‘I was shaking. I had goosebumps.’ Slafkovsky to Canadiens, Nemec to Devils as Slovakians go 1-2 in NHL Draft

MONTREAL – The boos weren’t just boos. They were thunderous, the kind the Roman Coliseum might have reserved for movie-grade villains like Commodus. The Bell Centre faithful were determined to get two years worth of screaming out of their system as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman took the podium before the 2022 Draft began in Montreal Thursday night.

“Welcome to this return to normalcy,” Bettman smirked.

And he was right, to a point. Hearing the jovial, rowdy fans at the first live NHL Draft since 2019 felt like a return to a pre-pandemic normal. It was an appropriate do-over for a 2021 Draft that was, for so many reasons, a nightmare for the NHL’s most storied franchise, from having its host event converted to a slog of virtual event to making the maligned Logan Mailloux pick at the end of the first round. So, yes, the 2022 Draft had an air of catharsis.

And yet: “normal” did not do Thursday night justice at the Bell Centre. Not by a long shot. The atmosphere was so live-wire that it would’ve surprised no one to see Vince McMahon emerge from a curtain and belt Bettman with a steel chair.

The cheers soared to WWE-caliber levels when Martin Lafleur and Tanya Bossy took the stage to pay tribute to their late fathers, Habs legend Guy Lafleur and Montreal native Mike Bossy, who passed away a week apart in April. When Habs head coach Martin St-Louis grabbed the mic next and gave a public pep talk to the prospects in attendance, the decibel level spiked to riotous heights.

And then came the first overall pick. And that pick wasn’t the Kingston Frontenacs’ Shane Wright, who was very public about his desire to don a Bleu, Blanc et Rouge jersey.

When GM Kent Hughes announced big Slovakian left winger Juraj Slafkovksy as the first-overall selection, the sound was…not a boo. Not a cheer. It was just pure emotion. Something along the lines of: “AWWWRGH!” exploded from the Habs faithful, representing what would best be articulated as pure shock.

“I didn’t even hear my name called – I just heard ‘Slovakia’ and I was just shocked and I didn’t even listen anymore,” Slafkovsky said. “I was just shaking and had goosebumps. Unbelievable moment for me.”

In Slafkovsky, 18, the Habs chose ceiling and upside over the higher floor of a prospect like Wright, who ended up being passed on twice more and going fourth overall to the Seattle Kraken. Slafkovsky, a hulking 6-foot-4 left winger with a huge wingspan, isn’t the fastest player among the first-round talents. But he uses his big frame to impose his will and lean on opposing checkers and he has a deadly shot. The Habs, who already have a hyper-intelligent two-way center in Nick Suzuki, opted to avoid a potential redundancy with Wright and select the player with one of the most unique sets of tools in the Draft class – structurally, passing on Wright made even more sense once Montreal made a pair of trades that sent defenseman Alexander Romanov to the New York Islanders and brought big center Kirby Dach to the Habs from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Speaking to media Thursday night, Hughes indicated that the Canadiens were more or less settled on Slafkovsky by Wednesday but did suggest they wanted to get “bigger and faster” up the middle and believes 2019 third overall pick Dach, who endured franchise turnover, turmoil and injuries in his first few seasons with Chicago, has “significant potential.” Theoretically, his presence further justifies the Slafkovsky pick, and Hughes confirmed that the Dach deal was in place before Montreal made the No. 1 selection.

Hughes and the Habs obviously like the size Slafkovsky brings, but they were especially taken with his personality.

“When we talk about his character, his desire to be a difference maker, you see it, you see it in the way he plays,” Hughes said. “When you speak to him, he’s a very charismatic kid.

“He left home at 15, and I asked him if he lived in a dorm, and he said no, and I asked if he (was with) his parents, and he said no. I said, ‘How’d you cook?’ He said, ‘With a stove.’ He’s very independent. He’s confident without being arrogant.”

In meetings with the Habs brass, Slafkovksy came away with a sense that they truly understood what he could bring to the team.

“I was pretty surprised – they knew me really well, almost everything,” he said. “How I play, what I do on the ice. So it’s a really good organization and the important thing is that they know what they want and I know what I want, so it’s just good for me that they picked me.”

Not that everyone in the building wanted that pick. On the red carpet outside the Bell Centre in the hours before the Draft, the mob seemed to favor the Canadian-born Wright and the reception was far chillier for Slafkovksy. He said Thursday he was aware of the pre-Draft rankings that typically put Wright above him – but Slafkovsky couldn’t control that. He can control what he does on the ice and hopes that’ll endear him to Habs fans.

“I think it’s about that hockey is their passion as well as mine,” he said. “Maybe some of them didn’t like me, but I’ll do everything to play good for this team and they will actually maybe like me one day.”

They sure do like him in Slovakia. He estimated that four million out of his nation’s five million people might’ve been awake in the middle of the night to watch him become the first Slovakian picked No. 1 overall, surpassing Marian Gaborik, who went No. 3 to the Minnesota Wild in 2000. The euphoria of being selected first was staggering enough, but it blew Slafkovsky’s mind when the New Jersey Devils made it back to back Slovaks, selecting puck-moving defenseman Simon Nemec second overall.

“Just an unbelievable moment for me, for my family, for everyone who supports me at home and for the whole Slovak country – We needed something like this,” Slafkovsky said. “It’s such a special night for me because Simon Nemec was taken second and, well, I didn’t expect it.”

Nemec, 18, was considered the best pure puck-mover and top overall blueline prospect in the 2022 field, along with Czech D-man David Jiricek, by most prognosticators throughout the Draft scouting season. Nemec joins Luke Hughes, last year’s No. 4 overall pick, to give the Devils an exciting backbone to build around on defense – on top of a young forward corps that includes Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Alexander Holtz. Nemec’s adrenaline spiked before the pick – because he knew he might make sense given the depth chart fit.

“When (Montreal) said Juraj’s name, I was a little bit nervous because New Jersey have more centers and they need defensemen,” Nemec said.

The Habs also used the 26th overall pick on right winger Filip Mesar Thursday, giving Slovakia three first-rounders on the night.

“It’s a crazy night for Slovakia and for me,” said Mesar, who considers Slafkovsky one of his best friends. “It’s amazing and will make it easier to go to Montreal with my good friend.”

It represented a landmark moment for Slovakia, which hasn’t medalled at the World Championship since 2012 and the World Junior Championship since 2015 but captured its first Olympic medal in history this year, a bronze at the 2022 Beijing Games, with a team led by Slafkovsky and Nemec.

“We knew each other when we were kids, and we were in more tournaments like pee wee or more national tournaments, and now he’s first overall and me second,” Nemec said. “I’m very happy.”

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‘I was shaking. I had goosebumps.’ Slafkovsky to Canadiens, Nemec to Devils as Slovakians go 1-2 in NHL Draft

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