The Habs selected Juraj Slafkovsky and Filip Mesar with their first round picks. They also traded Alexander Romanov to the Islanders and added center Kirby Dach.
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The Montreal Canadiens made a couple of surprising moves in the NHL Draft at the Bell Center on Thursday night, first selecting Slovak forward Juraj Slafkovsky with the No. 1 pick, then trading defenseman Alexander Romanov in a three-way deal. that gave them to the Kirby Dach center. .
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In his first draft as Habs general manager, Kent Hughes made a necessary splash in front of a hometown crowd, but perhaps not the one fans expected. Opting for power forward Slafkovsky over presumptive top pick Shane Wright wasn’t a total surprise — the prognosticators had them neck-and-neck at the end — but trading an entrenched 22-year-old defenseman for a young center at Dach who still has to really settle down. he himself was the move that left jaws agape.
Dach, like former Hab Jesperi Kotkaniemi a summer ago, is a former third overall pick coming off his entry-level contract. The Habs sent Romanov and the 98th overall pick to the Islanders for the 13th pick, then sent the 13th and 66th to Chicago for Dach. The 21-year-old forward scored 26 points in 70 games last season, but like Slafkovsky, Dach is also 6’4″.
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Slafkovsky’s selection was met with a somewhat mixed reaction at first from the Bell Centre, but the shock quickly wore off.
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And commissioner Gary Bettman was pleased to announce the trades amid a handful of boos.
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As for Slavkovsky over Wright, we’ll let time decide if it was the right call. Wright slipped to fourth place, but when the Seattle Kraken finally uttered the Kingston center’s name, he took the stage with the motivation of a spurned youth.
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The Slovaks went 1-2 in 2022, with the Devils taking defender Simon Nemec with the second pick. Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley was third behind the Coyotes. The Habs picked once again in the first round, taking another Slovak forward, Filip Mesar, with the 26th pick they acquired from Calgary in the Tyler Toffoli deal. Mesar is a 1.60m right back with offensive ability.
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As for local products, two QMJHL players were selected in the first round: Nathan Gaucher of Anaheim at 22 and Maveric Lamoureux of Arizona at 29. Here’s how the rest of the first round went:
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So, how did Liveblog commenters react to the drama draft? With good humor, above all.
“Lots of unhappy/disappointed fans. I think the Hughes/Gorton honeymoon is almost over. I hope they know what they’re doing.” -George Marly
“I’m old enough to remember how happy we all were when Habs won the lottery.” -Jon Robb
“Honestly, I thought something might be going on with Romanov. Hughes didn’t even seem to know where he was during the press conference the other day.” -Carin Latzel
“Dach could really pay off, as could Slave. But I’m afraid HuGo is blinding himself to the very thing that makes guys like MSL and Gallagher look down on: size. Yeah, you can’t show the size, but I’m very disappointed in Anderson and I’m afraid we’ll get a couple more. Big, fast, but in the end, 40-50 point guys. On the other hand, as I said below, I wanted the Habs to take Zadina away so…” -Michael Way
“There is a master plan that many of us don’t see…yet; ) It’s going to be interesting to see which team hits the ice to start the season…and which team ends it. I can imagine that Bedard is in his mind… he is in mine. ; Time will tell if this all plays out…” -Gerald Girard
“Well, we’ve got a center, but he better have HUGE potential, he’s still young and he’s got size, but… wow again.” -Kelly Morgan
Hughes may not be done negotiating either. The second day of the draft begins Friday at 11 am and trade candidates Jeff Petry and Josh Anderson are still here. Based on Thursday’s moves, expect the unexpected under the new Habs regime.
The first night of the draft has left the Canadiens with four forwards to build: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Slafkvosky and Dach. Whether they will all make the opening night roster in October remains to be seen, although Hughes suggested he would prefer Slafkovsky, who played in Finland last season, to come to North America. Romanov’s departure seemingly leaves a big hole in the blue line in the short term, but it also potentially opens up an opportunity for former first-round pick Kaiden Guhle to quickly advance through the system.