NHL Central Scouting released their Watch List for the 2022 NHL Draft. Future Minnesota Gopher and Dellwood native Ryan Chesley highlights the 20 Minnesotans on the list as he was given an ‘A’ ranking by CSS. The ‘A’ ranking indicates that Chesley is viewed as a possible first round draft pick. Of the players listed, three of them are considered “overagers” as they we’re eligible for the 2021 NHL Draft. The 2022 NHL Draft will be on July 7th and 8th and be held in Montreal.
Here are some other Minnesotans that are not on Central Scouting Watch List that could be considered for the 2022 NHL Draft: Casy Laylin, Dylan Godbout, Nick Baer, Jake Sondreal, Zach Sondreal, Reed Kluender, August Falloon, Carson Reed, Will Schumacher, and Jacksen Panzer.
| Grade | Player | Hometown | Team |
| A | Ryan Chesley | Dellwood | NTDP U-18 |
| B | Cruz Lucius | Grant | NTDP U-18 |
| B | Zam Plante | Hermantown | Hermantown HS |
| B | Sam Rinzel | Chaska | Chaska HS |
| B | Jimmy Snuggerud | Chaska | NTDP U-18 |
| C | Trey Ausmus | East Grand Forks | Madison (USHL) |
| C | Alex Bump | Prior Lake | Prior Lake HS |
| C | Maddox Fleming | Rochester | NTDP U-18 |
| C | Leo Gruba | Stillwater | Hill-Murray |
| C | Barrett Hall | Apple Valley | Gentry Academy |
| C | *Jack Harvey | Stacy | Chicago (USHL) |
| C | *Tyler Haskins | Rochester | Madison (USHL) |
| C | Weston Knox | Andover | Andover |
| C | Finn Loftus | Blaine | Blaine |
| C | Gavin O’Connell | Plymouth | Wayzata |
| C | Nick Pierre | Cottage Grove | Sioux City (USHL) |
| C | *Aaron Pionk | Hermantown | Wilderness (NAHL) |
| C | Eric Pohlkamp | Brainerd | Cedar Rapids (USHL) |
| C | Tristan Sarsland | Plymouth | Benilde-St. Margaret’s |
| C | Wyatt Wurst | Edina | Edina |
*Overager