Juraj Slafkovský became the first Slovak in history to be chosen by overseas NHL hockey clubs in the first place of the draft. On Friday night, the Montreal Canadiens reached out to him from the top position.
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The 18-year-old winger thus surpassed the previous record of Marián Gáborík, who was selected in 2000 from the first place by the Minnesota Wild. His record was surpassed by defender Šimon Nemec, after whom the New Jersey Devils reached from 2nd place.
Arizona got American center Logan Cooley from the 3rd place, and the pre-draft favorite Shane Wright, who is going to Seattle, came in the fourth place.
From the 26th place, Montreal also took Filip Mešár, the third Slovak in the 1st round of the draft.
“I learned about the fact that I could be a unit sometime after the World Cup and after the NHL Scouting Combine. I didn’t know what to expect, but when I heard Kent Hughes say that they were selecting a player from Slovakia, I was like, ‘wow’,” said Slafkovský directly at the scene of the draft, the Bell Center in Montreal.
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He immediately congratulated him on the first place in the video and wished Zdeno Chara all the best in his career. “He is an incredible legend of Slovak hockey. I think that here people are definitely going crazy, even though it’s the middle of the night,” said Slafkovský.
“We studied all the players really well and it came to this decision. He met all of our requirements,” said Montreal general manager Kent Hughes after the selection. The choice of Slafkovski from the 1st place was also indicated by his early meeting on Thursday (local time) with the representatives of the record winner of the Stanley Cup. According to the AP agency, he allegedly told the representatives of the club to choose him.
“I believed it could happen, but anyone could have ended up there. After all, we saw that Šimon went right after me. It’s something incredible for me, my parents, everyone who supported me, and for all of Slovak hockey. It means an awful lot to me. When I knew it could happen, I made it my goal and I’m extremely happy that it worked out. I didn’t know until the last moment, when I heard ‘Slovakian’, I stopped listening and I don’t even know what happened. But I’m happy to be standing where I am,” Slafkovský told RTVS.
Shortly after that came another Slovak shock, when Nemc’s name came up during the selection of New Jersey and he became the highest drafted defenseman from Slovakia. At the same time, he is the sixth point guard from the Tatras chosen by NHL clubs in the 1st round and the first since 2005. “I am extremely surprised, it is amazing. Slovaks in first and second place. When we were children, we dreamed about it, and now it has come true,” said the German directly on the scene.
Since the first official forecasts for the 2022 draft, experts have seen Wright as the expected unit. However, the Canadian forward did not shine in the 2021/2022 draft season as the scouts expected, and the American forward Logan Cooley, but especially Slafkovský, also got into the game for the position of the unit.
For a long time, experts considered him a candidate for the top ten of the draft, but he came into consideration for the highest positions after the extremely successful Olympics in Beijing. At the first major event in the jersey of the Slovak team, he helped to win a historic bronze medal with 7 goals in 7 matches and became the most productive player and the best scorer, while also receiving the prestigious award for the most useful player of the tournament.
After returning to the Finnish club TPS Turku, he regularly started in the A-team, with which he reached the final of the highest competition. At the World Cup in Finland, he was once again one of the leaders of the Slovak team, and with 9 points (3+6) he was its most productive player. In TPS he collected ten points (5+5) in 31 duels of the ZČ, in 18 playoffs he added two goals and five assists. Slafkovski was projected as a unit shortly before the draft by renowned journalist Bob McKenzie.
The German has been hovering around the 5th place in the rankings for a long time. In the 2021/2022 season, he confirmed that he is already established in men’s hockey, when he started at the Olympic Games and the World Cup, while he played the entire season in the first defensive pair in Nitra, with which he reached the extraleague final. He played 39 games in the regular season for the “Corgons” and collected 26 points (1+25), in the playoffs he stood out even more and scored 17 points in 19 duels (5+12). At the Olympic Games, he recorded one assist in seven meetings, in 8 duels at the World Cup in Finland, he collected six points (1+5).
The Montreal Canadiens have had the option to choose from the 1st place five times – the most in NHL history. He gradually chose from him the first goalkeeper drafted from the top position: Garry Monahan (1963), Michel Plasse (1968), Rejean Houle (1969), Guy Lafleur (1971) and Doug Wickenheiser (1980). The first European – Juraj Slafkovský joined them on Friday.
Read more There is lightning over Montreal. This is how the Slovaks experienced the draft night
Slafkovský and Šimon Nemec are only third, respectively. fourth players in history to be drafted in the 1st round after winning an Olympic medal. Before them, the Russian pair of Darius Kasparaitis (5th place), Sergej Bautin (17th) did it in 1992 after winning gold at the Albertville Olympics.
Until the 2022 draft, only Canada had the highest drafted forward and defenseman in one year. It was surpassed by the Slovak pair Slafkovský – Nemec, who occupied the highest ranks.
“It’s a great evening for these young players, their families, the people who took care of them and all of Slovak hockey. I firmly believe that we will see both of them in the NHL this year,” Ivan Feneš, the national team coach of the 20-year-old, said on the RTVS broadcast.
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