The Canadiens received a mixed reaction from the crowd in Montreal on Thursday after selecting Slovakian forward Juraj Slafkovsky of TPS Turku with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Shane Wright of the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs was the consensus No. 1 selection for years leading up to this draft. Instead, Wright fell to the Seattle Kraken at No. 4 overall.
The Canadiens, who finished the 2021-22 season with a league-low 55 points (22-49-11), held the top overall pick for the sixth time in franchise history — and first since taking Doug Wickenheiser in 1980.
Slafkovsky, 18, was named Most Valuable Player at the 2022 Beijing Olympics after scoring a tournament-high seven goals in seven games while representing Slovakia. The 6-foot-4, 218-pounder collected just 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 31 games with TPS Turku in SM Liiga, Finland’s top professional men’s league.
“It’s unbelievable,” Slafkovsky said. “I still cannot believe that this actually happened. … It’s just a special moment in my life.”
Slafkovsky became the highest-born Slovak player selected in an NHL draft. Marian Gaborik held that honor after he was chosen by the Minnesota Wild with the third overall pick in 2000.
“We went through a heck of an exhaustive preparation and review of the players, and listen, there were a lot of good hockey players,” Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes told ESPN of the decision to select Slafkovsky. “We felt he was the best player for us (and) what we are trying to accomplish.”
The Canadiens didn’t stand pat, either. Shortly after selecting Slafkovsky, Montreal made a pair of trades to acquire center Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Canadiens dealt their 2022 fourth-round pick and defenseman Alexander Romanov to the New York Islanders in exchange for the 13th overall pick. They then packaged that pick with a third-round selection to send to Chicago for Dach.
The Blackhawks parted with Dach — the third overall pick in the 2019 draft — hours after trading forward Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators for three picks.
With the second overall pick, the forward-rich New Jersey Devils also bypassed Wright and chose another Slovak in defenseman Simon Nemec of HK Nitra from the Slovak Extraliga.
The selections of Slafkovsky and Nemec marked the second time in NHL Draft history that the top two picks were born outside North America and hailed from the same country. Russian stars Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) and Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) went first and second overall in the 2004 NHL Draft.
“I’m really, really excited. I still can’t believe it. Amazing,” said the 18-year-old Nemec, who recorded 26 points (one goal, 25 assists) in 39 games last season.
“It was an amazing moment for my family, for me, for everybody in Slovakia. It’s an amazing night because we had the first overall (Slafkovsky) and second overall.”
The Arizona Coyotes chose forward Logan Cooley of the United States National Team Development Program with the third overall pick.
Cooley, 18, recorded 75 points (27 goals, 48 assists) in 51 games. The 5-foot-10, 174-pounder committed to the University of Minnesota next season.
The Coyotes also traded with the San Jose Sharks for the 11th overall pick, landing center Conor Geekie from Winnipeg of the Western Hockey League. Arizona sent its 27th, 34th and 45th overall picks in this draft to San Jose.
The Kraken selected Wright, who said he’s going to use his fall in the draft as motivation.
“I’m definitely going to have a chip on my shoulder from this, that’s for sure,” said Wright, who erupted for 94 points (32 goals, 62 assists) in 63 games this past season with Kingston.
The Philadelphia Flyers tabbed 6-foot-4 forward Cutter Gauthier of the U.S. National Team Development Program with the fifth overall pick. Gauthier, who collected 34 goals and 31 assists, is committed to play with Boston College.
The Columbus Blue Jackets elevated to the sixth overall pick as part of the Seth Jones trade with Chicago in July 2021.
Columbus selected defenseman David Jiricek of HC Plzen of the Czech Extraliga ahead of the Blackhawks, who chose defenseman Kevin Korchinski from the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL.
The Detroit Red Wings selected center Marco Kasper of Rogle of the Swedish Hockey League with the eighth overall pick. The Buffalo Sabres (forward Matthew Savoie, Winnipeg, WHL) and the Anaheim Ducks (defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, Saginaw, OHL) wrapped up the top 10.
The Blue Jackets picked their second defenseman of the draft at No. 12 (Denton Mateychuk, Moose Jaw, WHL) before the Blackhawks (center Frank Nazar) and Winnipeg Jets (forward Rutger McGroarty) went with selections from the U.S. National Team Development Program.
With the 15th and 16th picks, the Vancouver Canucks and Sabres chose teammates Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Noah Ostlund from Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League. Buffalo acquired this pick in last season’s trade that sent former captain Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Nashville Predators selected forward Joakim Kemell from JYP in Finland with the 17th pick. The Dallas Stars (defenseman Lian Bichsel, Leksands, Sweden), Wild (left wing Liam Ohgren, Djurgardens, Sweden) and Capitals (forward Ivan Miroshnichenko, Omskie Krylia, Russia) rounded out the top 20.
Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang agreed to terms on a six-year, $36.6 million contract extension earlier on Thursday and then announced the team’s pick at No. 21: fellow defenseman Owen Pickering from the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL.
The Ducks (forward Nathan Gaucher, Quebec Remparts, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League), the St. Louis Blues (forward Jimmy Snuggerud, USNTDP) and the Wild (forward Danila Yurov, Magnitogorsk, Kontinental Hockey League) made the next three picks.
The Blackhawks acquired the 25th overall pick (defenseman Sam Rinzel, Chaska High School in Minnesota) and goaltender Petr Mrazek from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for the 38th overall pick in what equates to a salary dump. Mrazek is heading into the second season of a three-year, $11.4 million contract.
The Canadiens selected another Slovakian, forward Filip Mesar of Poprad (Slovakia), with the 26th pick.
New Sharks general manager Mike Grier provided a tribute to his friend and former teammate Bryan Marchment, who died unexpectedly on Wednesday. Grier then announced the team’s selection of Swedish forward Filip Bystedt from Linkoping.
The Sabres tabbed Karlovy Vary forward Jiri Kulich at No. 28.
The Coyotes acquired the contract of forward Zack Kassian from the Edmonton Oilers and moved up to No. 29 to select 6-foot-7 defenseman Maveric Lamoureux from Drummondville of the QMJHL. Arizona also received a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a second-round selection in 2025 from the Oilers, who picked up the 32nd overall pick of this draft.
The Jets selected Finland forward Brad Lambert, the Tampa Bay Lightning tabbed forward Isaac Howard (USNTDP) and the Oilers selected forward Reid Schaefer (Seattle, WHL) to finish off the first round.
–Field Level Media
