THE WRIGHT PLACE TO BE?
Top prospect slides all the way to No. 4 and Seattle in unpredictable NHL draft
Shane Wright said he had prepared for every situation heading into the NHL draft. But there's no way he could have prepared for this.
Not in his wildest dreams. Or his worst nightmares.
Sitting in the stands amid a sold-out Bell Centre crowd with fans chanting his name and holding up signs such as “Make the Wright choice,” the consensus thought was that the native of Burlington, Ont., would go No. 1 overall to the Montreal Canadiens. At worst, he would slip to No. 2.
So what happened next was a shock. And it became an even bigger and bigger shock with each subsequent pick.
The Canadiens, who had wined and dined Wright and practically pencilled him into their starting lineup, pulled off a huge surprise by selecting Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky with the No. 1 pick. With the second pick, the New Jersey Devils also passed on Wright and selected Slovakian defenceman Simon Nemec. And the Arizona Coyotes followed it up by selecting American centre Logan Cooley.
Suddenly, a player who teams had been tanking for was left wondering if his name was ever going to be called.
“Obviously, you want to go first. That's definitely something that every guy wants,” said Wright, who was eventually picked fourth overall by the Seattle Kraken. “You picture your name being called first and walking on that stage and putting on that jersey, especially with the draft being in Montreal. It's definitely going to put a chip on my shoulder for sure and give me a little more motivation.
“I think teams take the best guy they feel is a fit. They take the best player that they think is going to fit their franchise. So at the end of the day, it's not my decision. you want to be picked as high as possible, but it's not my choice. I can't do anything from sitting in the stands.”
It was a fitting set of events for a draft that was full of drama.
The day began with the New York Rangers trading goalie Alexandar Georgiev to the Colorado Avalanche. The Ottawa Senators then traded their No. 7 pick, along with a second-rounder in this year's draft and a third-rounder in 2024 to the Chicago Blackhawks for two-time 40-goal scorer Alex Debrincat.
The Blackhawks weren't done. After Montreal traded defenceman Alexander Romanov and a fourth-rounder to the New York Islanders for the 13th overall pick, the Canadiens then flipped the 13th overall pick, along with a third-rounder, to Chicago for centre Kirby Dach. In a roundabout way, the Habs got the centre they had passed on by not selecting Wright. However, it was Slafkovsky that they hope will make the biggest impact.
Though the six-foot-four and 224-pound winger was met with a mix of cheers and boos after his name was called ahead of Wright's, he either didn't hear or maybe he didn't care. It is that attitude, along with a game that one scout compared to Jaromir Jagr's, that likely led Montreal in picking him. After all, this wasn't the safe pick. And Slafkovsky isn't a safe player. In today's NHL, maybe that's the way to go.
“Hockey is their passion, as well as mine,” said Slafkovsky, the first Slovak to be drafted first overall.
“Maybe some of them didn't like me. But I will do whatever I can to play good for this team and they will actually maybe like me one day.”
This is probably going to be a draft that we'll revisit. There were no guarantees. No easy picks.
Without a generational player topping the list, players climbed and fell in the rankings throughout the season. The one constant seemed to be Wright, who was the top prospect ever since he gained exceptional status to play in the Ontario Hockey League as a 15-year-old.
But something changed in the past few months. With the pandemic having disrupted the past two hockey seasons, Wright's development flatlined. He scored only 32 goals and 94 points in 63 games with the Kingston Frontenacs this year — he had more goals two years earlier as a rookie — and was criticized for his lack of competitiveness in the playoffs.
“This year was nowhere near my best. Not even close,” said Wright. “I believe that I can be a lot better. I don't think I've reached even close to my potential.”
If Wright had his worst season, then Slafkovsky had the best year of his life. He led Slovakia to a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, where he was named MVP after leading the tournament with seven goals in seven games. He also scored five goals and 10 points in 31 games against men in the Finnish league.
Still, he was surprised to hear his name called.
“I don't think I even heard my name called,” said Slafkovsky. “I just heard Slovakia and then I was like shocked and then I didn't even listen anymore. I was like shaking and I had goosebumps.
“Yeah, unbelievable moment for me … and also for the whole Slovak country. We needed something like this. And it's also a special night for me, because Nemec was second and well, I didn't expect it.”
No one did.