Former first draft picks totaled 20 points on Thursday night, and for an extremely rare occasion, a member of the Montreal Canadiens (CH) is part of this select group.
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In his fifth game of the season, Juraj Slafkovsky scored the first goal of his career against the Arizona Coyotes.
The 18-year-old and 204-day-old forward became the fourth-youngest player in franchise history to open his NHL tally, behind Mario Tremblay (18 years and 75 days) on Nov. 16, 1974, the former third overall choice of CH in 2018 Jesperi Kotkaniemi (18 years and 118 days), who achieved the feat on 1er November 2018, then Claude “Pépé” Lemieux (18 years and 141 days) on December 4, 1983 against the Buffalo Sabers, on assists from Tremblay and Gilbert Delorme.
Going back to Slafkovsky, the leader of the last draft is now the youngest Slovak-born player in NHL history to score his first goal, eclipsing the previous mark of ex-Minnesota Wild star Marian. Gaborik (18 years and 235 days) on October 6, 2000.
“The strength of young people”
The young people of CH were there in the resounding victory over the Coyotes, and other first-round picks emerged.
Besides Slafkovsky’s debut, Cole Caufield flashed the red light for the 26e times since February 10, the date of Martin St-Louis’ first game as the Habs’ head coach.
Finally, Nick Suzuki scored his second goal in a penalty shot situation, allowing him to equal a franchise record.
According to Sportsnet’s statistics service, only four other players have been awarded more than one penalty shot in a Bleu-Blanc-Rouge uniform: Jonathan Drouin, Mats Naslund, Guillaume Latendresse and rookie Robert “Bobby” Rousseau. of the year in 1961-1962.
Elsewhere in the NHL
Among the former No. 1s in their auction to shine on Thursday, Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had four points to end the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins winning streak in the home opener.
Rasmus Dahlin (six points in four outings) became the first defenseman in League history with a season-opening four-goal streak, and teammate Alex Tuch claimed the status of New York’s first native player. York to record a hat trick with the Sabers. Fullback Owen Power picked up two assists.
The 2017 first overall pick, Devils captain Nico Hischier had one goal and three points. Forward Jack Hughes, selected first overall in 2019, donned his first of the season.
Dominating at the start of the season, Penguins center Sidney Crosby scored an assist.
Bruins forward Taylor Hall (one goal) and Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (one assist) also stood out.