Combining available preliminary draft rankings from different sources, 11 players appeared on all nine lists:
- Connor Bedard (F, WHL, Regina Pats)
- Adam Fantilli (F, NCAA, University of Michigan)
- Matvei Michkov (F, KHL, SKA St. Petersburg)
- Leo Carlsson (F, SHL, Orebro HK)
- Brayden Yager (F, WHL, Moose Jaw Warriors)
- Zach Benson (F, WHL, Winnipeg Ice)
- Dalibor Dvorsky (F, HockeyAllsvenskan, AIK)
- Calum Ritchie (F, OHL, Oshawa Generals)
- Eduard Sale (F, Czechia Tipsport Extraliga, HC Kometa Brno)
- Nate Danielson (F, WHL, Brandon Wheat Kings)
- Otto Stenberg (F, SHL, Frolunda HC)
Connor Bedard took the top spot on all lists. Adam Fantilli, Matvei Michkov and Zach Benson appeared in the top 10 in all lists.
The forward heavy draft features only five defenseman projected to go in and potentially one goaltender sneaking into the first round. WHL prospects dominate the projections with seven projected to go in the first 32 picks.
Expect several players projected to go in the first round to play significant roles on different teams at the upcoming World Junior Championships starting Dec. 26 in Moncton and Halifax.
United States
The only draft-eligible forwards playing for the United States both currently play in the NCAA–Charlie Stramel for the University of Wisconsin and Gavin Brindley for the University Michigan. Stramel ranks as high as tenth on Bob McKenzie’s list, and Smaht Scouting ranks Brindley ninth overall. Stramel appeared in one game for the U.S. in the August World Junior Championship and recorded five points in six games with the U18 team at the 2022 U18 World Junior Championships. Brindley recorded four points in six games at the U18 tournament.
Canada
Team Canada boasts the consensus first overall pick in Connor Bedard and a potential second overall pick in Adam Fantilli. Bedard led the WHL prior to joining Team Canada with 64 points in only 28 games for the Regina Pats. The phenom won gold with the U20 team at the August tournament, ranking fifth on the team with eight points in seven games after leading the U18 team with six goals and seven points in four games at the U18 tournament. Fantilli finished second on the U18 team with six points in four games and ranked second in the NCAA with a 1.63 point per game average with the University of Michigan.
Czechia
Ranked in the top 10 by six of nine scouting lists used in the combined rankings, Eduard Sale enters the tournament with three goals and six points in 26 games with HC Kometa Brno in the Cezchia Tipos Extraliga as a 17-year-old and ranked second on the U18 team at the 2022 tournament with nine points in six games.
Slovakia
After seeing Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec go first and second overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and Filip Mesar later in the first round, the Slovaks bring another trio of potential first round picks in Dalibor Dvorsky, Alex Ciernek and Maxim Strbak to the tournament. A projected top 10 pick, Dvorsky recorded two points in the August tournament and currently plays in the HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of professional hockey in Sweden, boasting eight points in 21 games. Ciernek plays in the same league and enters the tournament with three points in nine games after leading the U18 team with five goals and 12 points in five games as the team earned a promotion to the top division after winning the 2022 U18 World Junior Championship Division 1A tournament last season. Strbak, the son of former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Martin Strbak, plays for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL and recently committed to Michigan State University for next season. The blueliner appeared in four games with Slovakia at the August tournament after recording three assists in five games with the U18 team.
Sweden
A potential top five pick, Leo Carlsson looks impressive so far with 14 points 25 games with Orbero in the SHL as a 17-year-old after posting nine points in 35 games as a 16-year-old last season. Already 6’3″, 194 lbs., a solid tournament likely locks the blossoming power forward into a top five spot. Axel Sandin Pellikka, a potential late first round pick, boasts five points in 14 SHL games from the blueline.
Russia*
Russia remains suspended from IIHF competition, robbing scouts and fans from getting a look at Matvei Michkov, a potential number two overall selection, and Mikhail Gulyayev, a potential top 20 pick. Michkov boasts over a point per game average in the VHL, the second tier of professional hockey in Russia, and scored two goals while on loan to HK Sochi in the KHL. The sniper led the 2021 U18 World Junior Championship with 12 goals and 16 points in seven games. Gulyayev dominated the MHL, the top junior league in Russia, with 16 points in only nine games from the blueline and saw some time with Omskie Krylia in the VHL and Avangard Omsk in the KHL.