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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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The contenders to go first overall aren't shy about campaigning. 

Shane Wright staked his claim during a recent interview on That's Hockey! 

"I deserve to be the first pick," the Kingston Frontenacs centre told host Gino Reda. "I deserve to have that honour. I believe that I am the best player in this draft and that I should be taken first overall."

Juraj Slafkovsky, who is the No. 1 ranked European skater on NHL Central Scouting's final list, shrugged off that comment. 

"That's what he thinks," the TPS winger said. "I think something else ... At the end of our careers, when they check who was the best from the 2022 draft, I want to be that guy."

Logan Cooley also didn't hesitate to weigh in. 

"My motor is always going," the U.S. National Development Team centre said. "When I'm playing my two-way game, I think I'm at the top of the class."

Cooley, who's heading to the University of Minnesota next season, came in No. 2 on the list of North American skaters, behind only Wright.  

"In our mid-season meetings there was a wider spread and then it got a lot tighter in the final meeting," revealed Dan Marr, who is the director of NHL Central Scouting. "Very fine line. For our group, there was just more of a completeness to Shane's overall game ... Cooley does have that NHL speed and quickness. Shane might have a slight edge at being able to have the quickness to read and react and respond to the play."

Slafkovsky, who played in Finland's Liiga, may be the prospect most prepared to make the jump to the NHL. 

"Slafkovsky is the most physically mature," Marr said of the 6-foot-4, 218-pound Slovak. "He played against older players. You could see at the Olympics and then at the World Championships that he quickly adapts to the game and finds out how he can play his game and get things done out there."

Slafkovsky hopes his professional experience will pull him ahead in the battle to go first overall. 

"I played men last season," Slafkovsky, the MVP at the Beijing Olympics, stressed. "It's a little bit better preparation, in my opinion, to play men."

Marr noted that these are three different players with different skill sets. That was clear in who they listed as their NHL role models.

Wright wants to emulate the two-way effectiveness of Boston Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron. The 5-foot-10 Cooley has grown up studying the elusiveness and creativity of Chicago Blackhawks phenom Patrick Kane. Slafkovsky sees a comparison between his game and that of Colorado Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen, who is an expert at protecting the puck. 

"The first three teams that pick in the draft, they could all get the No. 1 player on their list," Marr said. "It's that tight and that close. It depends on a club's drafting philosophy and what they're looking for."

The Montreal Canadiens are on the clock. 

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The Canadiens met with the leading contenders last week and even invited Wright and Cooley to dinner. 

"Overall, went really well," Wright said. "I mean, I got a free steak out of it, so that's never a bad thing." 

The players realized that everything, even what they ate, could be scrutinized. 

"I was about to order the steak but I'm like, 'It's pretty expensive,'" Wright said with a grin. "It's like $60 or something. They're like, 'Go ahead.' I made sure it was alright."

Cooley also broke bread with the Arizona Coyotes, who own the third overall pick. 

"I don't think you want to go out and order pizza or anything," Cooley said. "I heard them order salmon. I'm a guy who got into salmon too, and I like it, so I said I should probably go with that."

Did Slafkovsky feel left out by the Canadiens? 

"I didn't have the dinner, but I think the talk we had, to me, tasted better than dinner," he said with a big smile. "They knew everything about me. I was, like, sometimes, 'Woah!'"

Cooley was also encouraged by the deep dive the Canadiens did. 

"I think that's a pretty positive thing that they're so interested and still want to know more about me," the 18-year-old from Pittsburgh said. 

On Saturday night, Wright and Slafkovsky flew to New Jersey for a date with the Devils, who own the No. 2 pick. 

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Wright has seemed destined to go first overall since receiving exceptional status to play in the Ontario Hockey League at age 15. He's headlined most mock drafts this year, including the latest one compiled by TSN director of scouting Craig Button. But he feels like that frontrunner status put a target on his back. 

"Any time you see someone at the top, there's always going to be people looking to drag you down," the 6-foot Burlington, Ont., native said. "There's always going to be people looking to nitpick your game, pick out those little mistakes rather than focus more on the positives."

During the combine, Wright fielded questions from NHL teams about why his intensity appeared to be lacking at times. 

"With the way I play and the way my game is, I'm not skating 100 per cent of the time," he explained. "I'm more methodical with the way I play. I'm thinking ahead and reading where the puck is going rather than skating into areas … I guess sometimes it can be perceived that I'm not competing hard, but I'm reading the play and trying to be ahead of the play a little more."

Marr believes Wright was held to unrealistic expectations at times while logging heavy minutes and wearing the 'C' in Kingston. 

