At the end, Kent Hughes took the microphone and announced that Juraj Slafkovsky, the Slovakian sensation, would be joining the Montreal Canadiens. The initial reaction was one of disappointment after a pressing need for the Habs was up the middle and they passed on Shane Wright. But then they went and traded pick 98 and Alexander Romanov for pick 13, and traded it along with pick 66 to add Kirby Dach to the club. Having filled that need at center, adding the big talent on the wing made a lot more sense than it would have otherwise. Slafkovsky is almost universally considered the most NHL-ready player in this draft class. His size, shooting and skating are all professional level and have been showcased against men in Finland’s top professional league. The concern was whether his 10 points in 31 Liiga games were worthy of a first overall pick. His game relies heavily on his ability to use his frame, which he still has room to grow at 6’4” and 218 pounds. He has great range, protects the puck well and uses it very effectively in the circle game. He does most of his work shooting in the net area around the net, has smooth hands and a heavy wrist shot that can beat goalies from distance as well. Elite Prospects With TPS in the Liiga, he was surrounded by players who simply weren’t at his level, with usage that wasn’t playing to his strengths. When he left TPS and played with the Slovakian national team in two different tournaments, he flourished. Playing on the front line for Slovakia with capable teammates, he won MVP at the Olympics and was equally impressive at the World Championships. You don’t want to put too much stock in two international tournaments in training, but these performances were hard to ignore. And the clear takeaway from those tournaments was that—given the right teammates—Slafkovsky had more to offer than his production in Finland. Also notable was his percentage in the U20 league in Finland, which was much higher and well over a point per game. He had 18 points in 11 games with the U20 TPS team before earning promotion to the Liiga. Adjusting to the new league was a challenge, but his performance gradually earned him more ice time, culminating in an average of over 15 minutes per game in the playoffs. He finished as the fifth leading playoff scorer for TPS in the playoffs with seven points in 18 games. TPS relied heavily on their veteran top line (Nurmi, Pyyhtiä and Perssinen) in the playoffs. That left Slafkovsky on the outside looking in, but he managed his seven points (2+5) despite being second fiddle. None of the veteran front-line players had fewer than 12 points. This was in stark contrast to Slafkovsky’s usage with the Slovakian national team, where he was used on the front line and on the power play, clearly benefiting from better teammates and better development. Slafkovsky’s game improved throughout the season, trending in a positive direction with his performance against Canada at the World Championship being the highlight of the year. He wasn’t shy with the media either, even going so far as to suggest he would make an excellent winger for Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. That seems to be a logical, if not predetermined, landing spot for him, and we should at least see it during the preseason in Montreal. Slafkowski’s size, as well as his cycling and puck recovery skills, would make him a very interesting third bodyguard on this top line. Josh Anderson has had some success playing with these two, and at his best Slafkowski makes a more dynamic version of Anderson, so he could end up being a perfect fit. The alternative would be to try him with the club’s newest member, Kirby Dach. That would be a very difficult line to straddle given the size of these two players, their playmaking skills and their respective hockey IQs. Suffice to say, Martin St-Louis has plenty of options on how he can use Slafkovsky. Montreal is rebuilding, so they don’t need to be a top line winger right away. They can even afford to send him back to Finland for one more season if they feel that’s the best course of action. But he’s ready to show, so they can expect him to be a contributor as early as next season. After he was drafted, John Lu asked him about some of the boos that rained down and he said, “Hockey is their passion, just like mine. Maybe some of them didn’t like me, but I’ll do my best to play well for this team and maybe one day they’ll like me.” Habs brass have talked ad nauseam about wanting to get the best player for the future, not the best player right now. With this pick, they must hope they got the best of both worlds, as it appears he has every intention of being in the Tricolore in 2022-23.
