Shane Wright may have a “chip on (his) shoulder” after falling to the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NHL draft, but his “staredown” of the Montreal Canadiens’ draft table was much ado about nothing.
As Wright was greeted by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected by the Seattle Kraken on Friday, he gave what appeared to be quite the look at the direction of Canadiens, who picked first and elected to take Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky No. 1 overall. Wright, the top-ranked North American skater, was considered one of the favorites to go first.
The 18-year-old Canadian center was asked Sunday if the look he gave was intended for the Canadiens.
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“Not at all. I was just kind of looking at the cameras in front of me,” Wright said on Sportsnet leading up to the broadcast of the game between Toronto Blue Jays vs. Seattle Mariners. “To be honest, I don’t really remember too much going up on stage. It was just kind of a whirlwind for me so. I wasn’t intentionally trying to stare anyone down. I guess maybe it looked like that from the video, but there was no intent to stare anyone down. Just kind of look at the camera and their table was right behind it, so I guess it kind of looked like it but there’s no intent behind that, no.”
But that doesn’t mean that Wright won’t have some extra motivation as he embarks on an NHL career.
“Definitely going to have a little chip on my shoulder from this, for sure,” he told reporters Friday. “I’ve always been self-motivated, always been pushing myself internally, but it’s definitely going to give me a little more fire.”
Wright put up 32 goals and 94 points with the Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs and could get his chance to play the Canadiens on Dec. 6.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL draft: Shane Wright denies he stared down Canadiens after drop