"He was getting a lot of scoring chances in the playoffs," Marr said. "He was creating a lot of chances. He plays a high-character game … He did his part and he's still one of the younger players on the team and we have to keep that in mind." 

Wright has taken steps to ensure that the glare from the spotlight doesn't burn him. 

"This year I put an emphasis on [doing] things to take my mind off hockey and to get away from the pressure and expectations," Wright said. 

He recently started playing the guitar. 

"I can do Fast Car by Tracy Chapman," Wright said. "I can do a couple City and Colour songs. I can do Wonderwall pretty well and some country songs. I'm looking at a couple of Mumford & Sons songs. They're a pretty cool band that I like. They have some difficult songs but would be cool ones to learn.

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Cutter Gauthier, who is the No. 3 ranked North American skater, believes he should be considered as a top-pick candidate. 

"There haven't been many talks with my name in there," the U.S. National Development Team winger said. "But I definitely think I could be in the conversation, for sure."

Marr agrees. 

"He could slide in there very easily," Marr said of the top three. "He belongs in the conversation. His play during the course of the year was very consistent. He's a player that competes with all of his assets. He's the complete package with size, speed, smarts. That's one of the ones where the position could change from week to week if you were going to do the rankings over and over." 

Gauthier, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 200 pounds, interviewed with 16 teams last week. The most common question was about his position. 

"They want to know whether I feel more comfortable at the wing or centre and my answer to that is whatever the coach thinks is best to help the team win," he said. "I'm extremely versatile. I showed that over the course of two years."

After spending most of the last season on left wing, Gauthier says the coaches at Boston College have indicated he'll play in the middle in the NCAA next year.

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There's no consensus on who should be picked first, but the prospects did agree on which fitness test was the most challenging. That would be the Wingate Cycle Ergometer Test. Here's the description courtesy the NHL: 

To start the test, the athlete pedals at a progressively quicker cadence so that by the time the designated workload has been reached, he is pedalling at his maximal capacity. The athlete pedals at his maximal capacity against the designated workload for 30 seconds.

The athlete must remain firmly seated on the bike throughout the test.

Revolutions are recorded for each five second period, then power output is calculated for both the peak five-second period and the 30 second duration.

What's it feel like? 

"Oh, it was awful," said JyP winger Joakim Kemell, who is the No. 2 ranked European skater. "I'm just thinking, ‘Soon it's over! Soon it's over!’"

"The first 10, 15 seconds are alright," said Wright. "You're feeling pretty good. That last 10 seconds you're really grinding. You're really fighting through it, and you got the trainer screaming at you as well. He's screaming at you to keep pushing."

Cooley admitted to feeling lightheaded.

Gauthier finished first in peak power output (18.3 watts/kg). 

"I did a really good job with that," he said of the Wingate test. "It's a big mentality thing over physical and I think I did a really good with it."

What was his mindset? 

"Just keep pushing. It's only 30 seconds. It feels like an eternity when you're going but it's only 30 seconds. If you can push through and give it your all it's going to be good at the end of the day."

Cooley finished tied for second in peak power output (17.8 watts/kg) while Kemell was fifth (17.7). 

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Cooley felt the bench press was his best fitness event. 

What was Wright's top test? 

"My long jump was pretty good," he said. "The vertical jump, as well, was pretty good. I think I could have done a couple more pull-ups, but overall, pretty good."

Wright finished with nine pull-ups. Could Slafkovsky beat that? 

"To be honest, no," he said with a grin. 

Fresh off the World Championship, Slafkovsky opted out of the fitness testing. 

"My last game was last Thursday [May 26], so it wouldn't really make sense to do them," he said. "I would like to try them, but some other day."

The NHL released the top 25 finishers in each category.

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Marco Kasper interviewed with 30 teams last week, with only the Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes not speaking with the Rogle centre. 

"There were some funny ones," Kasper said of the questions. "Some teams asked if there's a hidden talent like singing. I was like, 'I'm alright with geography,' so they asked me what the capital city of Australia is."

Of course, Kasper knew it was Canberra. 

Which interviews stood out the most? 

"Calgary and Vancouver were some of the teams that were really fun to talk to," Kasper said. "Just relaxed in there. Like, not too stiff, not the basic questions."

The Austrian would welcome the chance to play in Canada. 

"In Canada hockey is everything, so for sure, would be special," he said. 

Kasper finished No. 5 on the final list of European skaters, which was up from No. 7 in the mid-season rankings. 

"It's my skating and just getting some confidence," he said of his improvements. "Just working consistently on the details ... It's tough to play against men [in the Swedish Hockey League], but it helped me to see how it is to live like a pro." 

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Sidney Crosby has had a strong influence on a couple of the top prospects. 

