Thursday night, in Montreal, was the first round of the National Hockey League draft, in a packed Bell Center.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
A big show that consists of watching 32 beardless guys put on a sweater and a cap. (Small digression, about the cap: can you drop it? First, it’s hockey, not baseball. Second, we don’t see his eyes anymore, to your hope. Already we don’t has hardly ever seen, can we uncover his full face, please? That doesn’t get star treatment. Brad Pitt doesn’t put on a cap when he grabs his Oscar. It’s not telegenic. It shuts off the light. It shuts off the aura. Out the cap! You will sell the same! Thanks.)
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
One of the players drafted by the Canadiens on Thursday, Filip Mesár (center), after receiving his team jersey
The show is hosted by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Who is copiously booed. Which is not chic, and which we absolutely should not do. This is no way to receive anyone. That said, this behavior is predictable. In all the arenas of the circuit, Bettman is booed. Why ? Because it’s the boss. The one who leads. One who imposes. The one who triggers lockouts. The one who says no to Quebec. The one who thinks of cash. That’s it job. And he does it very well. But why does he want to animate the repechage? That’s not his job. Truly not. I know, the NFL honcho does. Good for him. But we have to do with the charisma we have. And with the reaction we provoke.
A facilitator is a unifier. Someone who rallies the public. From Wayne Gretzky to Chantal Machabée, there are dozens of hockey personalities who could take on this task. A hundred times better. Without creating discomfort. Without provoking “cabbage!” as she says thank you to the host city. Bettman doesn’t need to be omnipresent on the scene. To be in all the photos. He already has the power. No need for power trip. The president of ADISQ does not award all the Felixes. He makes his little speech and it’s already good in droves.
The Canadian has the first choice. If we rely on the jacket of the chief recruiter, Martin Lapointe, we will not be afraid to surprise. To everyone’s surprise, Kent Hughes sets his sights on Juraj Slafkovský. A diction and spelling exercise for users of the Tremblay language. Let’s hope he stays with the club longer than Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
This is the third time the Habs fished first, at home. In 1971, he picked the sparkling Guy Lafleur; in 1980, the erased Doug Wickenheiser. Slafkovský will probably be neither. Will it make more sparks than erasure? The future will tell.
He was my number one candidate. From what little I’ve seen him play. A solid player, in body and in mind. When he walked the red carpet, young Juraj got booed. What bullshit ! We may want Shane Wright to be the lucky one, but that’s no reason to attack an 18-year-old who is happy to be in Montreal.
There’s something unfair about boos. For the boo, of course, and for the mufflers too. They say: people booed Slafkovský. But it’s not people, it’s people. A small gang. But as the sound comes from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, the whole crowd becomes guilty.
It often happened to me, at the Bell Centre, to feel uncomfortable because an opposing player was booed, often a former CH player. How can we disassociate ourselves from this mass movement?
At the end of the day, as Bergevin would say, we are only talking about the hundred people who shouted “cabbage! “, never thousands who have not done so.
There’s only one way to fight boos: give it a standing ovation. Applaud loudly. To remain silent is to remain still while someone is being beaten up. Will have to remember that next time, rather than standing still.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Juraj Slafkovský receives his jersey during his draft.
Ever since the red carpet incident, Slafkovský has been garnering applause. He even took a walk in the stands of his new amphitheater. Something that many Canadian veterans have never experienced.
This is perhaps the beginning of a long love story between the Slovak and the fans. And during each celebration, we will add one more slap, to make him forget the misstep, or rather the false noise, of our beginnings.
Thirty-two players have heard their name. The others were hoping to hear it in the second round. Many will never hear it. They will have to impose it themselves, like Martin St-Louis.
The draft is like going to a nursery. We choose flowers, plants, shrubs, trees. With care. We are sure to have taken the most beautiful. We integrate them into our garden hoping that they grow well, that they flourish and that we are the envy of all the neighbors.
Of the shoots of 2022, how many will bloom this season? How much in 2023, 2024, 2025 or never?
I wish the Canadian a garden worthy of a parade.
It lacks a few fleur-de-lys.
We’ll see…