College Hockey Recruiting Class Rankings: 2022

Looking for an early edge in the college hockey recruiting process? Check out our class rankings for the 2022 recruiting cycle!

Introduction

Every year, college hockey programs all over the country add new recruiting classes with the hope that the incoming players will help lead their team to success. In order to see how successful each team’s recruiting class is, various media outlets release their own rankings of the top classes in the country.

One such outlet is college hockey News, who ranked the top 10 recruiting classes for the 2022 season. The list is as follows:

1. North Dakota
2. Minnesota Duluth
3. Boston College
4. Providence
5. Notre Dame
6. Denver
7. Minnesota
8. UMass Lowell
9. Clarkson
10. Northeastern

The Top Ten

These are the top ten college hockey recruiting classes for the 2022 season, according to NHL.com.

1. North Dakota
2. Michigan
3. Boston College
4. Minnesota Duluth
5. Notre Dame
6. Denver
7. Clarkson
8. Massachusetts
9. Ohio State
10. St. Cloud State

On the Bubble

Schools on the Bubble for the NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Recruiting Class Rankings:
-2022
-Boston College
-Providence
-UConn
– Northeastern

Just Missed the Cut

North Dakota State Western Michigan Providence, Northeastern, and UMass-Amherst all just missed the cut for the top 25.

The Rest of the Field

There are plenty of other schools outside of the Top 10 that are putting together strong recruiting classes for the 2022 season. Here is a look at some of the other notable programs:

--Boston College The Eagles have put together a solid class that is highlighted by defenseman Gavin Gulash and forward Dylan Peterson.
-Michigan: The Wolverines have a couple of high-end prospects in their class, led by forwards Matthew Beniers and Thomas Bordeleau.
-Minnesota: The Golden Gophers have a nice mix of forwards and defensemen in their class, headlined by forward Sam Stange and defenseman Jackson Laing.
--Notre Dame The Fighting Irish have a balanced class that features forwards Luke Tuch and Alex Steeves as well as defenseman Ryan Bischel.
--North Dakota The Fighting Hawks have a solid group of forwards led by Jasper Weatherby, Ryder Donovan, and Riese Gaber.

Sleeper Picks

With the 2021 NHL Entry Draft behind us, it’s time to take a early look at the top prospects for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft The 2022 class is loaded with talent, and there are a Number of players who have the potential to be first-round picks In this article, we will take a look at five sleeper picks in the 2022 NHL Draft class.

These are players who may not be getting a lot of attention right now, but who have the potential to develop into top prospects over the next few years.

Forwards

1. Dylan Guenther, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) – The first overall pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft, Guenther is an elite offensive talent. He had 32 goals and 72 points in 28 games as a 16-year-old rookie with the Oil Kings last season. He has all of the tools to be a top-line NHL scorer and could be a steal if he falls outside of the top 10 in the 2022 NHL Draft

2. Simon Edvinsson, Frölunda HC (SHL) – A big (6-foot-5, 200 pounds), mobile defenseman, Edvinsson is an excellent skater and has great puck skills for a player his size. He had one goal and four points in 36 games as a 16-year-old rookie in Sweden’s top league last season. Edvinsson could be a late first-round pick in 2022 and has the potential to develop into a top-pairing defenseman in the NHL.

3. Matthew Beniers, USA U18 (NTDP) – A 6-foot-2 center with great speed and skill, Beniers is currently ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect for the 2022 NHL Draft by TSN’s Craig Button. He had 23 goals and 50 points in 32 games as a 16-year-old with USA Hockey’s NTDP last season. Beniers is committed to playing college hockey at Michigan next season and could be a one-and-done player in college hockey before making his way to the NHL level.

4. Simon Lethonen, TPS U20 (Jr.) – A 6-foot goaltender with good athleticism and quickness, Lethonen posted a .924 save percentage in 25 games with TPS’ junior team last season. He also had a .917 save percentage in six games at the Under-18 World Junior Championship while representing Finland. Lethonen will play for HPK’s men’s team in Finland’s Liiga next season and could be drafted in either round one or two of the 2022 NHL Draft based on his development over the next year or two

Best of the Rest

The “Best of the Rest” is a list of college hockey’s top recruiting classes that did not make our top 10. These are the programs that just missed the cut and are worth keeping an eye on for the future.

Final Thoughts

It’s been an eventful year in the world of college hockey recruiting and we’ve finally reached the end of the road. The Class of 2022 is now officially locked in, and it’s time to take a look back at how everything shaking out.

There’s a lot to like about this class, which is highlighted by some very talented forwards. It’s not quite as deep as the 2021 class, but there are still plenty of impact players to be had.

As always, these rankings are based on a combination of talent and potential. If a player has all the talent in the world but is unlikely to ever see the ice, they’re not going to be ranked very high. Likewise, if a player doesn’t have a ton of raw talent but has a high ceiling, they’ll be ranked higher than someone with more talent but less upside.

Without further ado, here are our final college hockey recruiting class rankings for the Class of 2022:

Resources

There are a number of different resources that can be helpful when it comes to college hockey recruiting class rankings. One of the most important is the database maintained by the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA). This resource includes information on more than 35,000 college Hockey Players across North America and it is updated on a regular basis.

Another useful resource is Elite Prospects, which maintains a database of college hockey recruits from around the world. This resource includes information on more than 2,000 players, and it is updated on a daily basis.

Finally, college hockey Inc. maintains a list of the top 25 college hockey recruiting classes each year. This list is compiled by a panel of experts and takes into account a number of different factors, including incoming talent, Coaching Staff stability, and program history.

About the Author

Hi, I’m Cam Smith and I’m the college hockey recruiting analyst for USA Today My class rankings are done in conjunction with input from NCAA Division I coaches. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (@camsmith5) or via email ([email protected]).