In the immediate aftermath of perhaps the most challenging moment of his hockey life, Shane Wright's phone rang at the NHL Draft on Thursday night in Montreal.
After the projected No. 1 pick didn't hear his name called by the host Montreal Canadiens to open the draft, the Kingston Frontenacs centre got a call from none other than Wayne Gretzky, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
When he was waiting to be picked, obviously he dropped a couple spots from potentially one to four, he got a phone call from Wayne Gretzky," Friedman said.
"Apparently, Wayne Gretzky asked someone for Shane Wright’s number and while Wright was waiting at the draft to be taken, Gretzky called him and gave him some words of encouragement. I mean who wouldn’t want to get that phone call at that time? It’s a great story and love to hear it."
It had to make what turned out to be a longer-than-expected wait to hear his name called a bit easier for Wright.
Finally, at No. 4 overall, the Seattle Kraken selected Wright.
And, hey, some pretty decent players have gone fourth overall in the recent past -- including recent Conn Smythe Trophy winner Cale Makar, Brady Tkachuk and Mitch Marner.
If Wright makes the Kraken this season, his first chance to face the Canadiens comes Dec. 6 in Seattle.
