“It’s a great day for Slovakia,” says Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal’s No. 1 draft pick.

Slafkovsky became his country’s top-selected player when the Canadiens selected him as their first choice on Thursday.

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Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes was determined to make a splash in his first NHL Draft. He did just that by adding some size up front by selecting 6-foot-4 Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky with the first overall pick, then engineered a pair of trades to pick center Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks.

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The decision to select Slafkovsky was a bit of a surprise. Most of the focus before the draft was on top prospect Shane Wright, who filled a positional need at center. But the opportunity to take Dach, a No. 3 overall pick in 2019, gave the Canadiens a player with significantly larger size and one who is further along in his development.

Slafkovsky, who was ranked No. 2 among European skaters, saw his stock rise after strong performances at the Beijing Olympics and world championships. He was 17 years old when he scored seven goals and was named Beijing’s most valuable player. He and defenseman Simon Nemec, who was selected second overall by the New Jersey Devils, helped Slovakia win bronze, the country’s first Olympic hockey medal.

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“It’s a great day for Slovakia,” said Slafkovsky, who became the highest-selected Slovakian player in the draft. It’s an honor previously held by Marian Gaborik, who was selected third overall by Minnesota in 2000.

Slavkovsky said he was surprised to hear his name. He had a meeting with the Canadiens on Thursday morning that was attended by team owner Geoff Molson. Slafkovsky said the meeting was originally scheduled for Tuesday and the Canadiens gave no indication they planned to recruit him.

Slafkovsky heard some boos as he walked the red carpet upon his arrival at the Bell Centre, but received a warm welcome from the fans after his selection.

He pointed out that there are five million people in Slovakia and said that probably four million were monitoring the preliminary results.

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Slafkovsky played last season for TPS Turku in the Finnish Liiga and had a modest production with five goals and five assists in 31 games. The Canadiens will have to make a decision on whether to play him in the NHL right away or return him to Finland but, at 6-foot-4, 229-pounds, he’s more likely to be a physical presence than 6-foot-199-pound Wright.

The Canadians added a physical presence in the 6-foot-4, 224-pound Dach, but it came at a price. Montreal traded young defenseman Alexander Romanov and the 98th overall pick to the New York Islanders for the 13th overall pick, then traded that pick to Chicago for Dach.

Canadians are confident that Dach has an advantage. He had some injury issues two years ago, but he’s way ahead of Wright in developing him. At 21 years old, Dach has played in 152 NHL games and has scored 29 goals and 40 assists.

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Wright dropped to fourth place overall. He was drafted by the Seattle Kraken after the Arizona Coyotes drafted Logan Cooley, a center from the US National Team Development Program.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman served as master of ceremonies in the first round, and his opening comments prompted a chorus of boos, which he described as a “return to normalcy.” Bettman’s only respite came when he called a moment of silence for former San Jose player and scout Bryan Marchment, who died suddenly Wednesday.

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