A prospect had the opportunity to visit his future training complex, the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, on Wednesday morning, just over 24 hours before the first round of the NHL Draft. We just don’t know which one.
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Shane Wright, Juraj Slafkovsky, Matthew Savoie, Conor Geekie, Logan Cooley and Cutter Gauthier trained with young people on the rink at the Montreal Canadiens training center. Habs forwards Nick Suzuki and Jonathan Drouin were also on the ice.
The rink was split into three and the hopefuls had been split into pairs at each of the three stations. Winnipeg Ice teammates Conor Geekie and Matthew Savoie were one pair, U.S. National Development Program teammates Cutter Gauthier and Logan Cooley the other and, you guessed it, Slafkovsky and Wright worked together.
“We met after the Combine. We had gone to New Jersey to visit the facilities so I had gotten to know him better. He is a very good guy who is pleasant to spend time with. In addition, we understand each other since we live in the same situation. It is certain that we are a bit in competition but I have the deepest respect for him as well as for the player that he is. It’s easy to be friends with a guy like him, ”described Shane Wright.
Friends or not, the fact remains that the center of the Frontenacs of Kingston wants nothing less than to style his new Slovak friend over the arrival by being the one whose name will be pronounced by the Habs in the first row in the altogether, Thursday evening.
“Montreal is where I want to go. I had the chance to walk the streets of the city yesterday and it is a beautiful city. I also like the direction the organization is taking and I had the chance to speak with Martin St-Louis in the last few days. We had a very positive conversation. Martin is an extremely intelligent coach and the Canadian has several talented young players. I want to be part of it. »