Shane Wright says he didn’t stare down Canadiens at draft

Wright appeared on Blue Jays Central when the Toronto Blue Jays played the Seattle Mariners and cleared the air on the matter.

“Not at all, no,” Wright said. “I was just looking at the cameras in front of me. To be honest, I don’t really remember too much of going up on stage. It was just kind of a whirlwind for me. I wasn’t intentionally trying to stare anyone down, I guess, maybe it looked like that from the video, or whatever it was.”

The incident in question occurred on July 7 when Wright fell to fourth overall at the 2022 draft. Projected to be the top pick, the Montreal Canadiens instead went with winger Juraj Slafkovsky. Wright continued to fall as the New Jersey Devils went with defenseman Simon Nemec and the Arizona Coyotes drafted center Logan Cooley. The Seattle Kraken then selected Wright with the No. 4 pick. Wright then appeared to stare down the Canadiens draft table when shaking NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s hand on the draft stage, but that that wasn’t the case according to Wright.

Wright is one of eight players granted exceptional status in the CHL, joining the Kingston Frontenacs in the 2019-20 season at age 15. He had 39 goals, 27 assists and 66 points in his rookie season before his second season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned in 2021-22 for his draft year with 32 goals, 62 assists and 94 points in 63 games.

Wright joins a Kraken team that didn’t quite have the debut season they wanted, considering the success of the Vegas Golden Knights just four seasons prior. Wright and 2021 second overall pick Matty Beniers gives the Kraken a strong center duo for the future.