Today (January 5) is Shane Wright’s 18th birthday, so it seems like the perfect time to release this article about the projected first overall pick in 2022 that I have been meaning to write for quite awhile. Lately I have noticed a growing sense of doubt surrounding his status as the consensus number one ranked prospect, but as someone who has watched Wright play as much as anyone else out there I feel I have a bit of an inside track on his developmental curve. To be honest, though, the first time I had ever heard Shane Wright’s name was after the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) had granted him exceptional player status in 2019. I was able to watch the majority of his OHL rookie season in 2019-20, and it was then that I knew this kid was special. He scored 39 goals that year to set a new Kingston Frontenacs freshman scoring record, and his 66 points in 58 contests added up to the second-best exceptional status campaign we have ever seen (John Tavares had 45 goals and 77 points). It wasn’t just his offense that stood out that season though, and that is also what makes him a special player. It was his incredibly mature and intelligent defensive play, particularly for a 15/16-year old kid fresh out of minor hockey. That is what continues to make Wright a special player to this day.
The anticipation for Wright’s major junior follow-up was enormous, but the OHL drug their feet for months on end before finally succumbing to a cancellation of the entire 2020-21 season. This meant the (at the time) 17-year old center would play no competitive hockey for over a full calendar year. A player’s 16/17-year old season is arguably the most critical to their development, and Shane Wright was forced to spend his on the sidelines. When he did return to the ice he was the captain of Team Canada’s U18 World Championships squad as an underager. As we know, Wright would put on a showstopping performance (9 goals and 14 points in 5 games) and lead the Canadian team to gold.
Finally, the current 2021-22 season came along and gave Wright the chance to enjoy his second OHL campaign, and it just so happened to be his draft year too. Prior to dropping the puck for the Kingston Frontenacs’ regular season home opener, team management held a leadership coronation at centre ice where they named Wright as their newest captain. This all added up to an extraordinary amount of pressure for a teenaged prodigy who had just missed an entire year of development, and the results reflected as much early on.
The criticisms from detractors began just a few games into the regular season and they haven’t really ceased since. But then, as one would expect from a player finding his legs for the first time, Wright’s offensive prowess started to take over and his numbers quickly grew to 30 points (11g19a) by the time he reached the 22-game mark that signalled his departure from Kingston to tryout for Team Canada’s Under-20 World Juniors roster. Wright had been invited to tryout for last year’s event but was one of the final players cut from the camp. He would earn himself a spot the second time around, but after just 2 games (and just 1 assist) the tournament was cancelled and the players all returned to their regular clubs. Wright received his fair share of criticism once again, this time due to a lack of production at the WJC. Allow me to clear that one up: he played 2 games on an extremely deep, mostly older Canadian team. Making Team Canada is very difficult, and especially for players under the age of 18. For a 17-year old Shane Wright who is apparently “struggling”, that is a pretty huge accomplishment wouldn’t you say?
The criticisms of Wright’s play in the World Juniors, in my opinion, are based on a comparison to the performance of the younger Connor Bedard. Bedard’s four goals against the Austrians was the talk of the hockey world for days afterwards, yet Wright’s tournament was absent one of those moments. His tournament was also 2 games long. He had plenty of time for a breakout performance of his own if the tournament had gone on as scheduled, but it didn’t. Now that he can refocus on completing his OHL campaign in strong fashion, I fully expect Wright to be a dominant player from here on out. He has produced 11 points (4g7a) in his last 5 games and demonstrated the elite two-way ability that he has been known for. In Kingston’s 6-5 win over the Peterborough Petes on December 3, 2021, a motivated Wright went head-to-head against Petes star (and his WJC teammate) Mason McTavish and came out on top. He recorded a goal and an assist and was the best player on the ice from start to finish. Get ready for more of those kinds of games from him, because they’re coming. I believe he will continue to build on the momentum of the last month or so and silence most of his critics along the way.
Now what of his upside? Another criticism I keep stumbling upon is his supposedly mediocre offensive ceiling as a prospect, which is just plain ridiculous. Everywhere he has played, and every level he has competed at, Shane Wright has put up fantastic point totals that typically lead all other players in whatever league or tournament he is participating in. Those are not the traits of a prospect with a low offensive ceiling, and his ability to create offense has not gone anywhere. Be patient, and give the kid time to make up some of the ground he lost when the OHL season was cancelled. It was through no fault of his own, yet there were bound to be some negative effects on his early performances as a result. Regardless of the unfair criticisms and massive amount of pressure on his shoulders, there is no doubt in my mind that Shane Wright is the number one player available in the 2022 draft and there shouldn’t be any in yours either.
Happy birthday kid.
The Draft Report 