Slafkovsky, Wright, top four picks join ‘NHL Draft Class’ podcast

Shane Wright said being selected by the Seattle Kraken with the No. 4 pick of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft gives him some extra motivation.

Wright, a center with Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League, was No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters and had been one of the frontrunners to be chosen by the Montreal Canadiens with the first selection.

“For sure it does,” Wright said on the latest episode of the “NHL Draft Class” podcast, recorded moments after he was chosen at Bell Centre in Montreal. “It definitely puts a little chip on my shoulder, gives me a little more motivation to succeed and to be the guy that I believe I can be.”

Wright took hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale through his mindset as the first three picks went off the board, and a pep talk from his father made him believe Seattle is the right fit for him.

“I can really see myself being in that lineup,” he said. “New franchise so I think I’ll have a lot of opportunities to play and hopefully play soon. I believe I can play next year, play with them and be a high-end player and difference maker on the team. That’s where I want to be. I think it’s a really good fit and really happy to be there.”

The Canadiens chose left wing Juraj Slafkovsky from TPS in Liiga, the top professional league in Finland. He’s the first player born in Slovakia to be the No. 1 pick of the NHL draft.

“I didn’t even hear my name,” Slafkovsky said. “I heard Slovakia and then I looked up and my face was on the camera so I knew what was happening. I got goosebumps, my parents were crying. I don’t even remember.”

Slafkovsky also discussed a breakfast meeting with Canadiens management Thursday morning, what he has to do to play in the NHL next season and what it means to hockey in Slovakia to him and fellow Slovakia native defenseman Simon Nemec from Nitra in the top league in the country go to the New Jersey Devils at No. 2.

“Out of 5 million people [in the country], 4 1/2 million are awake and cheering for us,” he said. 

Kimelman and Morreale also spoke to Nemec and USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team center Logan Cooley, the No. 3 pick by the Arizona Coyotes. They also reviewed the first round, including some of the surprise selections, the number of trades and what to look forward to on Day 2 of the draft, which begins at 11 a.m. ET (NHLN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

The podcast is free, and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms, including iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. It also is available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.

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Listen: New episode of NHL Draft Class