Canadiens stun taking Juraj Slafkovsky with No. 1 pick: Best memes and reactions

The Montreal Canadiens passed on consensus top prospect Shane Wright to select Slovakia winger Juraj Slafkovsky with the first-overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft.

The 2022 NHL Draft began on July 7, with Montreal, Quebec, Canada hosting the two-day event. To make matters that much more perfect for Montreal, the Canadiens held the first-overall pick, which would no doubt make for an exciting moment for the fanbase.

Throughout the pre-draft process, Kingston Frontenacs center Shane Wright was dubbed the top overall prospect in the entire class. Canadiens were certainly expecting him to be the first player taken off the board and to be handed the team’s signature red sweater on the stage at Bell Centre.

Instead, the Canadiens announced that they were selecting Slovakia winger Juraj Slafkovsky, who gained steam entering the opening night of the event. Sure enough, that became a reality, while Wright sat in the audience waiting for his name to be called.

Canadiens pass on Shane Wright, select Juraj Slafkovsky with No. 1 pick in 2022 NHL Draft

For Wright, he was not immediately selected right after the pick either.

The New Jersey Devils, who already have young centers in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, passed on him to select Slovakian defenseman Simon Nemec with the second-overall pick. Okay, so Wright would definitely go No. 3 overall to the Arizona Coyotes, correct? Nope, the Coyotes decided to take United States center Logan Cooley instead.

Wright’s slide down the draft board ended at No. 4, as the Seattle Kraken selected him.

Here is a compilation of tweets that took place during the madness that was the first four picks of the 2022 NHL Draft.

https://twitter.com/StatBoy_Steven/status/1545188400046776321

https://twitter.com/Sabremetrix/status/1545188271633973248

Slafkovsky is a 6-foot-3, 218-pound winger that obviously enamored the Canadiens enough to select him with the top pick. played in 31 games this season for TPS Turku in Finland, where he scored five goals and tallied five assists. He shined in the 2022 Winter Olympics, scoring seven goals in seven games to help Slovakia win the bronze medal.

Now, he heads to Montreal to help be a significant piece to their team for the foreseeable future.