The 2022 NHL Draft kicked off on Thursday night in Montreal. As usual, with a glut of talented prospects, and no shortage of significant trades, the sheer spectacle of the first round was palpable.
The biggest shock of the night arguably came as soon as the draft began with the host Canadiens at No. 1 overall. Instead of taking the long-time consensus top pick in center Shane Wright, Montreal opted for, shall we say, a different direction.
The Habs picked Slovakia’s Juraj Slafkovky. He’s a talented left-winger for sure, but that doesn’t mean the home crowd at the Bell Centre had to love the pick. The fans’ chorus of emotions as the Canadiens revealed Slafkovky would be their next hopeful core piece was evident:
Montreal selects Juraj Slafkovsky #1 overall, huge pop from the home crowd pic.twitter.com/GFQywWcR4V
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) July 7, 2022
Oh, man. I mean, it’s not like that audience is outright jeering Slafkovky in his first NHL moment. But they’re not exactly head-over-heels elated with their reaction either.
Shane Wright odds to be selected No. 1 in the NHL Draft
During the season: -5000
Earlier today: -250He ended up not being selected first 😬pic.twitter.com/NJ6oZXLFaz
— Action Network NHL (@ActionNetNHL) July 7, 2022
To be fair, Canadiens fans might have had the same mixed-bag reaction regardless of who their favorite team picked. It’s the spirit of the draft, after all.
