Major decision: The true reason behind Shane Wright's disappointing development finally known?

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David St-Jean
August 6, 2023 (9:13)

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If we go back to the winter of 2022, when the Canadiens were languishing at the bottom of the overall standings, all scouts had placed a certain Shane Wright at the top of their lists for the 2022 NHL draft.

And for good reason, the young forward had played in the Ontario junior league at just 15 years old and had put up astonishing numbers for someone his age, with a tally of 39 goals and 66 points in 58 games with the Kingston Frontenacs.

He thus became the third-highest scorer in the OHL before the age of 16, behind John Tavares and Jason Spezza.

Almost everyone saw him becoming the first overall pick in the 2022 draft. Needless to say, it held promise for what was to come!

But what could have happened for Shane Wright to not only drop to fourth in the draft but also have a challenging first season in the pros?

It appears that one has to go back to a decision made by the young forward during the 2020-2021 season. As reported by the website Go Nordiques.com, this decision hasn't been very beneficial for him in 2023.

We remember that the 2020-2021 season of the OHL was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, several young players from the league decided to turn to Europe to continue their development.

Unfortunately for Shane Wright, he chose not to play hockey during that season, a decision that wasn't universally supported at the time.

Even though he had an excellent year in his draft year with 94 points in 63 games, several scouts will tell you that losing a year of hockey at such a young age can seriously hinder the development of a young prospect.

At the moment, Wright is paying the price a bit, as he had a slow start with the Seattle Kraken in 2022-2023.

Of course, it's still too early to jump to conclusions, but for the Kraken organization and especially for Shane Wright, the upcoming season will be of critical importance for the continuation of his career in the NHL.

That being said, his decision to take a "year off" could truly be the reason behind his recent setbacks.