year-old was eighth in the OHL with 94 points (32 goals, 62 assists), and had 28 power-play points (eight goals, 20 assists) in 63 regular-season games. He had 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) and was 50.2 percent on face-offs (132-for-263) in 11 playoff games.
Slafkovsky (6-3, 218), a left wing with TPS in Liiga, is No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's ranking of International skaters. He had 10 points (five goals, five assists) and averaged 14:11 of ice time in 31 games this season, his first with TPS. He scored seven points (two goals, five assists) while averaging 15:28 of ice time in 18 playoff games.
Slafkovsky is Slovakia-born but has lived and played in Finland the past three seasons. He was named the most valuable player at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. At 17 years old (he turned 18 on March 30), Slafkovsky scored a tournament-best seven goals in seven games to help Slovakia win the bronze medal, its first in men's Olympic hockey. His seven points tied for the tournament lead, he led Slovakia with 24 shots on goal and averaged 15:50 of ice time despite being the youngest player in the tournament.
He is expected to arrive in Buffalo after playing in the 2022 IIHF World Championship.
Cooley (5-10, 174) of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 Team is No. 2 on the North American skater list. The 18-year-old was second on the NTDP with 75 points (27 goals, 48 assists) in 51 games. He had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) and 23 shots on goal in six games to help the United States finish second at the 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
"Getting the chance to talk to different NHL teams; some have asked to take me out to dinner, so I think that'll be pretty fun," Cooley said. "Just to get an idea what the teams are thinking. I think just meeting some new people there, all the different prospects, it'll be pretty cool to see in person and maybe talk to them a little bit. Other than that, I'm just excited to get it started and get the testing over with, too."
Other top North American skaters invited are left wing Cutter Gauthier (6-2, 189; No. 3 in NHL Central Scouting's ranking of North American skaters) of the NTDP, and centers Matthew Savoie (5-9, 175, No. 4) and Conor Geekie (6-3, 196; No. 5) of Winnipeg in the Western Hockey League.
Cooley and Gauthier are among nine NTDP players scheduled to attend.
Slafkovsky is expected to be joined by 23 other International skaters, among them right wing Joakim Kemell (5-11, 171; No. 2 in NHL Central Scouting's ranking of International skaters) of JYP in Liiga, and defensemen Simon Nemec (6-0, 190; No. 3) of Nitra in Slovakia's top professional men's league and David Jiricek (6-3, 189; No. 4) of Plzen in Czechia's top professional men's league.
Tyler Brennan (6-4, 184) of Prince George in the NHL, No. 1 in the final ranking of North American goalies, is one of three at the position heading to the Combine. He was 11-25-2 with a 3.58 goals-against average, .899 save percentage and four shutouts in 39 games, and 0-3 with a 1.86 GAA and .954 save percentage in four playoff games.
2022 NHL Scouting Combine player list
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