In the notebook | Kent Hughes has changed his plans

(Buffalo, N.Y.) Kent Hughes was originally scheduled to leave NHL tryout camp on Wednesday. However, the hope Logan Cooley, a name that sometimes comes up as a possible first choice, had an appointment with the Canadian Thursday for dinner. It would therefore have been peculiar if Hughes had not been present at dinner with a young man his team is evaluating.

Guillaume Lefrancois
The Press

It appears that Hughes has changed his plans. Instead, he left Buffalo during the day Friday.

This explains why Cooley, in a press briefing on Friday, named Hughes among the five guests at the table with him Thursday evening. “It’s hard to guess what people are thinking, but the meeting went well,” said Cooley, stingy with details.

Juraj Slafkovsky, he was not entitled to a dinner with the Habs. But late Wednesday evening, he received a text inviting him to an impromptu meeting with the CH staff, he told us on Thursday.

Slafkovsky was one of six prospects who met the media Friday afternoon in Buffalo, and of course, the Canadian’s interest in him caused a stir. “I think they’re interested in me,” he said. I may not have been invited to dinner, but our meeting tasted better than dinner! »

This great Slovak winger does not have his tongue in his pocket. To a colleague asking him to react to the words of Shane Wright, who said he deserved to be the 1^er choice next month, Slafkovsky replied: “That’s what he thinks. I think differently! »

His appreciation of Wright? “It’s a center. He can score, he can pass. It’s nothing I can’t do. »

Conversely, Wright has always been praised for his great maturity, and he responded like a 30-year-old player when asked about Slafkovsky and Cooley. “They are two incredible players who have had very good seasons and who deserve all the success they have had,” he said.

The personality differences between the two are striking.

Wright did not back down when it came to his level of intensity, which is sometimes criticized by recruiters. “Several teams have asked me the question. I said sometimes it might look like I’m not skating, but I’m cerebral, I think, I’m methodical and try to figure out the game in advance. »

Number 51 exudes a lot of seriousness, but still made the floor laugh when he returned to his dinner with the Canadian. “I come in to order, I was looking at the steak, but it was pretty expensive, about $60. And they said to me: “Bah, take it, it doesn’t matter!” But I made sure it was ok before ordering it! »

In Central Scouting’s North American rankings, four of the top five prospects are listed as centers. The only exception: Cutter Gauthier, an American identified as a left winger. However, he has indicated that he will play center next season at Boston College.

This could be a game-changer at the top of the table. The last time the Canadiens drafted early (in 2018), the vintage was weak in the middle. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Barrett Hayton, claimed respectively to the 3^e and 5^e ranks, are slow to take off. This year, teams looking for a center will have no shortage of options.

One such center, Conor Geekie (5^e North American Hope), comes from Strathclair, a village in Manitoba about 250 km from Winnipeg. “I didn’t really have any weird questions in my interviews with the teams, but people reacted strongly when I was asked about the population of my village. »

According to Statistics Canada, Strathclair had 709 residents in 2016, “but that’s in the municipality,” he said, adding that his hamlet has 137 residents.

“It wasn’t necessarily a challenge to play hockey there. I was lucky to have the keys to the arena. It’s not the prettiest arena, obviously. I think there are cattle inside right now! But it definitely made me better. »

Finally, Dan Marr, director of the NHL Central Scouting, indicated that forward Ivan Miroshnichenko, on 11^e European hope, has successfully completed his treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “He was still receiving treatment in Germany during the U18 World Cup, so several teams were able to meet him there. He now has the green light to train for the start of the next season,” Marr said.

Miroshnichenko has long been seen as an intriguing prospect, but illness cut his season short.