Watch as Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens announced that they will take Slovakian left-winger Juraj Slafkovsky with the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
His mother reaction made me cry I'm not gonna lie. That was such a beautiful moment. You can tell the kid have great parents that raised him right. As a Habs fan I'm glad to have him with us.
They sacrificed so much for him. They paid for hockey camps as the hockey club in his home town provided no support. They sent him to camps in Austria, Czechia even to Montreal and at the age 14 his dad told him that if he wants to get better, he should try either Finnish os Swedish league so he went to Finnish league on his own. This means everything to his parent, the years of support and sacrifice paid off.
What didnt help Wright was his cockyness .. “i think i will be picked first and i deserve it”.. But, imo, that just shows he will NOT break under pressure. On the contrary, media attention could be his fuel .. like Subban. But lime Subban, such players can be poison in a team if his arrogance and cockiness is not kept in check. I beleive Habs got scared of his personnality .. so they went for Slaf and got Dach as a plan B center who has chances to developp well. Habs did great imo.. but i also beleive Wright will be a great player. Goid luck to these young bloods
I absolutely love the moment at @1:05 when he hears "Slovakian National Team" and realizes that it's him. His humility to just be with his parents in that moment says all I need to know about him. What grace. Welcome to the Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal Canadians handled the draft with class. A class organization. So sad for Bryant Marchant of San Jose Sharks. Beautiful speeches for Mike Bossy and Guy Lafleur.
Don’t know if ur talking about how they organized the draft or how did they do, because as a habs fan, this was a pretty painful night for the whole city, people screaming in the subway, sports restaurant going crazy, booing the gm and our new first overall pick, not really a great night for us.
@@laurentdubois2904 You'll find out Slavkovsky was the right choice as early as this Fall but don't expect to see Wright play in the big leagues for a few seasons.
@@laurentdubois2904 i was referring to Gary Bettman not showing enough respect to French Canadian people- either speak English or get someone who can translate. He sounded awful. I thought the Montreal handled the draft with class honoring Habs legend Guy Lefleur and hated NY Islander Mike Bossy (Rangers fan here- although I do respect Bossy). The two speakers were great and spoke eloquently. Unfortunately Gary spoke like he had a southern twang with nasal congestion. Now your pick was a bit surprising. I would have liked the Canadiens to pick Shane Wright but the kid due to Covid and a crazy season didn’t perform very well. You needed a center. Don’t forget you have former GM of the Rangers there. Not a good sign. Good luck
This is who I would have picked as my first pick of the Draft because he has all the right tools and attitude to perhaps be one of the best in the NHL..
He is looking real good right now and he was injured last year so basically has about one season in now and on the verge of huge breakout. Next year he should start to become very hard to play against and will still only be 20/21 years old. At 24 years of age only about a dozen defensemen in the league will be able to handle his size.
Following you since you have 16yo, hoping to draft you since we win the lottery, Juraj Slafkovsky, im proud and overly happy to welcome you in the Montreal Canadiens !
@@joydjinn8692 I think they should rotate the captaincy for a season. Nothing wrong with that. Not too much pressure on anyone. Will allow the new breed to mature one more season.
I guess the deal breaker was his experience with mens hockey. He is a good guy a will do great in the NHL. Meanwhile Wright has learned his lesson about humbleness :D
Not to take away from Slaf but I think the real deal breaker is that multiple teams became concerned about Wright's attitude/personality during interviews. Wright said he "deserves" to be taken number 1. That sounds like someone who is a little full of himself.
I already love his mom and her reaction. He's gonna have an amazing career. He was my pick for months now. And I think he's far better to handle the pressure than Wright.
It's because they sacrificed so much to get him where he is right now. You see they had to pay for pretty much everything by themselves. They made a crowdfunding with other parents to get their boys to best hockey camps because they had no support form their home hockey teams. He is theirs everything and it's mainly thanks to them he is so humble and down to earth guy.
After the Olympic Games I was like “ Colfield-Suzuki-Slafkovski “ Wright would have been great too. But a guy with 70 games that lud Senior experience including International Tournaments where he stayed his man. That’s the logical choice to me. Go Hab’s Go
@@HunterMagunter KK is only a year older and the numbers are identical.... Kirby has played with Kane and Debrincat and the numbers are very ordinary.. I'm not sold yet. Don't get hype too fast, the new management hasn't proved anything yet.
