'Welcome to the NHL' goes behind scenes with prospects at 2022 Draft

How does it feel waiting to hear your name called at the NHL Draft? A new show depicts the journey to that moment.

"Welcome to the NHL" chronicles the path of five players selected in the
2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft
in Montreal: forward
Juraj Slafkovsky
, taken No. 1 by the Montreal Canadiens; center
Logan Cooley
, No. 3 by the Arizona Coyotes; center
Shane Wright
, No. 4 by the Seattle Kraken; defenseman
Christian Kyrou
, in the second round (No. 50) by the Dallas Stars and defenseman
Jeremy Langlois
, in the third round (No. 94) by the Coyotes.
"What we did differently this time was getting access to one of the teams and kind of hearing their predraft thoughts and getting a couple of players who weren't going to be the top five players," NHL chief content officer and executive vice president Steve Mayer said.
"Having Kyrou, who we knew was going to go late first round/early second round and then having another player who we knew would go later in the third or fourth round, it just added to the intrigue and it put us in the building on the second day, which we had never done before."
RELATED: [Full 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft coverage]
The show premiered in the United States on Friday on ESPN+, the
NHL's official YouTube page
and on NHL Network. It premieres in Canada on Sportsnet at 2 p.m. ET Saturday. The show will re-air on NHL Network at 3, 5 9 and 11 a.m. ET on Saturday and 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, and on Sportsnet at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday.
"Welcome to the NHL" begins at the Draft Lottery on May 10, which determined the Canadiens would get the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft, the New Jersey Devils the No. 2 selection and the Coyotes would go at No. 3. The show continues at the NHL Scouting Combine, held May 30-June 4 in Buffalo. Players discussed the fitness tests they took, those they couldn't participate in (a lower-body injury kept Langlois out of some tests) and their thoughts on talking to teams.
Slafkovsky was especially encouraged by his conversations with the Canadiens.
"I didn't have dinner, but to me, I think the talk we had maybe tasted better than dinner," he said with a smile to laughs.
The Coyotes scouting team meetings on June 8 in Reno, Nevada, were also highlighted.
"This is the most important draft in the history of this franchise: seven picks in the first two rounds, three in the first, four in the second," Arizona general manager Bill Armstrong said. "This is where we're going to make some hay here and it's important we understand, in this room, we make a difference. We're here to a win championship. That's the truth. We're not drafting players to draft players. We're drafting players to help us win a championship."

The show continues with Day 1 of the draft in Montreal, as players get ready and visit with family in their respective hotel rooms. Slafkovsky puts on shoes that are too sizes too small for him -- "I'm a 48, these are a 46. It's going to be a long night," he said -- and Simon Wright contemplates the first thing he'll say to his son, Shane, when he's selected.
"Honestly, I still don't know what I'm going to say at this point," Simon said. "So I'm going to let emotion take control there and see what happens."
The show captures the roller coaster of emotions the players faced at the draft, from Slafkovsky's elation at being the No. 1 pick to Cooley's reaction to that ("that changes the whole thing," he said) to Wright, an anticipated No. 1 pick, waiting for his name to be called. It continues to Day 2, when Langlois and Kyrou, younger brother of St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, were selected.
"He's most excited to get verified on Instagram. That's one of the best parts right there," Jordan said. "Growing up with him, he was always a little kid. Now he's an adult and I'm super happy for him."