NHL mock draft 2022: Projections for all 32 first-round picks

The NHL draft can be nice and tidy when there's a franchise player at the top of the board like Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews, or when there's a consensus choice like Owen Power was for the Buffalo Sabres last year.

When there isn't, like in the 2022 NHL draft scheduled for Montreal's Bell Centre beginning Thursday night (7 ET, ESPN), things can get a little messy.

There isn't a generational talent in the draft. Some scouts feel there isn't even an immediate top-line player in the draft, either.

The top choice for most of the season was center Shane Wright of the Ontario Hockey League. He's a tremendous prospect. He's just not a generational talent. "The first thing I would say about…