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Montreal Canadiens: Why Shane Wright Fell To Fourth Overall In The NHL Draft

By Joshua Rosa

OSHAWA, ONTARIO - NOVEMBER 21: Shane Wright #51 of the Kingston Frontenacs skates against the Oshawa Generals at Tribute Communities Centre on November 21, 2021 in Oshawa, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
OSHAWA, ONTARIO - NOVEMBER 21: Shane Wright #51 of the Kingston Frontenacs skates against the Oshawa Generals at Tribute Communities Centre on November 21, 2021 in Oshawa, Ontario. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images) /
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The Montreal Canadiens ensured there was a hefty amount of drama in the 2022 NHL Draft. We finally got the answer to the question on everyone’s minds: Wright or Slafkovsky?

The hometown Montreal Canadiens drafted first, and new General Manager Kent Hughes proudly proclaimed they were taking the winger from Slovakia: Juraj Slafkovsky.

That wasn’t the biggest surprise. Just before the draft, Slafkovksy was rocketing up the draft rankings, and a few pre-draft rankings had him going first overall.

But the second pick came to the New Jersey Devils, and they selected…Simon Nemec. A double-dip for the Slovaks. The Devils get an interesting young defender to go with their young forward corps. But it also left Shane Wright on the hot seat after two picks.

Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /

The 3rd overall pick belonged to the Arizona Coyotes and they picked one of the highest ranking, offensively gifted centreman. I am, of course, talking about Logan Cooley.

And just like that, Shane Wright fell to the fourth overall pick and the Seattle Kraken. Right after him was Cutter Gauthier to the Philadelphia Flyers to round out the top 5.

I don’t think anyone saw this coming. Wright, Cooley and Slafkovsky were all pretty tight at the top of the board, and it seemed to come down to personal preference on which of the three you like more. Generally, for most of the season, Wright was seen as the #1, but Bob McKenzie had switched Wright and Slafkovsky at 1 and 2 for his final draft ranking.

There was a chance that Wright would be available for the New Jersey Devils. It would be crazy if Wright was open for Arizona. No one saw it coming that Shane Wright would be a Seattle Kraken. Not even him, if you buy into his reaction after being chosen as a death glare to the Montreal Canadiens’ staff.

https://twitter.com/petetheleafsfan/status/1545196844275441664

So really, what happened?

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