All goes ‘Wright’ for Kraken; Blackhawks will struggle to score

The seven rounds of the NHL draft are over, and teams used the two days to stock their organizational depth and make moves to get their rosters in shape for the start of the July 13 free agency signing period.

The host Montreal Canadiens had the No. 1 overall pick and used it to select Slovakian forward Juraj Slafkovsky, who plays for TPS Turku of the Finnish league. The Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, who had only two picks in the draft, chose Sherbrooke (Quebec) goaltender Ivan Zhigalov with the last overall selection.

Here are the winners and losers from the draft:

SCOUTING REPORTS: Sizing up the first round picks

Winner: Montreal Canadiens

A year ago, then-general manager Marc Bergevin drew groans by using the 31st overall pick on Logan Mailloux, who asked teams not to choose him after an earlier offense came to light. This year, new GM Kent Hughes created a pleasant surprise by picking Slafkovsky over Kingston (Ontario) Frontenacs center Shane Wright. Slafkovsky is 6-4 and had seven goals at the Olympics to earn a bronze medal and tournament MVP honors. Montreal later got a center by acquiring Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-team trade involving the New York Islanders.

Loser: Wright

Going fourth overall isn’t bad but hearing another name being called three times before yours must have been tough when you were expected to go first overall. It wasn’t Wright’s fault because teams were addressing specific needs, but he said he would use the drop as motivation. “Definitely going to have a little chip on my shoulder,” he told reporters.

Winner: Seattle Kraken

The Kraken are fortunate that Wright — who had had 94 points in 63 games last season — fell to them. He’s considered the most complete all-around player in the draft and his style has been compared to Patrice Bergeron. You build an offense down the middle and the Kraken are set for the future with 2021 No. 2…