While Shane Wright was long considered the top pick, the New Jersey Devils surprisingly selected Slovakian defenseman and Olympian Slafkowski teammate Simon Nemetz second. In another surprise, the Arizona Coyotes took Logan Cooley third with Wright slipping to the Seattle Kraken at No. 4. Slafkowski, who was named MVP at the Beijing Olympics for leading the tournament with seven goals in seven games, began to believe that was possible after meeting with the Canadiens at the NHL scouting combine in Buffalo. “I felt like they were pretty interested,” said Slafkowski, who was taken aback when Montreal general manager Kent Hughes announced his name. “When I heard ‘from Slovakia’ I was like ‘Wow!’ WATCHES | Habs tap Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky with No. 1 pick:
The Montreal Canadiens select Juraj Slafkovsky with the 1st overall pick in the NHL Draft
Juraj Slafkovsky becomes the first Slovak-born player to be selected first overall in the NHL draft. Nemec, who along with Slafkovsky are the highest-drafted players from Slovakia in 22 years since Marian Gaborik went third to Ottawa in 2000. “I’m at a loss for words,” Nemec said. “We were kids when we dreamed of the NHL Draft.” The Canadiens didn’t make any moves in their first home draft since 2009. They traded defenseman Alexander Romanov to the New York Islanders for the 13th pick and traded that pick and the 66th pick to Chicago for young forward Kirby Dach. It was the second clearance move made Thursday by Chicago, who also traded high-scoring winger Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators for three picks. The 4-foot-4 Slafkowski, who has drawn comparisons to the late Hockey Hall of Famer Clark Gillies and plays a bit like a young Jaromir Jagr, said he told the Canadiens Thursday morning to get him. Slafkowski, who turned 18 in March, is among the most NHL-ready players in the draft after playing with adults in Finland last season and impressing at the Olympics with seven goals in seven games. The youngest player in the tournament was the biggest reason Slovakia won an Olympic bronze medal for the first time. Chuck Fletcher, whose Philadelphia Flyers selected Cutter Gauthier fifth, said Wednesday that he expected a lot of trades in the draft. Other GMs around the league didn’t wait for the draft to start getting busy. The Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche kicked things off by acquiring goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers for a third- and fifth-round pick in this draft and a third-round pick next year. Chicago then sent DeBrincat to Ottawa for the seventh and 39th picks and a third-round pick in 2024. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman opened the draft in French by saying, “Bonsoir, Montreal.” When fans booed him as usual, he said: “Thank you for this welcome. It’s a return to normality.” This was the first major league draft since 2019 in Vancouver. It is the first time the host team has picked first since the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1985 when they took Wendell Clark. The Leafs received the loudest boos during roll call, with some in the crowd chanting “’67!” compared to last year when Toronto won the Stanley Cup. Recent hockey deaths were also acknowledged before the Canadians resumed play. Bettman asked those at the draft and in the stands to observe a moment of silence for retired linebacker Brian Markment, who died at age 53 on Wednesday in Montreal, where he was watching the draft as a scout for the San Jose Sharks. The children of the late Hall of Famers, Guy Lafleur and Mike Bossy, also addressed the crowd, along with Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis, who was overwhelmed by shouts of “Ole! Ole! Ole!” St. Louis, who was famously undrafted before his Hall of Fame career, joked, “It took me 45 years to finally be in my first draft. It was worth the wait.” The onslaught is now on Slafkovsky, who could soon be playing alongside Canadiens top forwards Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
