NHL Draft Notebook: Mateychuk, Nelson, Casey & More

Ryan Chesley is a physical two-way defenseman who excels in transition. He’s always moving around and has a long powerful stride that allows him to get up the ice. He made his presence felt laying the body every chance he got this game. It seemed to separate the opposition from the puck nearly every time. He showed great gap control on the rush and a high compete level when battling for the puck. His decision-making was outstanding, especially when he had the puck in his own zone. Very often he would be the guy to jump start breakouts with accurate passes allowing his team to attack the other way. I’d like to see more offense out of him because I think its in him and he’s just more focused on the defensive side of the game, which is just fine because he’s great on defense. I think he could be a very solid second-pairing, two-way defensemen with a chance of being on the first pair that will play a key piece on the penalty kill. In my eyes, Chesley is a top-five defenseman in the 2022 draft class and I’d have no problem taking him in the first half of the first round.

Ty Nelson is a skilled defenseman who has an ability to make an impact in all three zones. His skating ability and vision with the puck jumps out. He has a great low stance that allows him to accelerate quickly when the puck heads up ice while allowing him to close the gap on players if the puck transitions the other way. He was great at hitting teammates with a pass as they were breaking through the neutral zone and finding teammates through sticks in the offensive zone. He showed a willingness to activate into the rush with the puck and attack open space in transition in an attempt to create offensive zone time for his team. Defensively, he had good gap control and kept his opponents to the outside, limiting their ability to put pucks into high danger areas. In terms of improvement, Nelson sometimes struggles with own zone awareness. I found there were times where he would watch the play develop and allow opponents a little too much space to maneuver. Overall, Nelson excels as a puck moving defenseman who has lots of power play upside but needs to improve his own zone awareness. Based on this viewing, Nelson would be a worthy pick in the first few rounds of the draft.

Denton Mateychuk is dynamic with a capital “D” and is arguably the single most entertaining defenseman in the 2022 draft class. His playing style is very similar to that of Miro Heiskanen — exceptional skating ability combined with oodles of confidence and a superb competitiveness. Not only can he move around the ice effortlessly, he has fantastic conditioning and outworks players on the other team. What that looks like on the ice is Mateychuk appearing all over the place, constantly, leaving a gigantic stamp on shifts. He’s a monster on the rush, either carrying it himself or blazing up the ice to make himself a passing option, a shooting trailer, or just someone who draws opposing attention and opens up room for his mates as a result. Mateychuk will pinch all the way into the offensive zone and then hustle back hard to make sure he’s not putting his team in trouble, and is smart about when he makes those gambles. Mateychuk’s strides aren’t the longest naturally but he gets excellent extension and has ideal form. His footwork and edges are amazing, allowing him to move smoothly and quickly cover ground in any direction. Has no trouble at all escaping forecheck pressure. Mateychuk can gap up easily and will sometimes do it aggressively in the neutral zone. He’s laser-focused during his shifts and is comfortable thinking and reacting at his top speed, which is faster than pretty much everyone else’s top speed. Mateychuk’s hand-eye coordination is very good, and when you combine that with his other best assets he should become an elite stick-on-puck defender and gap controller in due time. He contributes offensively at even strength because he’s so involved in the play, and he’s an easy guy to put on the power play at this level, though I don’t know if his puck skill, playmaking or creativity are necessarily elite. Sometimes Mateychuk’s passes can be best described as hopeful, but those will become less frequent as he matures. He’ll score goals around the net when he goes there, but I see his point shot being better for tips than goals. Mateychuk is overflowing with upside, and if he can frequently put forth more games like this one he could make a case for himself to be the first defenseman taken in the 2022 draft and someone who gets picked within the single digits.