@@matthewminogue3276 it's not hype, dach hasn't been given his proper chances and has dealt with injuries. Isn't a stretch to see him finding his game in montreal where they can offer ice and solid wingers for him. I'd still happily take a 6 foot 4 3c, I'm just not willing to give up on his potential
3 teams passed on Wright for a reason. They know stuff we don't. Future will tell I guess but panicking and saying that people needs to gets fired is drama queen behavior.
@@French_Canadian_Pea_Soup apparently he's easy to play against on the boards and too nice in the dirty areas. So not enough grit or fight in his game.
@@French_Canadian_Pea_Soup How would I know? They are the ones that interviewed these guys, and Montreal and 2 other teams decided to pass on him. Just trust them for now, only time will tell if they were right or wrong. Panicking now doesn't make any sense. Juraj needs to feel welcomed into Montreal and we need to greet him as such. Trying to spread some hate towards the organisation is just plain stupid.
@@unapologeticOne I don't think it has anything to do with that. Slafkovsky is simply the better player, take a look at some of his highlights he could be a star in the NHL
@@Wiserhuman1 I agree, the kid hasn't played a single NHL game and already has an Olympic MVP award on his resume, ok there were no NHL players in Beijing but it's still very impressive, it's something only the greats can aspire to. I think he's gonna be very good, if he turns in something like a Kaprisov I would be pretty happy, time will tell, but he's certainly no bust like a Kotkaniemi. I like the fact that Montreal also drafted another Slovakian in first round, might be a very good thing, they will complete each other I hope.
Slafkovsky - pure goal scorer proven against men, amazing body, personality and skill. Kirby Dach - older and sooner prepared to NHL, still has lot unveiled potential. Wright - never played against men and arrogant... Montreal made amazing picks and trade.
@@jurajnovotny4725 He wasn't the only guy in this draft who played in a men's league. Joakim Kemell played for a weaker team in the same league and scored 15 goals this season, and he fell to 17th. Statistically Slafkovsky had one of the weakest seasons of any player drafted from the Finnish league in the first round. In their draft years Patrik Laine had 17 goals, Aleksander Barkov had 21 goals, Kaapo Kakko had 22 goals, Jesperi Kotkaniemi had 10 goals, Mikko Rantanen had 9 goals, Mikael Granlund had 13 goals, Jesse Puljujärvi had 13 goals etc. and none of those guys were selected 1st overall.
@@hankdasilva3817 Slafkovsky was 4th liner before olympic games not able to show what he can do on the ice. On olympic games he started 4th line and proceeded to 1st. MVP between best men outside of the NHL. Back in the Liiga he was given also more icetime and his productivity increased. On world championship he also belonged to the best on the tournament. Beside of the statistics watch him play and compare numbers before olympic games and after that. Also he made HUGE progress in his game and still is only 18 and I'm pretty sure he will start next season in the Habs 3rd line. This boy is future NHL star there's no doubt about it.
Perfect Juraj. It is incredible. You deserve that. Po slovensky tomu malo niekto z komentujucich rozumie. Dufam, že sa mu bude darit a velka gratulácia a nech má uspesnu karieru v NHL a potom na MS nech dá zlatý gól.
@@slovanplay672 Jasné, ja len v krátkosti. Tiež som hrával hokej, chodieval na NHL zápasy. Má veľkú šancu, hlavne v základnej časti,. Základná časť je len divadlo pre divákov, ale niektorý hráči ju berú vážne a dávajú do hokeja všetko, niektorý len korculuju. V play off je to zase o niečom inom
@@danvass3058 Hrával hokej pekne. To je pravda niektorý to berú príliš vážne ale aj tak sa to ukáže v playoff kto je najlepší alebo má aktuálne najlepšiu formu.
@@charlesbaha5298 you think you gave up too much? We gave up our 13th pick for your 13 point defensemen. You at least got a former 3rd overall pick who has oodles of potential still.
As much as I like to chirp against Toronto, I was rooting for you guys against TB and honestly it was so close that you could easily have won that series. Marner showed that he could raise his game a notch in the playoffs, really impressed me compared to last year vs us.
Holy smokes there are some real lookers in Juraj's family(!) this kid reminds me so much of a hockey version of Ronaldo haha, best of luck to him! Welcome to the Habs!
