Juraj Slafkovsky (No. 1) with the Montreal Canadiens and Shane Wright (No. 4) with the Seattle Kraken each made the cut to begin the 2022-23 season in the NHL.
Simon Nemec (No. 2) with the New Jersey Devils was sent to Utica of the American Hockey League on Wednesday after being listed when the
League announced the rosters
for all 32 teams Tuesday.
Center
Logan Cooley
, selected No. 3 by the Arizona Coyotes, is playing this season for the University of Minnesota.
Slafkovsky, an 18-year-old forward, had two assists and 12 shots on goal in six preseason games. Wright, an 18-year-old center, had one assist and was minus-1 with eight shots on goal in five games. Slafkovsky and Nemec made history at the 2022 draft when they became the highest Slovakia-born players selected.
The Canadiens open the season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, ESPN+, SN NOW).
"It feels really, really great," Slafkovsky said. "I would say that I always believed and I'm happy that I know how it is and there is some work to do starting Wednesday."
The Kraken open their season Wednesday at the Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; BSSC, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, SN NOW). Wright was the center on the third line with Ryan Donato and Jordan Eberle in the preseason finale, a 5-3 loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, and at practice Monday.
"There's great opportunity, and great opportunity for him to be part of it," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said of Wright before training camp. "We're going to give him every opportunity to do that without keeping any kind of extra pressure on him. Just going to give him the opportunity to go out and play and be at his very best and continue to grow."
Wright will play with Matty Beniers, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and the first selection in Seattle history. Beniers' four points (all goals) led the Kraken in the preseason.
"It's great getting to know Matty," Wright said last month at the NHL Players' Association Rookie Showcase. "To be able to build that relationship with him and get to know him a lot better has been awesome. He's a great guy off the ice and on the ice as well.
"I put in a lot of work this summer. I feel like I really worked hard. I think that I've also had other opportunities to play and compete against NHL players and guys who are high-level players, so I feel like I'm really well prepared to … earn my spot on the team just like any guy coming to camp."
NHL.com staff writers Adam Kimelman and Jackie Spiegel contributed to this report
