2022 NHL draft: Scouting the defensemen the Flyers could target with pick No. 5

With forwards Shane Wright and Juraj Slafkovský slated to go early in the 2022 NHL draft, one of the two top draft-eligible defensemen — Šimon Nemec and David Jiříček — could still be available for general manager Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers with the fifth-overall pick.

Here’s a scouting report of four defensemen expected to go in the first round of the draft, featuring insight from Daily Faceoff NHL draft and prospects analyst Chris Peters. This is the finale of a three-part series analyzing potential targets for the Flyers in the first round of the draft. Part one focused on European forwards and part two zeroed in on North American forwards.

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Age: 18

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 192 lbs.

Position: Defense

Shoots: Right

Club: HK Nitra (Slovak Extraliga)

Nemec got his first taste of pro hockey in the Slovak Extraliga at 15 years old. This year, he spent his second full pro season with HK Nitra and saw a jump in production (one goal, 25 assists in 40 games) compared with last season (two goals, 17 assists in 37 games). During the regular season, Nemec averaged about 20 minutes of ice time per game.

He was even better during the playoffs, registering five goals and 12 assists in 19 games, which ranked second on the team and first among defensemen. Nemec averaged 1.17 points per game in the final round of the playoffs against HC Slovan Bratislava, but Nitra ultimately lost in six games.

Nemec, who has plenty of experience competing for Slovakia, continued to shine on the international stage throughout 2021-22. As the captain of the silver-medal Slovak team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, Nemec posted one goal and five assists in five games and earned the tournament’s most valuable player award. He won bronze at the Olympics, made his second World Juniors appearance, and is currently competing at the World Championship.

An “elite-level puck mover,” Nemec is adept at getting out of his own zone, playing in transition, and extending plays, according to Peters. Nemec excels at keeping the puck away from the opponent. He is strong positionally and has great anticipation skills. To Peters, Nemec “very safely” projects into a top-four role, if not a top-pairing one, at the NHL level.

“His game has built throughout the season,” Peters said. “He could barely get on the ice at the Olympics, and now he’s playing at the World Championship, where they have better players available to them, and he’s playing second-pairing minutes. His season from the beginning to the end has been one of the strongest upward trajectories of any player.”

At 6-foot-1, Nemec relies on his stick more than he does his body when defending an opponent, a detail he’ll need to work on in order to take his game to the next level.

“I think there are smaller defenders in this draft that are better defensively than he is,” Peters said. “He still has a ways to go in the defensive game, especially in some of his details defensively, but it’s really come along quite a bit.”

Age: 18

Height: 6-foot-3

Weight: 190 lbs.

Position: Defense

Shoots: Right

Club: HC Plzeň (Czech Extraliga)

Similar to Nemec, Jiříček made his professional hockey debut in the 2019-20 season, playing in four games with Plzeň. In his second full professional season this year, Jiříček registered five goals and six assists in 29 games from Sep. 10 through Dec. 12. He averaged 18:25 of ice time per game.

» READ MORE: 2022 NHL draft: Scouting the top European forwards the Flyers could target at pick No. 5

Jiříček competed at the World Juniors for Czechia in 2021 as a 17-year-old and finished the tournament as one of the team’s top three players. At the abbreviated 2022 World Juniors, he suffered a knee injury against Canada that required surgery, knocking him out for the rest of his club season.

He recently returned to action at the World Championship, posting a goal and an assist in three games despite playing third-pairing minutes. To Peters, Jiříček looks “exactly the same” as he did before his injury.

When comparing him to Nemec, Peters called Jiříček a “better overall athlete” because he has more power and explosiveness. Jiříček moves “extremely well” for a 6-foot-3 defenseman and is a bigger scoring threat than Nemec is. Jiříček’s shot ranks at the top of the draft class, especially on one-timers.

“If you’re judging both Nemec and Jiříček at the same time, that size profile and that athleticism definitely gets you pretty excited,” Peters said. “I think that Nemec is the better puck-mover. I think he’s a little bit more refined offensively. But Jiříček, I just think he’s got an all-around game.”

Like Nemec, Jiříček needs to improve defensively in order to be relied upon in all situations, per Peters.

“I would like to see him get meaner, too, at his size,” Peters said. “He definitely can play the physical game. But I want to see him, especially when he’s playing amongst his peers, and we really won’t see that until maybe the summer World Juniors, I want to see him be a physically dominant player because he can be.”

Age: 18

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 192 lbs.

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Club: Saginaw Spirit (OHL)

Mintyukov planned to make the jump to the OHL from Russia in 2020-21, but COVID-19 shut the league down. He stayed in North America during the pandemic and made his debut with Saginaw this season.

Although the Spirit struggled, ranking last in the Western Conference (24-43-1), Mintyukov put up strong numbers. In 67 games, Mintyukov notched 17 goals and 45 assists for 62 points (third-most among OHL defensemen), also contributing on the power play and penalty kill. He led OHL defensemen with three shorthanded goals.

Mintyukov last competed internationally for Russia in 2019-20 at the World U17 Hockey Challenge. In six games, he registered five assists to help Russia win gold.

Mintyukov is a goal-scoring defenseman who is “very calculating” in the offensive zone, according to Peters. He uses his skating and skill to create better scoring opportunities for himself, something that defensemen like 2019 fourth-overall pick Bowen Byram (Colorado Avalanche) and 2021 fourth-overall pick Luke Hughes (New Jersey Devils) improved at in their draft years.

“Instead of taking that shot from the point, it’s finding a way to walk down to the top of the circles,” Peters said. “It’s finding a way to get to the middle of the ice to get a better shooting angle. It’s getting pucks through, and so [Mintyukov] ends up scoring 17 goals as a result.”

» READ MORE: 2022 NHL draft: Scouting the North American forwards the Flyers could target at pick No. 5

Peters called Mintyukov a “below-average” defender, but he added that he isn’t concerned about his ability to defend at the NHL level over time.

“Don’t really like his game off the puck very much,” Peters said. “But I think that his game on the puck is at a level where that’s a guy, you understand all the risks [when] you take him on. He’s got good enough size and playing ability to handle that.”

Age: 18

Height: 6-foot-5

Weight: 179 lbs.

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Club: Swift Current Broncos (WHL)

In the 2019 WHL bantam draft, the Broncos selected Pickering in the ninth round, No. 177 overall. At the time, Pickering was 5-foot-7 and weighed 131 pounds. Since then, Pickering has undergone a massive growth spurt, adding 10 inches and roughly 40 pounds to his frame.

In his first full WHL season, Pickering was a bright spot for a bad Broncos team, leading its defensemen in goals (nine), assists (24), and points (33) in 62 games.

At the U18 World Championship, Pickering registered two assists in four games and was named one of the top three players on a Canadian team that lost in the quarterfinals.

A two-way defenseman, Pickering is a strong skater with good mobility considering his size. He has good hockey sense and plays a solid all-around game. Pickering will likely draw attention at the combine as teams try to get a feel for his athleticism.

“I think he’s probably a guy that would go in the 20s, if I’m projecting it out and just kind of based on things that I’ve seen,” Peters said. “But certainly because of his size, because of his mobility, it gives him an opportunity to be pretty highly regarded.”

According to Peters, there is not a single area of Pickering’s game that strikes him as “amazing.”

“At least for me, this is just me, he’s not a defenseman I get super excited about,” Peters said.