Wright was overhyped by everyone, just because you are Canadian doesn't mean you are going to be automatic 1st pick, talent prevailed and Juraj deserves this
@@ev4231 Yeah, having 10 points in 30 games is much better, especially when he had been active to year prior, but your right, 1.5 points per game is wayyy too low, 0.3 tho, thats perfect
Tres content pour la sélection du canadiens je souhaite que slafkovsky connaisse beaucoup de succès dans la ligue nationale de hockey avec le canadiens
People have been living under a rock. Wright was overhyped he didnt have a good season whereas slafkovsky had a really good season and impressed when he represented his country
A really good season? Whattt. Are you talking about his Liiga numbers?! I mean I love Slafkovski but he's a big bet. Wright is underated imo, we'll see he was drafted 4th after all but he missed 1 season of hockey.
@@tchevrier Same could be said for Suzuki, world junior doesn't mean everything too man. There's a lot of players that had a good tournament and didn't even make the NHL.
@@zjean3417 dont underestimate small players.. Fleury back in the day .. Martin St-Louis .. both played in an era where it was even harder for small players to reach greatness .. Also, with his size and speed, Caufield will be a PP magnet. He will give us so many PP.. I’m just excited to see them both pkay on same line, tbh ! ;)
Caufield still has a better shot. Juraj can shoot, but I think the Olympic skewed the perception of what he truly is in many people's eyes. He's more of a playmaker than a sniper. Which is kinda ridiculously rare on a player with a power forward frame. His primary strengths are his puck protection and carrying skills and he's got good passing instincts, even if he still attempts a lot of risky passes, because you want that in a young player, you want them to experiment and try stuff to develop their game, learn where their limits are. With him and Suzuki to set him up, Caufield is gonna be a 40-50 goal scorer before long.
from Slovak TV .... Habs have a new thousends fans 🙂.... really have ..... Slovakia love hockey and Juraj ...... get to Juraj free hands and you will see... all the best to Montreal
The people of the province of Quebec have a special place in their heart for the Stastny brothers, so we have a long tradition of loving great Slovak hockey players. Hopefully Juraj and Filip can be the next generation to shine in the NHL here. Congrats on an amazing hockey year. 1-2 punch at the NHL draft (and Mesar a bit later) and an Olympic medal. Amazing!
Awesome. Lots of reports of wright being difficult to deal with and has an attitude, sounding more like an Eichel. Probably why he slid down to 4th overall. Great for Slovak patriots!
@@jangofatt7135 I would rather have someone with in attitude then someone who gets affected by it. Most of the best players and coaches of the world have in attitude its not necessarily bad only in some cases it depends how you view it.
Stop talking out of your ass, my barbers sister was wrights billet family and they’ve had nothing but good things to say about him. He didn’t perform well in his draft year and that’s why he dropped to number 4, anyone in the Kingston area that has watched him live, knew he was struggling and just didn’t perform well
"oh my god" is what he says, you hear it clearly in the "Welcome to the NHL" documentary that the NHL put out. (highly recommend if you're reading this, very nicely done and gives a look behind the scene of this year's draft.
Juraj really has a potencial to ve close to JAGR .....not kidding here ...generational talent ...you be thankfull to Hugnes for this in years to come HABS FANS ..
I was surprised like many but with each passing hour I’m starting to believe this was the best pick. Tell ya one think they picked the most handsome guy, time will tell for the rest lol Lastly, any doubt Suzuki will be named captain ?
@@stonefaced4578 exactly, I think Gallagher was the only person on the team besides Shea Weber who deserved to be captain, and now that Weber is unfortunately gone I think Gally is the right call. The captain doesn't have to be the best offensive player on the team, I think Gally is a natural leader.
Just observations from the draft from scouts and players themselves I think Montreal got this right and Shawn Right is lucky to go to Seattle because all he has to do is prove people wrong without having a lot of pressure on the young kid and he will definitely get a real shot with Kraken without having to play in a pressure cooker setting like Montréal .
Damn, no kidding. Remember the (over)reaction a couple yrs ago when Mtl picked Caufield? "They got another smurf?" "Will get manhandled, taken off the puck etc." "No way he becomes an effective scorer during reg. season, never mind the playoffs". Yeah, no kidding.
oh man i am from the UK so i get to watch alot of euro hockey and oh man he looks insane i trulyt mean that and u know what i think he will be in the nhl as soon as december/january
@@manu-animation-924 You obviously didnt watch worlds and you obviously havent seen his olympic performance. Wright has only played against kids in his league and was predicted to be no. 1 because of that? You must be dreaming
You don’t win cups with one good line. Montreal has terrible centre depth, and all good teams that win cups have amazing top 6 centre depth (Crosby/Malkin, Stamkos/Point, MacKinnon/Kadri, Backstrom/Kuznetsov, etc). Suzuki is a great top 6 centre, and Dach isn’t, neither is Evans or Poehling or Dvorak.
