Inside Scott Wheeler’s Bold 2022 NHL Draft Shake-Up: Which Stars Rise and Fall?
4. Seattle Kraken: C Shane Wright
Actual draft pick: No. 4 (change: none) to Seattle
My final ranking: No. 1 (change: -3)
It felt like people were starting to write Wright off (pun intended) and then he had a really solid first full season in the NHL last year, registering 44 points in 79 games and finishing fourth on the Kraken in scoring and tied for fourth in the 2022 draft class with Cutter Gauthier (who played three more games than he did) and ahead of Marco Kasper, Jiri Kulich and company.
He shot 20.9 percent, and that’ll regress, but his minutes should also go up (he played just 14:04 per game). He also did it as a center who played to respectable defensive results and is known for his detail and commitment off the puck. He’s going to have a long career as a very good player in the league still, even if we’re never going to look back on him as a No. 1 pick/exceptional status type. I think overexposure has also resulted in overanalysis of Wright, including by fans. I think I over-accounted for that at the time and that I knew deep down some of the offensive ceiling/lack of dynamism would make it difficult for him to stay at No. 1 on my list if I ranked him there, though.
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