The Canadians made 11 picks, including the selection of two Slovak-born skaters in the first round on Thursday: left winger Juraj Slafkovski of TPS in Finland’s top professional men’s league at No. 1 and right winger Filip Messar of Poprad in Slovakia’s top league for men at number 26.
The draft was held in person for the first time in three years after the 2020 and 2021 NHL drafts were held virtually due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
“It felt like a celebration of sorts to get back to a personal project,” said Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting. “The sense of excitement and anticipation has intensified. Everyone’s mood and outlook was positive about being together in one place and going back to our traditional formats.”
Here are 10 moments to remember from the 2022 draft:
Marty’s magic
Montreal coach Martin St. Louis had everyone at the Bell Center hanging on his every word when he spoke from the heart on stage before the start of the draft.
“Forty-seven years; it took me 47 years to finally be on my first project,” he said. “And it was worth the wait. The last two days the energy in this city has been great.”
The 47-year-old Quebec native became an inspiration for undersized and undrafted players looking to one day make an impact in the NHL after the forward signed with the Calgary Flames on February 18, 1998. He went on to score 1,033 points (391 goals, 642 assists ) 1,134 regular season games over 16 NHL seasons with the Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.
“Congratulations to all the players who will hear their name called over the next two days,” St. Louis said. “Understand that this is only the beginning and probably the easy part; what lies ahead is even more difficult. And for the guys who don’t hear their name, it’s okay, it’s not the end. You just keep pushing. If you match the work ethic with the will you can achieve anything.”
He ended with “Go Habs, Go.”
Video: Martin St. Louis speaks ahead of 2022 NHL draft
Volatility in the first round
After Slafkowski was drafted by the Canadiens with the No. 1 pick, no one guessed what would come next.
As it turned out, the New Jersey Devils selected right guard Simon Nemec #2, the Arizona Coyotes selected center Logan Cooley #3, and center Shane Wright, who many predicted would go first overall, went #4 to the Seattle Kraken.
“I called this draft unique because of the unpredictability of it and where the kids are going to go,” Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. “It was really hard for us to put this list together and try to figure out which kid here has the highest potential from the looks that we had from different leagues, different international events. This was probably one of the hardest drafts to predict when it comes to who you think has the highest potential.”
Super Slafkowski
Slafkovski became the highest-drafted Slovak-born player when he was named the No. 1 pick in the first round on Thursday.
Marian Gaborik previously held that distinction when he went No. 3 to the Minnesota Wild in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.
“First overall is something and you have to prove it,” Slafkowski said. “So yeah, I’m just going to think about getting better every second I live on this earth.”
Vladimir Mihalik was the last Slovakian-born player to be selected in the first round, going No. 30 to the Lightning in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Previously, 10 Slovak-born players were selected in the first round, including four in the top 10 .
Video: Montreal Canadiens pick LW Juraj Slafkowski #1
Program of Excellence
Cooley, left center, was the first of six players from the USA Hockey Under-18 National Team Development Program squad selected in the first round.
That marked the second-highest total in program history. Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils, #1) was the first of a record eight NTDP players selected in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
There were 14 NTDP players selected in seven rounds in this draft.
The NTDP has had at least one member selected among the top five selections in the past four seasons, the most any team has ever had. After Cooley, left wing Cutter Gauthier went No. 5 to the Philadelphia Flyers.
“When these kids get to Plymouth (Michigan), get to the NTDP, they don’t just come out of nowhere,” USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher said. “They are developed on a grassroots level by volunteers from all over the country. Logan Cooley is from Pennsylvania, Gauthier is from the Phoenix area. They’ve had great coaches, great people to help them get to the NTDP. At NTDP, we feel like we have a pretty good formula to get them to what I like to call the best hockey graduate school in the world.”
Cooley and Gauthier were joined in the first round by center Frank Nazar (No. 13, Chicago Blackhawks), right wing Rutger McGroarty (No. 14, Winnipeg Jets), right wing Jimmy Snugerud (No. 23, St. Louis Blues) and left wing Isaac Howard ( No. 31, Lightning).
[RELATED: Complete Draft coverage | 2022 NHL Draft first-round results, analysis]
Stealing the show
A record three players born in Slovakia were selected in the first round on Thursday.
