It's an exciting time of year, when the groundwork is laid for long-term contenders, and established teams see their window kept open with diligent work at the draft creating a steady influx of young, cost-controlled talent one draft pick at a time.

If you haven't already, now is an excellent time to set yourself up with the Elite Prospects 2022 NHL Draft Guide, available to Premium subscribers. You can also read all of our analysis and work on the draft in this space by following this link to our 2022 NHL Draft section of EP Rinkside.

Without further ado, let's get to it.