Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League is proud to announce 45 WHL players have been named to NHL Central Scouting’s ‘Preliminary Players to Watch’ List ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft. The ‘Players to Watch’ list was issued Tuesday by the NHL Central Scouting Service.
NHL Central Scouting identifies players with a rating system that includes four categories. The ‘A’ rating indicates players projected to be first-round candidates. The ‘B’ rating indicates players projected to be second- or third-round candidates, and the ‘C’ rating indicates players projected to be fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-round candidates. Though no players received this designation, ‘LV’ represents a player who has not had sufficient viewings, due to injury.
Three WHL players earned ‘A’ ratings: Winnipeg ICE forwards Conor Geekie and Matt Savoie, and Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Denton Mateychuk.
Five WHL players were given ‘B’ ratings, including Swift Current Broncos forward Josh Davies and Kamloops Blazers teammates Mats Lindgren and Fraser Minten. 37 WHL players received ‘C’ ratings.
Overall, 18 of 22 WHL Clubs are represented in the updated ‘Players to Watch’ List. The Prince George Cougars, Seattle Thunderbirds and Swift Current Broncos all boast four players each to lead WHL Clubs. Seven other WHL Clubs each have three players listed. Four WHL Clubs are represented with two players on the list, while four further WHL Clubs have a single player on NHL Central Scouting’s list.
A total of 24 WHL forwards find themselves on the list, joined by 15 WHL defencemen, and six WHL goaltenders.
2021-22 NHL Central Scouting ‘Players to Watch’ – WHL Players
| PTW | Last Name | First Name | Hometown | Team | Height | Weight | Position |
| A | Geekie | Conor | Strathclair, Man. | Winnipeg ICE | 6’3” | 193 | C |
| A | Mateychuk | Denton | Dominion City, Man. | Moose Jaw Warriors | 5’11” | 188 | D |
| A | Savoie | Matt | St. Albert, Alta. | Winnipeg ICE | 5’9” | 179 | C |
| B | Brennan | Tyler | Winnipeg, Man. | Prince George Cougars | 6’4” | 180 | G |
| B | Davies | Josh | Airdrie, Alta. | Swift Current Broncos | 5’9” | 197 | LW |
| B | Korchinski | Kevin | Saskatoon, Sask. | Seattle Thunderbirds | 6’1” | 185 | D |
| B | Lindgren | Mats | North Vancouver, B.C. | Kamloops Blazers | 5’11” | 173 | D |
| B | Minten | Fraser | Vancouver, B.C. | Kamloops Blazers | 6’1” | 185 | C |
| C | Alarie | Eric | Winnipeg, Man. | Moose Jaw Warriors | 6’1” | 197 | LW |
| C | Alscher | Marek | Kladno, Czech Rep. | Portland Winterhawks | 6’3” | 196 | D |
| C | Beaupit | Mason | Surrey, B.C. | Spokane Chiefs | 6’5” | 186 | G |
| C | Bell | Parker | Campbell River, B.C. | Tri-City Americans | 6’4” | 192 | LW |
| C | Bocharov | Pavel | Escondido, Cal. | Saskatoon Blades | 6’0” | 184 | D |
| C | Dowhaniuk | Keaton | Sherwood Park, Alta. | Prince George Cougars | 6’0” | 165 | D |
| C | Dyck | Reid | Winkler, Man. | Swift Current Broncos | 6’3” | 187 | G |
| C | Firkus | Jagger | Irma, Alta. | Moose Jaw Warriors | 5’10” | 153 | RW |
| C | Graham | Max | Kelowna. B.C. | Kelowna Rockets | 6’2” | 185 | C |
| C | Gronick | Kyren | Regina, Sask. | Prince George Cougars | 5’10” | 185 | LW |
| C | Gustafson | Jordan | Ardrossan, Alta. | Seattle Thunderbirds | 5’11” | 178 | C |
| C | Hanzel | Jeremy | Coquitlam, B.C. | Seattle Thunderbirds | 6’0” | 191 | D |
| C | Hemmerling | Ben | Sherwood Park, Alta. | Everett Silvertips | 5’10” | 159 | RW |
| C | Holt | Braden | Bozeman, Mont. | Everett Silvertips | 6’2” | 160 | G |
| C | Kieper | Matthew | Winnipeg, Man. | Regina Pats | 6’2” | 178 | G |
| C | Klavdiev | Yegor | Minsk, Belarus | Lethbridge Hurricanes | 5’10” | 170 | C |
| C | Kmec | Viliam | Kosice, Slovakia | Prince George Cougars | 6’2” | 198 | D |
| C | Lies | Justin | Flin Flon, Man. | Vancouver Giants | 6’1” | 205 | C |
| C | Lisowsky | Brandon | Port Coquitlam, B.C. | Saskatoon Blades | 5’8” | 171 | LW |
| C | McCutcheon | Logan | Saskatoon, Sask. | Lethbridge Hurricanes | 5’9” | 149 | D |
| C | Moravec | Petr | Hradec Kralove, Czech Rep. | Tri-City Americans | 6’0” | 181 | C |
| C | Nguyen | Marcus | Calgary, Alta. | Portland Winterhawks | 5’10” | 172 | RW |
| C | Pickering | Owen | St. Adolphe, Man. | Swift Current Broncos | 6’4” | 179 | D |
| C | Repcik | Peter | Kosice, Slovakia | Lethbridge Hurricanes | 6’0” | 172 | C |
| C | Roest | Austin | Coldstream, B.C. | Everett Silvertips | 5’9” | 169 | C |
| C | Schaefer | Reid | Spruce Grove, Alta. | Seattle Thunderbirds | 6’3” | 215 | LW |
| C | Schuurman | Brayden | Abbotsford, B.C. | Victoria Royals | 5’9” | 191 | C |
| C | Seminoff | Matthew | Coquitlam, B.C. | Kamloops Blazers | 5’10” | 161 | RW |
| C | Siepmann | Grayden | Abbotsford, B.C. | Calgary Hitmen | 5’10” | 175 | D |
| C | Suchanek | Tomas | Olomouc, Czech Rep. | Tri-City Americans | 6’0” | 171 | G |
| C | Sward | Graham | Abbotsford, B.C. | Spokane Chiefs | 6’2” | 180 | D |
| C | Szturc | Gabriel | Cesky Tesin, Czech Rep. | Kelowna Rockets | 5’10” | 177 | C |
| C | Thompson | Ryder | Russell, Man. | Portland Winterhawks | 5’11” | 172 | D |
| C | Uchacz | Kai | De Winton, Alta. | Red Deer Rebels | 6’1” | 190 | C |
| C | Ward | Mathew | Kamloops, B.C. | Swift Current Broncos | 5’8” | 156 | C |
| C | Weir | Jace | Coldstream, B.C. | Red Deer Rebels | 6’2” | 183 | D |
| C | Wright | Charlie | Olds, Alta. | Saskatoon Blades | 6’0” | 175 | D |
About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 22 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and five in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 375 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.
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