Manitoba leads all Canadian provinces with 3 players taken in 1st round of NHL draft

Players with Manitoba connections featured prominently in the first round of the 2022 National Hockey League Entry Draft Thursday night.

The Prairie province with a tiny population had three homegrown players selected in the first round — more than any other Canadian province or American state.

Winnipeg Ice forward Conor Geekie led the parade to the podium at the Bell Centre in Montreal, going 11th overall to the Arizona Coyotes. The lanky centre from Strathclair, Man., tallied 24 goals and 46 assists in 63 games for the Ice in 2021-22.

With the very next pick, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected defenceman Denton Mateychuk, from Dominion City, Man. A solid two-way blueliner, Mateychuk finished with 64 points in 65 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors last season.

The big night for Manitoba players continued when the Pittsburgh Penguins selected St. Adolphe's Owen Pickering with the 21st pick. The left-shot defenceman had nine goals and 24 assists in 62 games for the Swift Current Broncos last season.

The Winnipeg Jets had a pair of picks in the first round.

With the 14th overall pick, the Jets chose forward Rutger McGroarty, who spent the past two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team.

McGroarty, who hails from Lincoln, Neb., has committed to play in the NCAA with the University of Michigan — a familiar training ground for previous Jets prospects, including Kyle Connor, Andrew Copp and Jacob Trouba.

The Jets also held the 30th overall pick, part of the package they received in the trade that sent Copp to the New York Rangers last season. With that pick, they took forward Brad Lambert, who was born in Finland but has a Canadian father who played six seasons in the NHL.

Another first-round pick with Manitoba connections was Winnipeg Ice forward Matthew Savoie, who was taken ninth overall by the Buffalo Sabres. The shifty centre from St. Albert, Alta., led the Ice with 90 points in 65 games last season.