Wright on dropping to fourth overall: ''I'm definitely gonna have a chip on my shoulder''
When the Montreal Canadiens took to the stage in their home arena to announce the first overall pick, a lot of people were expecting them to say Shane Wright's name, but Kent Hughes and co. went with 2022 Olympic MVP Juraj Slafkovsky.
Next up were the New Jersey Devils, who instead of selecting Wright, went with Slovak defenceman Simon Nemec. The third overall pick was held by the Arizona Coyotes, who chose a centerman, but it wasn't Shane Wright, as they opted to go with Logan Cooley.
You could see in the crowd as the picks were made, Shane Wright and his frustration. But he didn't have to wait long because Ron Francis announced that with the fourth overall pick, the Seattle Kraken are choosing Shane Wright.
Even when Wright went up to the stage, his frustration was showing. After he took a photo with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Wright appeared to stare down the Montreal Canadiens draft table.
Shane Wright staring down the Habs draft table??? 👀 #NHLDraft2022 pic.twitter.com/Nv0zYsTf2Z— Peter Walker (@petetheleafsfan) July 8, 2022
While doing his media rounds during the evening, Wright told reporters that he's going to have a chip on his shoulder after dropping to the fourth overall pick.
He added, "I'm definitely gonna have a chip on my shoulder from this for sure. Definitely a little more motivation. I've always been self-motivated. Always been pushing myself internally, but it's definitely gonna give me a little more fire, for sure."
The Burlington (Ontario) native played with the Kingston Frontenacs in the OHL during the 2021-22 season. In 63 regular season games, Wright had 94 points (32 goals, 64 assists), 22 penalty minutes and was a plus-23. He added fourteen points (three goals, eleven assists) in eleven playoff games.
It's definitely understandable that Wright is frustrated that he didn't get selected by the Canadiens, but now he has an incredible opportunity ahead of him in Seattle and forming a two-headed monster with Matty Beniers for years to come.
Source: Sportsnet.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||