2022 NHL Draft: Wild select Hunter Haight with 47th overall pick

The Minnesota Wild started off their day with a clear motive: Keep on getting more stable and creative down the middle with some sturdy forwards, by selecting Hunter Haight with the 47th overall pick.

Haight, 5-foot-10, 174 lbs, played last year for OHL’s Barrie Colts, scoring 22 goals and 41 points in 63 games. Scouts have him penned as a potential breakout player in the CHL, as the team gets better around him. He certainly has some hands to put in the offensive-zone work and dish out to his teammates, if he can’t score goals himself.

The clear-cut best of the lot is Haight’s puck skills. You’ll often see him use that handling ability in unexpected, creative ways to get around opponents, out-manoeuvring them with deception at points and pure talent in others. An advanced give-and-go game allows him to work past well-positioned defenders, repositioning himself to collect the return pass and continue his approach. And once Haight gets past the first layer of the defence, there’s more than enough shooting and passing skill at his disposal to press his advantage to productive ends. — Elite Prospects

Might seem like a little bit of a reach by some rankings — was slotted as low as the late-second by some outlets — but it is someone to bank on and look for potential. This pick is certainly easier to swallow after Minnesota nailed their two first-rounders by selecting Liam Ohgren and Danila Yurov.

The Wild have five more picks remaining, so stay tuned!