The Penguins captain established the Little Penguins Learn to Play Program in Pittsburgh to help encourage more participation in the community. Cooley was part of the inaugural year in 2008-09. 

"Having the chance to get free equipment and be on the ice with the best player in the world is pretty special," Cooley gushed. 

Although Cooley doesn't have the most vivid memories. 

"I was just trying to learn to stand on my skates," he said with a chuckle. 

The way Crosby has carried himself over the years resonates with Cooley. 

"Seeing how much fun he has out there teaching kids, helping them out, it's pretty special," he said. 

Gauthier, meanwhile, was a Penguins fan growing up and sought to copy one of Crosby's origin stories. 

"I saw a video of him, as a young guy, shooting pucks into the dryer," Gauthier said. "So, every night and every morning I'm shooting pucks into the dryer to model my game after him. There was always a broken dryer in the basement and loud noises and bangs early in the morning or late at night."

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Auston Matthews hasn't played for as long as Crosby has, but the Toronto Maple Leafs centre has also made a big impression on the next generation.

Like Matthews, Gauthier is from Scottsdale, Ariz. 

"I've had the opportunity to meet him once or twice," Gauthier said. "I was 14 or 15 and he was out in Michigan skating with [Leafs player development consultant Darryl] Belfry and I was skating right after him. It was cool to get dressed with him right before and see how our paths aligned whether it was the national program or growing up in the desert playing hockey."

Slafkovsky grew up a continent away, but also feels drawn to Matthews. The two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner is his favourite player to watch. 

"He's just good all over the ice, even in the D-zone," observed Slafkovsky. "He's good everywhere and he can score a lot of goals."

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Like Kasper, geography also came up when NHL teams interviewed Conor Geekie, who hails from tiny Strathclair, Man. 

"The reaction when I told them the population of my town, most of them got a good chuckle about that," the Winnipeg Ice forward said. "I think there's 137 just in the town ... I'm trying to put my place on the map. My motivation for it is endless." 

Geekie grew up just three blocks away from the local arena.  

"I was lucky enough to have a key," he said. "My dad [Craig] was part of the board and took care of some of the rink and flooded the ice whenever he could ... It wasn't the nicest rink, don't get me wrong. There's probably some cattle in there right now."

But the easy access and limited population had its perks. 

"That almost made me better," Geekie said. "The creativity of just going out there with [brothers] Morgan and Noah and playing shinny with my buddies." 

Older brother Morgan now plays for the Seattle Kraken. 

Marr calls Geekie's skating "a work in progress" but also has faith the 6-foot-3, 196 pounder can improve that over time. 

"His skating is not a liability," Marr insisted. "It doesn't stop him from going out and playing his game and getting the job done."

"Not being the fastest skater, I've really trusted my IQ and vision to make sure I'm in the right spot," Geekie said. "My ability to see lanes is second to none."

Geekie, who lists Edmonton Oiler Leon Draisaitl as his NHL role model, is No. 5 on the list of North American skaters. 

"He's the one guy in that group [of top prospects] that has the potential to develop into that power winger because he's got the size,” Marr said. “He still has a long way to fill out with his strength, but he's got that compete game, that net-front game. He's good one-on-one down low. He's just got that battle game that comes with the size. All he needs right now is the strength. And, if you’ve met him, he certainly has the confidence." 

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The most awkward interview of the combine may have come when the Canadiens had a conversation with Jack Hughes. His father, Kent Hughes, is the general manager. 

"It definitely added a little bit of nerves having my dad in the room," Jack said with a smile. "He didn't ask any questions, which is nice. I think he would've known what to ask that I wouldn't have been able to answer well." 

The elder Hughes tried to leave the room before the interview with his son but Martin Lapointe, the team's director of player personnel and amateur scouting, told him to stay. 

"They actually asked me if I wanted him to stay or not," the Northeastern University centre revealed. "I said, 'Probably not,' and they said it wasn't up to me and he was staying."

There were no words shared between the family members during the interview, although their relationship did pop up from time to time. 

"It was definitely serious," Jack said of the interview. "There were a couple jokes in there about my dad when they asked about my family and hockey growing up. So, whenever he was in an answer they made a joke, but for the most part it was serious."

Jack, who is No. 26 on the final list of North American skaters, admitted he'd be "pretty shocked" if the Canadiens picked him. 

"I don't know if that's something that my dad wants to do," he said. "I don't think he necessarily wants to put all that pressure on me if he doesn't have to. He's told me that's something he wants to avoid as best he can. But if he thinks, and the staff thinks, I'm the best player available then maybe he might have to take me at some point." 

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The NHL draft will be held July 7-8 in Montreal.