Free washer | Laval or Montreal?

If the 2019 draft happened today, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider would likely be drafted in the top two or three, maybe even first overall, ahead of the explosive Jack Hughes, depending on the need. organisation.

Mathias Brunet
The Press

At 20, Seider, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound right-hander, had 50 points in his first full NHL season and averaged a Wings-high 23:02.

At the end of the season, he became the second defenseman in three years, along with Cale Makar, in 2020 to win the Calder Trophy as the most outstanding rookie in the National League. He is now the undisputed number one defender in Detroit.

Probably because he was picked sixth overall, there was no outcry when Seider was demoted to the American League after his first professional training camp. He spent the entire season there, without the slightest reminder, before seeing the pandemic put an end to activities in the hockey world in March.

He also took the opportunity to participate in the 2020 World Championship with Germany, where he had six assists in seven games.

Seider therefore hit the small arenas of Milwaukee, Iowa and Rockford by bus while Hughes, Kaapo Kakko and even Kirby Dach played in the NHL.

The following season, in 2020-2021, instead of waiting for the resumption of activities in the National League, Seider and the Wings opted for Sweden, in Rögle, as a place of development for the young man.

The number of players of his vintage established in the NHL had increased to 11. Bowen Byram, Dylan Cozens, Trevor Zegras, Tobias Bjornfot and Nils Hoglander had joined Hughes, Kakko and Dach.

Alex Turcotte, Victor Soderstrom, Cam York, Cole Caufield, Alex Newhook, Peyton Krebs, Ville Heinola, Shane Pinto, Artur Kaliyev and Nick Robertson, among others, even had the honor of playing their first National League game before him. .

Moritz Seider is now the man the Red Wings are built around, along with Lucas Raymond. But GM Steve Yzerman was patient.

After a great game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, Juraj Slafkovsky was promoted to the first line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on Tuesday against the Senators.

The 2022 first overall pick had a tougher night. We see the enormous potential, but the young man sometimes seemed confused on the ice: too feverish in possession of the puck, not aggressive enough in his battles for the disc. Nothing unusual for an 18-year-old, regardless of his selection rank.

The management of the CH gives him every chance of succeeding. We should know shortly if we will stretch the experience with Suzuki and Caufield in the Maritimes, or if we will allow him to quietly find his bearings and his confidence in Laval in the American League, who knows in the company of his great friend and compatriot Filip Mesar.

Some will obviously tear their shirt if he is sent back to the American League, especially since Shane Wright, drafted three ranks down, will start the season in Seattle, confirmed on Wednesday by Kraken GM Ron Francis, to colleague Pierre Lebrun.

But regardless, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton won’t take the popular mood into consideration. Nor did they when it came time to draft Slafkovsky first overall in July.

If they believe that the young man will develop better in Montreal under the guidance of Martin St-Louis, the Slovak will stay with the Canadian. If we think it is better to move it away from the furnace Montrealers, we will. And if so, some fans will have to remember Seider’s journey.

Yes, but Seider is a sixth overall pick and Slafkovsky was picked first overall, many would say. Indeed, but there is far too much importance given to the selection rank, almost obsessing over the player chosen in the first rank, as if the fact of being drafted in the first rank completely distinguishes him from the others. But what difference was there between Nico Hischier, Nolan Patrick, Miro Heiskanen and Cale Makar on the day of the 2017 draft, if not numbers?

Will Cole Sillinger, drafted twelfth last year, be a better center than Matt Beniers, first draft forward, drafted second, because he started his career at 18 while Beniers chose to play a extra season in the NCAA?

Hughes has repeated since the draft that he chose Slafkovsky based on his long-term potential, what he was going to be able to give at 22, 23. Until then, it will be necessary to avoid anxiety attacks, that the young man finds himself in Montreal at the northern end of the orange metro league…

For now, the Canadian is leaving for the Maritimes, with Slafkovsky on board. He will probably be entitled to one or two additional games to allow management to make the most informed decision in his case.

Ron Francis hadn’t given up on Shane Wright

Unlike the Vegas Golden Knights, the Seattle Kraken trust young people in their early years. He will start the season with two centers, 19 and 18, Matt Beniers, second overall pick in 2021, and Shane Wright, fourth overall pick this summer. In his interview with colleague Pierre Lebrun, Seattle GM Ron Francis had prepared for the possibility of drafting Wright fourth overall. “We talked about it three days before the draft. Montreal seemed to be aiming for a winger, New Jersey a defender, we thought we could get our hands on one of the two centers in fourth place. We were thrilled to realize that Shane was always available to us. »

Ron Francis was able to relay his own experience to Wright in 1981. “I told him to play hockey and have fun. He’s been under a microscope for three years. The draft may not have gone his way, but in my day I expected to be drafted fifth overall by Washington, but they made a trade to draft Bobby Carpenter third overall. It’s like the Capitals don’t want me. I ended up in Hartford in fourth place. I never let the situation affect me. »

The first overall pick, Dale Hawerchuk, was the most productive in terms of points per game, with 1,409 in 1,188 games, but Francis had 1,798 points in 1,731 career games. The second overall pick, defenseman Doug Smith, had a more modest career…