“Slovak night in Montreal”, that is how some sport commentators have labelled Thursday night, which has seen the long-awaited 2022 Upper-Deck National Hockey League Draft take place.
18-year old Slovak hockey forward Juraj Slafkovsky was selected as the overall first pick of the draft by Montreal Canadiens. He is historically the first player from Slovakia to be taken at No. 1 overall.
“I just didn’t know what to expect and I think it was good, and when I heard ´from Slovakia´ I was like wow”, described Juraj Slafkovsky his immediate reaction in the first post-draft interview, courtesy of Sportsnet. Juraj Slafkovsky, who played in Finland’s top professional league, was named the most valuable player at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Still 17 years old, he scored a tournament-best seven goals in seven games to help Slovakia finish third, its first men's Olympic hockey medal. However, the Slovak night was far from being over with the first pick. Afterwards came the second pick.
While Shane Wright, a Canadian center, was long considered the front-runner to be the top pick, the New Jersey Devils surprisingly selected Simon Nemec, a Slovak defenseman and Slafkovsky’s Olympic teammate, as No. 2.
“This is an amazing night for me, for my family, for everybody in Slovakia,” stated Simon Nemec, the first Slovakia-born defenseman chosen among the top picks in the NHL Draft. The third Slovak picked in the first round was right wing Filip Mesar of Poprad, who went as No. 26 to the Canadiens.
Before the success of Slafkovsky and Nemec, the highest drafted Slovak played in the NHL was Marian Gaborik selected by the Minnesota Wild with the No. 3 pick back in 2000.
Source: RTVS, NHL.com
