A Look Into the Crystal Ball: Boldly predicting the future of the 2022 NHL draft class

For the past 11 months, the scouting community has had its sights (almost) squarely set on the 2022 crop of talent. Sure, we may have fallen a bit guilty of watching Connor Bedard and Matvei Michkov put on a show from time to time. But as the season wore on, the focus became highly fixated on this year's players. 

We look at where they are now. How their skills may translate to higher leagues. How their physical stature may or may not shift and mature to help facilitate that transition. We rank them with an eye toward the future. 

Well, today, we’re dusting off the old crystal ball and jumping into the future to paint a picture of how every shakes out. For this exercise, the year is 2030. The players from the 2022 class are now 25 or 26 years old. They’ve established themselves as everyday NHLers, or, more likely, they haven’t. 

What transpires is one strand of time that could become true. It’s meant to be fun, it’s meant to be a bit bold. Because let’s face it, seldom do we look back on a draft class and see the top-10 picks end up as the top-10 players from the group. There is always a surprise or seven.