Tyler Muszelik & Damien Carfagna: UNH's Top 2022 NHL Draft Prospects

Tyler Muszelik 2022 UNH Freshman Goalie

Damien Carfagna 2022 UNH Freshman Defenseman

2022 NHL Entry Draft

Over the next two days, the 32 NHL teams will conduct the 60th Annual Entry Draft at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The first round begins at 7 PM on July 7th with rounds 2-7 beginning at 11 AM on July 8th. A total of 225 players will be drafted.

Two incoming freshmen for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats could very well hear their names called - goaltender Tyler Muszelik (7/1/04) and defenseman Damien Carfagna (12/12/02).

TYLER MUSZELIK

Goalie, 6'3", 195 lbs. Catches Left Hometown: Long Valley, New Jersey DOB: July 1, 2004. Just turned 18 years old 2021-22 Team: US National Team Development Program U-18 2020-21 Team: US National Team Development Program U-17 Committed to UNH: March, 2021 at Age 17 years, 1 month.

2021-22 Outstanding Accomplishments:
~ Winning Record in USHL games, NCAA games, and overall
~ Overall Goals Against Average: 2.91, Save%: .900
~ Wins against BU, Providence, North Dakota, Notre Dame, Michigan Tech, & Mercyhurst
~ 6th goalie in history of BioSteel All-American NHL Prospects Game to stop every shot he faced.
~ Undefeated at U18 World Championship, 2-0-0, 2.50 GAA, .909 Save%
2021-22 Statistics

Player	Team	League	GP	Wins	Loss	Ties	GAA	Save%
Tyler Muszelik 7/1/04 (G)	US National U18	Overall	35	24	5	3	2.91	.900
	Team USA U-18	USHL	16	10	3	2	3.17	.900
		NCAA Exh.	11	8	2	0	3.00	.896
		INTL	3	3	0	0	1.67	.942
		WJC U18	2	2	0	0	2.50	.909

Final 2022 Draft Rankings:
~ NHL Central Scouting Service (May, 2022) - #4 among 40 North American Goalies.
~ Neutral Zone NHL Scouts' 2022 Draft Rankings (July, 2022) - #211 Overall.
~ Future Considerations Hockey (July, 2022) - #194 Overall.
~ The Hockey Writers, Adam Kierszenblat (July, 2022) - Late 6th or 7th Round.
~ Draft Prospects Hockey (April, 2022) - #162 Overall.
~ The Athletic, Corey Pronman Mock Draft (June, 2022) - #154 Overall, 5th Round, Edmonton Oilers

My Projection for Tyler Muszelik:
~ Selection in 6th Round
Pros:
~ Just turned 18 - youngest goalie among NHL Central Scouting top 5 North American & European goalies.
~ As a 17-year-old goalie, excelled against older players in USHL and NCAA.
~ Undefeated in International competition.
~ Against top American-born prospects eligible for 2022 NHL Draft in BioSteel All-American Game, only goalie to shut out opponents (see video).
Cons:
~ NHL teams may wait until 2023 draft when his stock may rise.

DAMIEN CARFAGNA

Defenseman, 5'11", 168 lbs. Shoots Left Hometown: Wood Ridge, New Jersey DOB: December 12, 2002. 19 years, 7 months 2020-21 Team: Sioux City Musketeers/Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) 2021-22 Team: Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) Committed to UNH: January, 2020 at Age 17 years, 1 month.

2021-22 Outstanding Accomplishments:
~ USHL Third All-Star Team
~ USHL Clark Cup Champion
~ 42 Regular Season Assists, Tied 3rd among USHL defensemen, T-11 overall
~ 19 Regular Season Power Play Assists, Tied 3rd among USHL defensemen, T-6 overall
~ Scored overtime, game-winning goal at BioSteel All-American NHL Prospects Game
2021-22 Statistics

Player	Team	League	GP	Goals	Asst	Pts	PIM	+/-
Damien Carfagna 12/12/02 (D)	Sioux City Musketeers	USHL	21	1	10	11	4	+9
		Playoffs	10	0	2	2	2	+7
	Green Bay Gamblers	USHL	40	5	32	37	39	+8

Final 2022 Draft Ranking:
~ Neutral Zone NHL Scouts' 2022 Draft Rankings (July, 2022) - #134 Overall.
~ McKeen's Hockey 2022 NHL Draft Rankings (July, 2022) - #165 Overall.

My Projection for Damien Carfagna:
~ Selection in 6th Round
Pros:
~ In 2nd year of NHL Draft eligibility, became elite USHL defenseman.
~ Point output nearly tripled from 18 to 48.
~ Two-way specialist, quarterbacked power play, regular on penalty kill.
~ High performance in important games (see video).
Cons:
~ Relatively undersized for an NHL defenseman prospect.