Day one of the NHL Draft in Montreal caused a bang with the historic selection of two Slovak players in first and second place.
Juraj Slafkovsky (5th from left) was picked first in the 2022 draft by Montreal.
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The Montreal Canadiens, who also had first choice in front of their home crowd, opted for forward Juraj Slafkovsky, initially as a 17-year-old with seven goals in seven games and winning the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics for the past few months had caused a stir. Barely three months later, the winger scored nine points in eight games for the Slovaks at the World Cup in Finland.
Completing the historic night in Slovakian hockey was defenseman Simon Nemec, who was picked second only to Slafkovsky by the New Jersey Devils.
The Detroit Red Wings of German “Rookie of the Year” Moritz Seider selected Austrian forward Marco Kasper, who played for Swedish club Rögle BK last season – like Seider a year earlier – in eighth place.
Die Top-10 im NHL Draft 2022:
1. Montreal Canadiens: Juraj Slafkovsky (Stürmer, Slovakia)
2. New Jersey Devils: Simon Nemec (defender, Slovakia)
3. Arizona Coyotes: Logan Cooley (Stürmer, USA)
4. Seattle Kraken: Shane Wright (Stürmer, Canada)
5. Philadelphia Flyers: Cutter Gauthier (Forward, USA)
6. Columbus Blue Jackets: David Jiricek (defender, Czech Republic)
7. Chicago Blackhawks: Kevin Korchinski (Verteidiger, Canada)
8. Detroit Red Wings: Marco Kasper (Forward, Austria)
9. Buffalo Sabers: Matthew Savoie (Forward, Canada)
10. Anaheim Ducks: Pavel Mintyukov (Defender, Russia)