Golden Knights add depth up the middle in 2022 draft

The Golden Knights left the 2022 NHL draft in Montreal deeper up the middle than when they started.

The Knights, after sitting out the first round Thursday thanks to the Jack Eichel trade, selected centers with the first two of their six picks Friday. They got the Ontario Hockey League’s Matyas Sapovaliv at No. 48 in the second round and the Western Hockey League’s Jordan Gustafson at No. 79 in the third round.

It’s the fifth time in six drafts the team has selected a center with its first pick after Cody Glass (2017), Ivan Morozov (2018), Peyton Krebs (2019) and Zach Dean (2021). The Knights are hoping Sapovaliv can follow in Morozov’s footsteps and go from second-round pick to key prospect in a few years.

“We were pretty excited,” Knights assistant director of player personnel Bob Lowes said. “Not having a first-round pick, you sit there and watch a lot of names come off the board. But you meet after the first round and you kind of plan your strategy for the rest of the draft. I thought it went quite well for us. We were really happy with the way things turned out.”

The Knights felt they could wait at No. 48 and still get a player they liked. They ended up with Sapovaliv. The 6-foot-3 pivot from the Czech Republic is a strong puck protector who played in all situations for the Saginaw Spirit. Sapovaliv had 18 goals and 34 assists in 68 games last season, finishing fourth among OHL rookies in scoring. He was 46th on TSN’s draft rankings.

Sapovaliv said his best attribute is his hockey sense and that he’s still working on his skating. Lowes said he thinks it will get better as Sapovaliv adds strength.

“I know I need to improve it a lot to make another step to be an NHL player,” Sapovaliv said.

The Knights then planned to attempt to move up from their third-round pick at No. 95 if a player they liked was available. They ultimately moved picks 95 and 135 to get Gustafson at No. 79. The 5-foot-10 Alberta native is considered a strong skater who can play a two-way game.

He was seventh on the Seattle Thunderbirds in scoring with 23 goals and 29 assists in 58 games. He also had four goals and 12 assists in 25 playoff games to help Seattle reach the WHL Final against Edmonton.

Gustafson was 72nd on TSN’s draft rankings and also played left wing for the Thunderbirds.

“We think there’s more offense even on the come,” Lowes said.

The Knights traded for their next pick as well, sending a 2023 third-round pick to Montreal to select goaltender Cameron Whitehead at No. 128 in the fourth round. The 6-foot-3 netminder played in the United States Hockey League last year and is committed to Northeastern University for the 2023-24 season. He was 16-8-4 with an .892 save percentage and 3.19 goals-against average with the Lincoln Stars.

“I think I’m more of a hybrid-style goalie,” Whitehead said. “Very calm in the net and very technically sound but also has that athletic ability to make those saves.”

The Knights selected another center in Patrick Guay at No. 145 in the fifth round. The 20-year-old is only 5-foot-9 but had incredible production last season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, with 55 goals and 49 assists in 68 games. Guay played on the same Charlottetown Islanders team as Knights prospects Lukas Cormier (2020 third round) and Jakub Brabenec (2021 fourth round).

The team rounded out its draft class with WHL right wing Ben Hemmerling in the sixth round (No. 177) and British Columbia Hockey League defenseman Abram Wiebe in the seventh (No. 209). It was the latest the Knights have ever selected their first defenseman.

“There were some really good defensemen at the top,” Lowes said. “The forwards we thought were just better assets at where we were taking them and there were more of them.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.