It will be an anxious Thursday evening at the Bell Centre in Montreal for defenseman Denton Mateychuk of Dominion City, forward Conor Geekie of Strathclair and blueliner Owen Pickering of St. Adolphe.

And it will be equally as nerve wracking for their families.

Nothing is guaranteed but there's a really good chance all three Manitobans, who just graduated from high school, will be chosen in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft.

Three years ago Mateychuk, Geekie and Pickering were selected in the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft and this spring all three completed their first full season in the WHL.

Mateychuk, who was chosen in the first round (11th overall) by the Moose Jaw Warriors, recorded 13 goals and 51 assists in 65 games and added one goal and nine helpers in 10 playoff games.

Geekie, who was drafted second overall by the Winnipeg Ice, had 24 goals and 46 assists in 63 games and then recorded 11 points in 15 playoff games.

Pickering, who was drafted in the ninth round (177th overall) by the Swift Current Broncos and had nine goals and 24 assists in 62 games, was on Team Canada’s roster and played in the 2022 World U18 Hockey Championship in Germany.

Winnipeg's Tyler Brennan of the Prince George Cougars was number one and Winkler's Reid Dyck of the Swift Current Broncos was number eight among North American goaltenders on Central Scouting's final rankings.

The Montreal Canadiens have the overall number one pick.