Some footage revealed on how the Habs came to the decision to draft Slafkovsky 1st overall instead of Shane Wright
Obviously, when the Montreal Canadiens stepped up to the podium on July 7th and announced Slovak forward Juraj Slafkovksy as the #1 overall pick in 2022, there were a lot of shocked faces in the crowd and around the hockey community.
For several years leading up to the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Shane Wright was expected to be the 1st overall pick in 2022. Not just the year leading up to the draft.. *several* years. The fact of the matter is that Slafkovsky didn't really begin to close the gap until the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
We know how everything unfolded, but what we didn't know until this week is how the decision was made. Wright had reportedly been told by the Habs that they were leaning towards selecting him after the draft combine. How did things shift so quickly following that conversation?
Habs GM Kent Hughes and company wanted to be sold on the pick. Whether it was Wright or Slafkovsky, the minds in the room needed to sell the pick to Hughes. Here's how that happened. It involved an incredible speech from new co-director of amateur scouting for the Habs, Nick Bobrov.
Hearing this information for the first time, it goes to show just how much the Canadiens believed what Bobrov was saying. They believed that Slafkovsky's impact could not be overstated. The fact that they viewed him as a big-moment or big-game player was all the convincing Hughes seemed to need.
Now it's up to Slafkovsky to go out there and prove the Canadiens right. Wright is going to come into this season very motivated to prove everyone wrong about him, starting with the Habs.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 26 | 283 ANSWERS Some footage revealed on how the Habs came to the decision to draft Slafkovsky 1st overall instead of Shane Wright Did the Canadiens make a mistake in drafting Slafkovsky over Wright? | ||
| No, they made the right choice | 121 | 42.8 % |
| Yes, they made a huge mistake | 97 | 34.3 % |
| Don't care | 65 | 23 % |
| List of polls | ||
