The date of July 8, 2022, is likely etched into the mind of Liam Steele.

The Great Britain defenseman will hope to be selected on the second day of the 2022 NHL Draft, where rounds 2-7 are decided.

The NHL Central Scouting department released its final rankings this week.
Steele dropped down to 171 amongst North American skaters after being ranked 83rd in the midterm standings.

Concerning? Certainly, there were a few murmurs online but many things are at play here and in truth, it’s not a huge surprise.

Compared to many of his compatriots, Steele has played very little hockey this season and that will concern scouts. A smaller body of work will always err scouts to deviate from those players to others they’ve seen more of. That’s simply a fact and a bias that will always remain.

The Stanstead College captain has represented Great Britain twice at the junior level and fared well. The U20 campaign was arguably his best showing at the international level and he showed glimpses of what he could be capable of in the future.

At the U18 level, Steele was expected to ‘put on a show.’
I believe his perceived lack of production and dominance in the tournament has turned scouts off.

In the same way, the World Juniors is a not competition to fully base your opinion on a draft class or drafted player, the same is applicable in the divisions below.

Liam Steele is undoubtedly a talented player whose development curve is still rising.
He has characteristics and skill-set many NHL teams will be hugely interested in pursueing.
A right-handed defenseman, who is smart, can lay the body, can lead breakouts, has a decent amount of skill, an eye for goal and a booming shot (which he should lean on more in my opinion).

He is a work in progress and far from the finished article. An NHL team will have to show patience and buy into the longer-term plan with Steele.

Scouting Rankings are what they are.
The best guess and a crapshoot after the first two rounds of the NHL draft.
In recent times we’ve even seen speculative picks in the first rounds – hello Columbus Blue Jackets.

The 18-year-old has his plans laid out for whatever the 2022 NHL Draft brings.
Steele will play in the BCHL next season for the Chilliwack Cheifs, and after that, he has committed to the prestigious Cornell University.

July 8, 2022.

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