"In Slovakia was a huge moment," Tatar recalls being in his home country during the draft, "You know, obviously we had before him, (Marian) Gaborik was three, so they both top him, and it was, it was just wild."
The defenseman was a member of the Devils and for the first time, two Slovakian players were taken with the top two picks, beating out Marian Gaborik, who up until that moment was the highest drafted player from Slovakia when he was picked with the No. 3 pick in 2000.
But it would get even better, and almost unimaginable. With the No. 26 pick, the Canadiens selected forward Filip Mesar to complete the history-making first round with three Slovakians, all good friends, selected on the first night.
"It was wild," Tatar shared of the reaction in Slovakia and the amount of attention the players received. "You know, they've been going on to the TV shows and I think for the first time ever the Slovak TV team went to the draft to do a segment about them. It was, it was cool."
The buzz was there before the draft, an inkling that something big was going to happen at the draft, and Tatar remembers being a small part of the lead-up, being asked about the players before the draft, calling it 'non-stop'.
"Everybody was, you know, asking these questions and it was becoming pretty viral before the draft even happened, then (again) after the draft it just continued."
Tatar had the inside scoop, he had played with both Slafkovsky and Nemec at the World Championships just months before they were drafted. They were, he says, part of the reason he wanted to be on the team after a long NHL season.
"I wanted to see these guys, play with them, and meet them," he said, "And you know, I was honored to be the captain for that team. It was a great experience for me, and I was trying to help them you know, to play the best tournament possibly they can so they would be (drafted) as the highest possible. But that would have been my wild dreams, that they will be one and two. That's exactly why I wanted to go. And I'm super happy it ended up this way."
A small but mighty country that has produced some major NHL talent. From recently retired Zdeno Chara, the Stastny brothers, Miroslav Satan, Marian Hossa, and the aforementioned Gaborik and Tatar himself, the example of excellence has been set by prior generations.
"It's the generation was very successful in Slovakia, is slowly ending," Tatar began, "You know, if it's Gaborik, Hossa, Chara, youknow,these big names are all retired. Different guys has to step in. We had a very successful draft, these guys had something to look up to, and I think those players are one of the best examples they can find."
And now, with Nemec as one of the players at the helm, a new generation of elite Slovakian talent is on the rise.
"Small, but we have really good players, and now more and more players will be better like we are," Nemec said after going second to the New Jersey Devils.
"Everybody is proud, and we're proud, too."
