I go count in children : there are only 16 little ones left sleep before day one of the NHL Entry Draft (first round). Need I remind you this is taking place at the Bell Centre?
The Canadians have a chance to take first place in front of their fans. We haven’t seen that often in modern NHL history…
For the past few weeks, we’ve all been wondering who the Canadian will vote for in this first election. total.
The not-so-flashy but responsible middle player who’s topped multiple lists for years? #ShaneWright
The large-scale winger who has impressed many observers, especially at international level, in recent months? #JurajSlafkovsky
The small American hub of talent whose skills are compared to Patrick Kane’s? #LoganCooley
Alexandre Burrows did not come out scoop or privileged information 10 days ago when he admitted the CH was going to fish Wright, Slafkovsky or Cooley. I don’t see who else could honestly be called number one. That’s as good as certain.
About 80% of the recruiters that TVA Sports (or TSN, I don’t remember) spoke to about two weeks ago would still choose Shane Wright if they had to advise Kent Hughes.
Bob McKenzie still has Wright at number 1 on his most recent list.
Also Craig Button.
But Jean Perron wants to know – through Simon Nemec’s advisor – that CH will choose Juraj Slafkovsky. Mathias Brunet has also been tending towards this possibility for a few days now…
But now Grant McCagg, a former amateur recruiter with the Montreal Canadiens, claims a recruiter from another team heard the CH surprise everyone and call up Logan Cooley on July 7th. The CH would be afraid to make a mistake by choosing Wright.
So Jean Perron, through Nemec’s agent, says he heard the Habs are taking Slafkovsky. An NHL scout told me yesterday that the hot rumor at his club’s scouting meetings last week was that the Habs “were afraid to take Wright” and would call up Cooley. Let the games begin!
— Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) June 21, 2022
Who is telling the truth?
Has the Canadian’s management really made a final decision at the moment? Not sure…
Note that McKenzie (for now) places Cooley second in his ranking and Slafkovsky fifth. The Slovakia winger has scored several goals against second-rate sides on the international stage, but he has failed to fill the net against outstanding teams at both the Olympics and World Cups Junior or only in the Finnish first division.
Button has Slafkovsky at #2 and Cooley at #4. Both McKenzie and Button now place Joakim Kemmel in third place.
Damned that I can’t wait until mid-July until all the speculation is behind us (and I’m on vacation, uh uh).
Many
– Kaiden Guhle is not yet sure whether he will take part in the World Championships Junior in August.
Memorial Cup: CH hope Kaiden Guhle leads in Saint-Jean https://t.co/CxK5B9f4Ot
— Kevin Dube (@KDubeJDQ) June 21, 2022
– Nikita Kucherov injury: Devon Toews will not be suspended.
For Toews there is no additional discipline for this cross check against Nikita Kucherov. Has been verified by @NHLPlayerSafety but they felt it was properly punished on ice https://t.co/CK7hVJPtFz
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) June 21, 2022
– The Canucks have reportedly made no promises to Kuzmenko, but…
Obviously there’s no guarantee of ice time, lineup space, etc. However, Milstein clarifies this morning that the teams most interested in the finish gave him Kuzmenko the opportunity to power play in the top six. That’s because they see him as a top 6 player. https://t.co/LLLpCI5lw3
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 21, 2022
– Patrick Laine (BRD) Will he accept a compromise?
Rumors: Patrik Laine has to compromise https://t.co/5N5Q407xtf
—RDS (@RDSca) June 21, 2022
– Wright, Slafkovsky or Cooley?
“We’re looking for complete players who can help the Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup.” -Ben Shutron, Canadians amateur scout#GoHabsGo | #NHLDraft https://t.co/IB2rZAqJLz
— Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) June 21, 2022
– COVID-19 met still in the sports world.
Ontario sprinter Andre De Grasse has withdrawn from the Canadian track and field championships. 👟 https://t.co/gXVOXE4jNA
— Radio Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) June 21, 2022
– Serious?
Minecraft fans know that the NHL streams the Stanley Cup Finals games in full on Youtube, but with players in block form.
I would have liked to have participated in the brainstorming where the idea was proposed/accepted. https://t.co/4YsE1rDBu0
— Michel Laprise (@MLapriseRDS) June 21, 2022