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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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With one week to go until the National Hockey League draft, Shane Wright isn't worried about being No. 2.

When TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie unveiled his final prospect rankings this week, the Kingston Frontenacs centre was bumped from the top position by big Slovak winger Juraj Slafkovsky. Wright had led the list, based on a poll of 10 scouts, in the pre-season (September), mid-season (January) and at the draft lottery (April).

"I don't really care about rankings too much," Wright insisted. "I don't really put too much thought into them. At the end of the day, they're just rankings. They're not really anything that truly means a whole lot. They aren't the actual draft order. I'm not really too concerned about that."

The Burlington, Ont., native is more concerned about winning over the Montreal Canadiens, who own the first-overall pick. And, on that front, he is optimistic. 

"Really, really positive conversations," stressed Wright, who had a couple meetings, including a dinner, with the Canadiens at the scouting combine. "I've also had phone calls with [coach] Marty St. Louis and [special adviser to hockey operations] Vincent Lecavalier as well, just kind of talking it over with them. Just talking about their organization and what they look for in players and what they want and expect from their players."

On Tuesday, Wright flew to Saint John, N.B. where he was named the Canadian Hockey League's top prospect at the end-of-season awards ceremony. After returning home, the 18-year-old offered TSN an update on his latest talks with the Canadiens and the New Jersey Devils, who are in line to pick No. 2 next Thursday.  

The following is an edited transcript of the interview. 

TSN: What stood out about the call with coach St. Louis? 

Wright: "How smart he is. He really understands the game well. He really understands hockey and what goes on and, you know, obviously, that's the type of player he was. He was such a smart player. He's really someone who has a lot of knowledge for the game." 

TSN: What about Lecavalier? 

Wright: "He was a past first-overall draft pick [in 1998] so he understands the position I'm in and the position I've been in this past year. I was talking to him about going through that and how he dealt with the pressures and all that and learning from his experiences."

TSN: During an interview with TSN's James Duthie, Slafkovsky pointed out that the Canadiens are looking for winger to play with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. What sort of fit do you see for yourself in Montreal? 

Wright: "I think they're looking for another generational centre. They already have Suzuki, and if you can have two high-end centres who can drive the play and create offence and be really solid, high-end centres, then that's a pretty good one-two punch. You look at some of the best one-two punches in the league: Auston Matthews and John Tavares, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, you go down the line, Nathan MacKinnon and Nazem Kadri, and if you can have two high-end centres like that then I think that's setting the team up for success."  

 

Slafkovsky on possibly being top pick, Olympics being turning point to remarkable season

Juraj Slafkovsky joins TSN's James Duthie to share his thoughts on the possibility of being selected first overall in the NHL Draft, explains why he believes the Canadiens should pick him, what it was like to win a bronze medal in the Olympics for Slovakia and how that experience boosted his confidence for the rest of the season.

TSN: This is the first draft with fans since the pandemic started. What sort of atmosphere are you expecting in Montreal? 

Wright: "I'm expecting it to be loud. The fans in Montreal are pretty excited to have the draft and have the first pick in their hometown. They have great fans and I'm looking forward to feeling the energy and feeling the buzz in there."  

TSN: Earlier this season a fan brought a Montreal sweater with your name and number on it to an Ontario Hockey League game. Have you already felt the love from Canadiens fans? 

Wright: "For sure I have. Definitely felt the love from Canadiens fans and from Montreal in general. They have incredible fans, probably some of the best fans in the entire NHL. They love their players and I'm hoping to become one of those players on July 7." 

TSN: You made a trip to New Jersey to visit with the Devils after the combine. What was that like? 

Wright: "The trip was great. I had never been there before, so being able to go down and see their facilities, see the rink and meet GM Tom Fitzgerald and see what they're all about and what they look for from their players [was good]." 

TSN: Slafkovsky was also part of the New Jersey trip. Spending some time around him, what did you learn? 

Wright: "He's a nice guy. He's a funny guy. He's obviously a smart guy as well. He knows the game well. He's a good guy to talk to about hockey. He's also a fun guy off the ice. Hockey players can come off as too serious, too intense at times but, like myself, he's also a pretty relaxed guy who can have fun."  

TSN: Any good-natured trash-talking about who will go No. 1? 

Wright: "No, not really. Nothing like that. As much as we're competing against one another, I think we both respect one another. We both respect the type of players [we are] and what we've accomplished so far. We are competing against one another, but there's a lot of respect."

TSN: What will you wear to the draft? Do you have a suit picked out? 

Wright: "I do, yeah. I was lucky enough to get fit for a suit by a lovely lady at Hugo Boss."

TSN: What colour tie are you going with? 

Wright: "It's a blue and white checkered tie."

TSN: This week you took part in the Power Edge Pro Camp. How does that help your game? 

Wright: "I love doing PEP. You really add a lot of valuable skills. You're stickhandling in and out of apparatus and you're skating and making passes and shooting at a high pace. It's all skills that translate to the game nowadays. Everything is done at a high speed. It's something I love doing in my training and something that really helps my game a lot."  

TSN: Olympic champion Sarah Fillier became the first woman to take part in the camp. What impression did she make?

Wright: "She's really, really good. She is super quick. Her hands are unbelievable, and she has a really good shot as well. She might not be the biggest compared to some of the other guys out there, but she was holding her own. We were doing small-area games, like little scrimmages, and she was holding her own and scoring and playing well. She's an incredible player. A really, really good player and I'm excited to see where she goes in the future for Hockey Canada." 

 

TSN: What are you focused on this summer when it comes to improving your game ?

Wright: "I just want to make sure I'm ready to adjust to the pace. The pace of the NHL is the thing I'll have the most trouble adjusting to if I'm lucky enough to step right in. I want to get faster. I want to get quicker. I want to be able to adjust to that speed as best as possible."

TSN: The Stanley Cup final had an incredible pace. What did you take away from Colorado's win? 

Wright: "Like you said, just their pace. Their pace of play. They're always trying to get pucks north, always trying to go up the ice. As soon as they get possession, you know, their guys are sprinting out of the zone and going right on offence. It's fun hockey to watch. It's fun to watch them play with that speed, play with that pace and they were definitely deserving of the Cup this year."  

TSN: The team that drafts you will have an opinion, but what is your personal appetite to participate in the summer World Juniors? 

Wright: "It's a World Juniors, so that's something incredibly hard to pass up. If an opportunity comes to play in a tournament like that, something that as a kid you dreamed of playing in, it's not really something you can pass on too easily. It's something I'd really like to take part in but, at the end of the day, it's also up to the NHL club that selects me and what they want to do. I've been talking to some of the guys on the team [in December] and some guys have different opinions, and their teams have different opinions on if they want them to go or not. It'd be super special to go but haven't made a decision yet."