Decidedly, the Canadian will have held everyone spellbound until the last day with the identity of this damn first choice.
Updated yesterday at 9:16 p.m.
There is Shane Wright, announced since 2019 as the best player in this vintage.
There is Juraj Slafkovsky, who invited himself into the discussion with his performances “not just dioses, but grandiose”, said a joker, at the World Championship and at the Olympic Games.
There is Logan Cooley, precisely, who had dinner with the Canadiens last month in Buffalo. The club’s scouts hold him in high esteem.
Wright, the favorite?
Our discussions with general managers, recruiters and agents met in Montreal this week point to a final between Wright and Slafkovsky.
Wright received the preferential treatment, having received a call from Habs head coach Martin St-Louis and special adviser to hockey operations Vincent Lecavalier.
These calls took place about ten days ago. The one with St. Louis – which general manager Kent Hughes did not reveal in his Monday press briefing – was obviously not trivial, since they chatted for more than half an hour. Wright, ranked as the top prospect in North America by NHL Central Scouting, came away impressed with whoever could be his coach next fall.
“It was positive. Martin is so smart as a coach. He was a smart player and he is a smart coach. There are good young people and I want to be part of what this organization is building, “said Wright, Wednesday morning, on the sidelines of a promotional activity on ice at the Canadiens training center.
A head coach so involved in recruiting a prospect is rather rare. The classic image of the draft coach is that of the coach “sitting at the end of the table, not in the center, and who mainly looks at the mothers of the players”, launches a former high placed of an NHL team, hardly cynical.
But on the other hand, Kevyn Adams, general manager of the Buffalo Sabers, said Wednesday that his head coach, Don Granato, would sometimes text him “at 5 a.m.” about a prospect.
“I think he’s interested in it!” “said Adams. St-Louis is part of this same type of passionate coach. But there is also the fact that the player that the Canadian will claim at 1er rank has a good chance of playing next fall…
St-Louis one day, Lecavalier another day. Wright can’t say he didn’t feel wanted by the Habs. “I see they are doing their homework, they want to know who I am as a player, said number 51. [Lecavalier] talked about his experiences. It was different in his case, he was going to Tampa, which was a small market at the time. »
“There was a lot of talk about the pressure Shane played under this year,” added Hughes, “met after the GMs meeting late Wednesday.
“We wanted him to have the chance to speak with someone who has had this experience, to be more open, more honest. We evaluate everything, we want to know, whether it’s Shane, Logan or Juraj, how ready they are for the pressure of Montreal. »
Another meeting for Slafkovsky
The strategy differs from hope to hope. Slafkovsky, he has not spoken to members of the Canadian staff since the evaluation camp in Buffalo, but he will be entitled to a last-minute meeting this Thursday, the day of the first round.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Juraj Slafkovsky
“I had to meet them [mardi]he explained, but the plane was delayed. [Mercredi]there are a lot of things on the schedule, so [ce jeudi], we will have a meeting. I don’t know who will be there. »
Special to still have a meeting on the day of the repechage? “I don’t know, but I like it! “, he launched, with his broad smile.
“We want to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. We have time, it’s not as if, all of a sudden, we were going to go straight”, justified Hughes.
Logan Cooley indicated that he had not received a call from St-Louis and had no meeting scheduled for this week in Montreal.
Slafkovsky’s humor
Slafkovsky once again used his (already) legendary sense of humor to dodge awkward questions.
Last month, in Buffalo, the Slovak told us that he would see himself well in Montreal, in a line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. “It would make a pretty crazy trio [a pretty sick line]. I think I’m the biggest of the three. They need someone bigger to get the pucks. And they are really skill players. That would make a good combination! “, he had answered us.
However, on Wednesday, as part of an activity with minor hockey players, the six hopefuls of the day were on the ice in Brossard along with Jonathan Drouin… and Suzuki. So, how was the conversation with number 14 of the Canadian?
“It was fun. I purposely stood next to him so the papers would have a story to write,” he joked.
Slafkovsky stood close to Suzuki during the activity, but he was also often at Wright’s side. As the best hopes of the 2022 vintage, they are constantly called upon to rub shoulders.
From the evaluation camp in Buffalo, they flew together to New Jersey to visit the facilities of the Devils, holders of the 2e choice. They were also two of four prospects invited by the NHL during the Stanley Cup final, to meet the players of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Juraj Slafkovsky, Shane Wright and Logan Cooley
“Slafkovsky is a really good guy,” Wright said. He understands what we are going through. We are a bit competitive, but I also have great respect for him, for his skills, because he is an elite player. It’s easy to be friends with a guy like him.
“We both earned the right to be in this conversation. There is no discomfort, these are two guys who play hockey, but not against each other. »
Chances are high that they will actually play against each other starting next fall. But with the Devils willing to trade the 2e choice, with these incessant rumors about the Canadian looking to make a splash, who knows what sweater they will put on Thursday night. End of the endless suspense in less than 24 hours.
Caught by the police!
Shane Wright had quite an adventure on his way to Montreal. Barely arrived on Quebec soil, the family car was intercepted by a police officer along the highway. “We roll down the window. He said: “We are looking for a car involved in an accident, it looks like yours. We wanted to make sure everything was fine.” Then he looks at me, he says, “You’re going to the draft.” Wright had to admit that yes, the family was well and truly on its way to the draft. “He goes back to his car. Then my dad sees him in his rearview mirror with his phone. He comes back, he says, “I’m sorry, I have to take a picture with you!” »