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MONTREAL -- Juraj Slafkovsky was selected first overall by the Canadiens on Thursday night at the Bell Centre.

Following his selection, Slafkovsky spoke with reporters to comment on joining Montreal.
Here are a few highlights from his press conference:
Slafkovsky on being the top pick:
It's just an unbelievable moment for me, for my family, for everyone who supports me, and for Slovakia. We needed something like this. It's also a special night for me because Simon Nemec was second. I didn't expect it.

Slafkovsky on hearing his name called in the No. 1 spot:
It was a pretty big surprise for me. We had meetings, but you don't get to know almost anything from those meetings. I still couldn't guess when I was waiting for this, but now it's reality.

Slafkovsky on his meetings with the Canadiens:
I was pretty surprised. They knew me pretty well. They knew almost everything, how I play, what I do, where I am on the ice, so it's a really good organization. The important thing is they know what they want and I know what I want, so it's good for me that they picked me.

Slafkovsky on Slovakian players being selected early in the Draft:
I think out of 5,000,000 people, at least like 4,000,000 are up and they're cheering for us. At the end of the day, that's important. We are from Slovakia and we represent the country. I'm just happy that this happened to us.

Juraj Slafkovsky on being the Habs' 1st-overall pick

Slafkovsky on the fan reaction after his selection:
I think I didn't even hear my name called. I just heard "Slovakia" and then I was shocked. I didn't even listen anymore. I was shaking and I had goosebumps. It was an unbelievable moment for me.