The Montreal Canadiens were the talk of the 2022 NHL Draft on day one, and not just because the event was being held inside the Bell Centre in downtown Montreal.
The team also had the first overall pick and used it to select Slovakian Juraj Slafkovsky. The big left winger flew up the draft rankings lists late in the season and knocked Shane Wright off his perch atop those lists.
Slafkovsky had questionable production in Liiga, scoring just five goals and ten points in 31 games. He was great on the international stage, scoring seven goals in seven games in the Olympics while being named MVP. He also had nine points in eight games at the World Championships.
The Canadiens selected another Slovakian winger with the 26th pick. Filip Mesar was their choice with the draft pick acquired from the Calgary Flames in the Tyler Toffoli trade. They didn’t just sit around in between pick either.
The Canadiens traded Alexander Romanov and a 4th round pick to the New York Islanders for the 13th overall pick. They traded that pick and a third round pick for Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks. Dach was a third overall pick in 2019, is huge at 6’4″ and could be a prominent fixture on the Canadiens second line for years to come.
What is in store today? Well, the Canadiens will once again kick things off by having the first pick of the day. They own the 33rd overall choice which is the first pick of the second round. They have a total of ten picks to make today including:
Round 2: 33rd overall
Round 2: 62nd overall (from Edmonton Oilers)
Round 3: 75th overall (from Anaheim Ducks)
Round 3: 92nd overall (from Carolina Hurricanes)
Round 4: 127th overall (from Florida Panthers via New York Rangers)
Round 4: 128th overall (from Tampa Bay Lightning)
Round 5: 130th overall
Round 6: 162nd overall
Round 7: 194th overall
Round 7: 216th overall (from St. Louis Blues)
The draft will be shown in Canada on Sportsnet and in the United States on NHL Network. It can be streamed online via Sportsnet Now in Canada or in the United States on ESPN+. The action begins at 11:00 AM EST.
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