Watch Montreal Canadiens First Overall Pick Juraj Slafkovsky Gets Incredible Ovation From Fans

The Montreal Canadiens may have surprised a lot of people in attendance when they selected Juraj Slafkovsky first overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. The draft is being held in the Bell Centre in Montreal and there may have been a bit of a shock in the room as the pick was announced.

Slafkovsky, a big left winger from Slovakia who had ten points in 31 Liiga games, but performed extremely well at the Olympics and World Championships for his country, wasn’t who most expected to be picked at number one.

Shane Wright was expected to be the top pick ever since he was named an exceptional player in the OHL three years ago. He excelled in the OHL as a 15 year old but saw his development stunted when he was forced to sit out his entire 16 year old season due to the OHL shutting down for Covid reasons.

So, when it was announced that Slafkovky was the top pick, there was a bit of a gasp inside the Bell Centre before a loud cheer erupted. As fans were able to let the unexpected news soak in, and probably down a couple of Molson’s in the stands, they were a little more excited to greet Slafkovsky as he made his way through the crowd about an hour later.

In fact, he had quite a meet and greet as fans loudly cheered for Slafkovsky and shook hands and slapped him on the back as he wandered through the crowd.

He was on his way to do a TV interview, but the crowd got quite excited as he made his way through the aisles. It was nice to see the crowd get over their initial surprise and make sure Slafkovsky got a warm welcome that he deserved as the team’s first overall pick.

Let’s hope they are chanting his name and cheering for him for many years to come.

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