The two players profiled in this article are rare for a number of reasons. They’ve both spent the last two seasons playing against men in their respective countries as defencemen; they’ve both suited up for top international tournaments (IIHF World Championships; Olympic Games) in their draft year while most of their peers are unlikely to even represent their countries at the U20 level; and neither are from Canada, the United States, Russia, Sweden, or Finland.
Enter David Jiu0159íu010dek and Šimon Nemec — the undisputed top defencemen of the 2022 class since day one, and the primary reason why, if I’m Pierre Dorion, I’m waiting until my name is on the clock before I trade the seventh overall pick.