The 2022 NHL Draft gets underway tonight in Montreal (draft centre here), but all eyes in NL will be on the two provincial representatives – Paradise native Ryan Greene, and Bay Roberts native Riley Mercer.
Both players chose different paths to get to this destination. Mercer – the younger brother of New Jersey Devils forward Dawson Mercer – played one year of U18AAA with the Tri-Pen Osprey before re-locating to Drummondville, QC to play for the Voltigeurs. Greene, on the other hand, did not report to Charlottetown (QMJHL) and followed the USA hockey path instead.
Greene – by all accounts – will be the higher selection in this draft. Greene is ranked as high as 59th by Bob Mackenzie, but as low as 113th by Smaht Scouting. In typical AP fashion, I think they’re all wrong. There are so many teams in the NHL that are crying out for talented forwards, and the Green Bay Gamblers C/W fits that bill. Greene has exceptional vision with the biscuit on his stick, has exceptional skating mechanics and has a super accurate shot when he elects to shoot. If Greene was on a better team last season, his draft stock would be much higher. The Gamblers finished last in the USHL’s Eastern Division last season with a 23-34-3-2 record, missing the playoffs and robbing Greene of the chance to get extra looks from the ‘scouties’. Despite being on a dog sh*t team, Greene still finished with 51 points in 59 games played (19-32-51). Here’s a clip of what Ryan Greene can do in the open ice:
Mercer – on the other hand – split time in the Volts crease with Jacob Goobie and has been a bit of a depth chart casualty to this point in his Q career. Mercer – the former 2nd round QMJHL selection – had to cut his teeth behind stud Franky Lapenna until the latter was traded to Charlottetown around Christmas time. Mercer started 25 games last year and sported a 3.62 GAA/.886 save percentage, however, I believe that he is better than his stats show. The Volts were a super young team last year, especially on the blue line where they played 2 16 year olds regularly (Rotondi and Beaudry). If Mercer gets drafted, it is of the late round flier variety especially given his family pedigree and vitals (6’1 and a lean 205 lbs). The fact that Mercer really hasn’t been a true starter in the QMJHL to date will effect when he is drafted (ranked 32nd amongst North American goalies for this draft), but a team who can dig a little deeper on this player will get tremendous value out of this selection.
Fearless Prediction (Greene’s Draft Position and team): Round 2 (Pick 57) to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Fearless Prediction (Mercer’s Draft Position and team): Round 7 (Pick 198) to the New Jersey Devils
Related Content
Greene Selected to QJC Camp Article – https://vhghockey.ca/nl-hockey-tidbits-greene-dean-wjc-butler/
Full NHL Draft Order – https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/34121288/2022-nhl-draft-order-full-list-all-225-picks
Article talking about Greene – https://vhghockey.ca/vhg-boys-stick-taps-an-all-too-familiar-place/
*** Stay tuned for an exclusive interview with Ryan Greene a couple of days after the NHL Draft! Video will be on our YouTube channel – www.youtube.com/visionhockeygroup