@@Tanmoy49 We're still rebuilding bud. We're not going for the cup this next season. I wouldn't be surprised if we finished at the bottom again this year, which I really wouldn't mind with Bedard coming up. The purpose of the trades and the pick today is not to win the cup, but to START building that depth. Also, given how Romanov has developed so far and with the upcoming defensive youngsters in the Canadiens, his loss isn't as bad as it may seem.
@@thatjdmfd again, I didn’t complain about Romanov OR about tanking next year? I mentioned the need for strong centre depth. Wright + Suzuki would have been solid centre depth for the next decade and a half as rheum develop togerher. With the 13th pick, instead of trading it for an underperforming player like Dach, to use it on a high-potential elite winger like Lekkerimaki/Kemmel/Nazar, would have been arguably far better for the Habs. Imagine Suzuki-Caufield and Wright-Lekkerimaki/Kemmel/Nazar on the top 2 lines. And that’s not to mention next years draft where they could arguably get a Bedard, Michkov, or Fantilli to fill out the remainder of the top 6. Overall, it would have been better for the future to get the two-way centre and get an elite centre with the Islanders pick, rather than getting an elite winger with the 1OA and trading the 13th pick for an underwhelming centre.
@@TheMaestro116 if that’s where Bedard and Fantilli come in, then why waste the 13OA on Kirby Dach instead of getting another amazing winger. That’s exactly my point. Imagine Lekkerimaki/Nazar/Kemmel-Bedard-XXX Slafkovsky-Suzuki-Caufield As your top 6, that makes so much more sense than having one less elite winger and having a sub-par centre in Dach who would be a 3C vs drafting a 1st line winger.
The question isn’t Juraj+Dach > Wright, it’s whether or not Juraj+Dach > Wright+ Lekkerimaki/Kemmel/Nazar. And I think Wright is significantly better than Dach. And I think the gap between Slaf and those wingers isn’t very much. I think this was a mistake
@@ShabbsArt the only thing we know is that Dach isn’t worth a 13th overall pick. Imagine Chicago, a team that’s going into a rebuild, trading a 3rd overall pick who’s also 21 years old and playing on their top line with Kane and DeBrincat. There’s no reason why any team would trade a player like that if they were great or if the team believed they had promise. This seemed like a desperation trade for the Habs for not picking Wright.
Well, that's a surprise. I think he deserved to be #1, but it's not common, NHL teams drafting European guys before Canadian/USA talent early in the draft. Still, I think our country will be very proud of both him and Nemec, we've never had a #1 before, now we have a #1 and a #2. A few years ago, our youth wasn't looking good, and the men's hockey team nearly got relegated to the B-division, that year we only won one match, against Italy, in OT. Five or six years later, and we won an olympic medal, which is absolutely insane, and now these two guys are gonna put Slovakia back on the hockey map. Very proud ♥
I don't think there's a bias depending on which continent the player is from, if there is it might be the two biggest 1OA busts in the last 20 years being Stefan and Yakupov. 3 of the last 5 1OA were Euros (Hischier, Dahlin, Slaf). If there was going to be a bias here it would be Montreal taking a French Canadian born player if there was one anywhere near the top 5, no matter their needs at positions (Imagine the hysteria if Lafreniere was available in this draft,) but that's a Quebec thing. Slafkovsky proved to be ready to play with men when he won olympic mvp while he was 17. Players of his size, with decent feet and good hands and offensive instincts don't come around often. Lindros was the most hyped generational talent after Gretz and Mario, and Slafkov has the same size and nose for the net as 88. As for Nemec, I haven't seen anything that makes me think he's as athletically gifted, but after only an elite goalie, and generational talent two-way center, the steady, mobile, puck-moving D-man (especially if they are right-side shots) is the most coveted thing at the drafts or trade deadlines.
i believe in slaf i believe he wants to win and will do the best he can...go back at 1.00 when mr hughes switches to french and look at the player's faces...of the 3 only slaf has a reaction like wo im impressed this is huge this is important....no comparison possible with kotkaniemi...and talking about players with heart after all maybe subban should have stayed with the habs....who knows...
broooo give dach 2 to 3 seasons and wait till you see guhle and barron evolve... i liked romanov too but the thing is we could afford that trade and romy with the russian bullshit and the leugue thing is just underwhelming...
@@johnnyjazz5413 what does the Russian BS have to do with Romanov? Sure he’s Russian, but it’s not like the NHL is going to ban Russians or that Romanov supports Putin, because he doesn’t