After Montreal selected Slafkowski with the No. 1 pick, Nemec went to the Devils at No. 2. The Canadiens completed the trifecta when they took Messar with the No. 26 pick.
When Messard walked off the field to the media after his photo opportunity with Montreal’s management team, he was greeted by Slafkowski and Nemec with congratulatory hugs and high fives.
“It feels amazing,” Messard said. “I’m speechless. So yeah…the three of us with Simon and Juray are best friends and we know each other really well. So yeah, it’s an amazing feeling. I’m speechless.”
Six Slovak-born players were selected in the draft, including left winger Adam Sikora of Nitra by the Rangers in the second round (No. 63) on Friday.
Wright Gets The Kraken
Wright, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft for most of the season, had to wait a little longer than expected, but was thrilled to be selected by Seattle at No. 4.
“I’ll definitely have a little bit of a tap on my shoulder from it for sure, a little bit more motivation,” said the center from Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League.
Wright was No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting’s rankings of North American skaters from start to finish this season, but the Canadiens took Slavkowski with the No. 1 pick. The Devils took Nemek with the No. 2 pick and the Coyotes selected Cooley with the No. 3 pick.
“Sometimes teams take the best player they think will fit, the best available player for their team, the guy they think will fit their franchise,” Wright said. “At the end of the day, it’s not my decision. Obviously you want to be selected as high as possible, but it’s not my choice and I can’t really influence the selection by sitting there in the stands.
“I was drafted into the NHL. I have achieved my life’s dream of being drafted to an amazing team in Seattle with a great future ahead of me. I wouldn’t say it’s a relief, I’d say more excitement, more pride and just an honor to be selected.”
Video: Discussing Shane Wright being selected 4th overall
Miroshnichenko writes in capital letters
Ivan Miroshnichenko wasn’t sure what to expect after being drafted in the top 10 at the start of the season, then was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in February and missed the rest of the season with Omsk Krylia in Russia’s second division.
The Russian-born left wing (6-foot-1, 185 pounds) has apparently done enough to convince the Washington Capitals, who selected him at No. 20 with their only first-round pick.
“The season was going really well for me until I got sick,” he said through a translator. “I was expected to go early until I got sick. But I’m really happy with where I was drafted…I never thought I’d be drafted by the Washington Capitals.”
Miroshnichenko started with nine points (four goals, five assists) as Russia’s captain to win the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the top international U-18 tournament in August, and had 16 points (10 goals, six assists ) in 31 games with Omsk Krylia before being diagnosed.
Finding first
The Chicago Blackhawks entered the draft with no first-round picks, but after a combined three trades before and during Thursday’s first round, they netted three.
“It was a pretty monumental day and a huge earth change for the Blackhawks organization,” Chicago GM Kyle Davidson said, “but it’s pretty much the unofficial beginning of where we’re headed and our rise there.”
The Blackhawks selected defenseman Kevin Korczynski at No. 7, Nazar at No. 13 and defenseman Sam Rinzel at No. 25. They parted with forwards Alex DeBrincat (Ottawa Senators) and Kirby Dach (Montreal Canadiens) in separate deals.
DeBrincat and Dach combined for 104 points (50 goals, 54 assists) this season.
“It’s hard to trade any young player and especially young players like we did today,” Davidson said. “It’s definitely not easy and it’s definitely not fun. Doing things you have to do to get where you want to go is not fun. There are going to be tough days like this where you’re going to see familiar faces that we in management and the fans know and love, but it’s necessary to get to where we want to be.”
Congratulations Hughes
Jack Hughes, the son of Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes, was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round (#51) on Friday.
The Northeastern University of Hockey East center was asked if he had considered being drafted and playing for Montreal.
“I think he wanted to avoid it as best he could,” Hughes said of his father. “There’s no way we really know, but he made it pretty clear beforehand that he was going to avoid.” [picking me] at any cost.
“I wouldn’t have minded that. It wouldn’t really change anything for me. Ultimately, I want to play in the NHL…that’s really all that matters to me. Whether it was Montreal, LA or any other team, I’d be fired up.”
Hughes (5-foot-11, 169 pounds) had 16 points…
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