Those who followed the draft at home must have noted an incongruity. While Frank Nazar was on stage and donning the Blackhawks jersey as 13e choice, the spectators at the Bell Center started screaming.
Updated at 0:12
the fan club from Nazar? A delegation of Blackhawks fans? It was more of an ovation for Juraj Slafkovsky, who came out of the backstage of the Bell Center to head towards the corridors of level 100, in order to go to the TVA Sports set.
The new hope of the Canadian received a welcome worthy of a rock star. He distributed the “tope là” on each side of the stairs. “Slaf-kov-sky, Slaf-kov-sky!” “, they chanted, cries followed by the usual “Olé, olé, olé”.
Once in the corridors, fans rushed to Slafkovsky. Among them, we see a teenager with a Canadian jersey at number 51. Not for David Desharnais, Francis Bouillon or Andrei Kovalenko. It was a Shane Wright jersey, autographed by Wright, to boot.
“I could say that I have the first jersey signed by Shane Wright’s Canadiens! “says Mark Friedman, the teenager in question.
Meeting with Molson
Judging by the reaction of the spectators, Slafkovsky’s selection took many by surprise. Even if the name of the Slovak always came up among the candidates, Wright’s candidacy was hard to dismiss, because the Canadian has holes to fill in the center, and because Wright has been expected since 2019 as the first in class of this auction.
In fact, Slafkovsky himself said he was taken by surprise!
I didn’t even hear my name! I just heard “Slovakia” and I was really in shock, I wasn’t listening anymore, I was shaking and I had chills. It’s an incredible moment.
Juraj Slafkovsky
In his defense, the Canadian did a lot of work to cover his tracks. Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St-Louis, for example, both called Wright two weeks ago, but not Slafkovsky.
That said, the great Slovak was entitled to a last minute invitation with the CH staff this week. This meeting was to take place on Monday, when he arrived in Montreal, but as his flight was delayed, he arrived later than expected in the city. The meeting was postponed to Thursday and, well, Geoff Molson attended, which was not originally planned.
When we arrive in the room and the owner is there, we must suspect that something is going on, right? “I was very surprised. They said he wanted to attend the meeting. So I was glad he was there, even though we didn’t speak.
“They didn’t ask me anything special. We just talked for 20 or 30 minutes. At the end, they said, “Good luck. We love you.” But I didn’t know I was their choice. »
He did not know it, but at the end of the day, people around Wright began to be told that the center of the Frontenacs of Kingston would not be the lucky winner of the CH. Kent Hughes, he said his decision was made Wednesday morning, 36 hours from the draft. What weighed in the balance?
“Players who skate, who have a physical side, who score, there are not many, recalled Hughes, at the end of the evening. What came up often was that Juraj, even at the World Championship, he wants to make a difference, he wants to have the puck. In the interview, one of our questions was: “What do you like the most in hockey?” He said it’s being on the ice when it’s 4-3, leading 4-3 or losing 4-3. »
Hughes added that the personality of the youngster, who left home at 14 to play at a higher level, also worked in his favour. “I thought he lived in boarding school, or that his parents were with him, but no. I said to him: “How did you cook?” He replied: “With an oven!” »
Mixed results
Kent Hughes himself said: “If someone had an impeccable record, our decision would be easy to make. »
While some scouts had their reservations about Wright, especially his intensity, others had reservations about Slafkovsky, who shone internationally but also had a modest pro season in Finland. . He spent the season at TPS Turku, where he registered five goals and five assists in 31 games.
At the Olympics, however, the 6’4″, 229 lb giant had seven goals in seven games for Slovakia, before adding nine points (three goals, six assists) in eight games at the World Senior Championship.
Its production in Turku was higher after the Olympics. He had just four points in 21 games before the Olympics, and amassed six in 10 games after Beijing. In his defence, he was confined to a very small role before the Games. “After his seven goals at the Games, his coach really had no choice but to play him! “, told us a recruiter.
But in the playoffs, again with increased use, he was limited to two goals and five assists in 18 games.
Except that a winger his size, described by the independent scouting service Hockey Prospects as “a dynamic power forward, attacking opposing defenses”, “always on the move”, was obviously too hard for Hughes to ignore. To the point that he was willing to ignore a cross, a need he tried to fill by getting Kirby Dach in a trade.
“Crosses definitely have value. But if not, you can find one without fishing it. We found one. At the same time, the number of calls we get for Josh Anderson is incredible, so there is also demand for a player who can score. and who is physically imposing, ”unpacked the DG.
Mixed reception
Knowing all this, Slafkovsky received a few boos during his walk on the red carpet, upon his arrival at the Bell Center. Because yes, there are people who boo 18 year olds who have yet to set foot on an NHL rink…
Mark Friedman, our friend mentioned earlier, was not among them, even though he was wearing a Wright jersey.
“I didn’t hear the boos,” Mark tells us. For my part, I did not boo him. But I brought a Devils cap for him to sign. I thought he was going to New Jersey! »
Slafkovsky heard them. And he responded as only he knows how to do, with his usual repartee.
“Hockey is their passion, mine too. Maybe some of them don’t like me. But I will do everything I can to play well for this team and maybe one day they will like me. »
Reconciliation is visibly underway.