Prospects

The next time you see Matthew Savoie could be as walks on stage in Montreal at the 2022 NHL Draft. One of the top prospects in this years class, Savoie’s Winnipeg Ice are still alive in the WHL playoffs, but the skilled center has not been playing with them. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman reports that Savoie injury he suffered earlier in the series and is now considered unlikely to return this postseason. Pronman notes that the injury is not long-term and Savoie could hypothetically be back for the Memorial Cup next month, but down 3-1 to the Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL semifinals, the Ice likely aren’t making it that far. Fortunately, Savoie has done more than enough to cement his spot as a top-ten prospect this year. Long considered one of top talents of the 2022 class, Savoie recorded 35 goals and 90 points in 65 games with Winnipeg this year and tacked on a dozen more points in ten playoff games to silence any doubters. He will hear his name called very early on July 7, whether he plays again before then or not.

• No CHL team – or perhaps any team on the planet – is as hot as the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs right now. The top-seeded team is undefeated in the postseason, sweeping each of their first two series and picking up a win last night to go up 3-0 in their semifinal series. It seems a virtual lock that Hamilton will be OHL champs this year and the team to beat at the Memorial Cup. No one is happier about that than Logan Morrison. Passed over in the 2020 NHL Draft and ignored in the 2021 Draft after missing last season due to the OHL’s COVID shutdown, Morrison is making it impossible for teams to overlook him in his third and final draft go-round. The two-way center recorded 34 goals and 66 assists for 100 points in just 60 games this season with Hamilton, finishing sixth in the league in scoring and second in plus/minus at a whopping +44. The longer that Morrison and the Bulldogs play, the more eyes will be on the 19-year-old – and he is giving them something to watch. Morrison has a league-high 13 goals to go with 24 points and a +15 rating in only 11 postseason games thus far. He hope to take that hot streak right to draft day and be one of the rare third-year players to garner a high pick. TSN’s Craig Button recently ranked Morrison as the No. 86 prospect in the draft class, but at this rate the late third round could only be the floor for Morrison.
• Almost every player selected in the NHL Draft comes from either a junior or professional league. However, there are always a sizeable selection of high school players taken and that trend has grown of late. Specifically, in recent years there have been more prep school players going straight to the NCAA the next season garnering looks in the early rounds. The New England Hockey Journal’s Mark Divver notes that a couple more could be coming this year out of Massachusetts. Defenseman Michael Fisher and forward Ben MacDonald have each been invited to the NHL Draft Combine next week, Divver reports. The two have no junior experience, yet have been identified as among the top 96 players worth inviting to the combine. Fisher, who played at St. Mark’s and recorded 50 points in 28 games this year, brings the sought-after combination of size and skill and is headed to Northeastern University next year to keep developing. MacDonald, who played at Noble & Greenough and notched 29 points in 22 games this season, will eventually join Harvard University, but is set to suit up with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors next year. Both will be eager to take advantage of the increased exposure at the Combine and could earn an early selection in this year’s draft.