Winter 2016. Juraj Slafkovsky is 12 years old.
The young man is in action during a tournament in Prague, Czech Republic.
Juraj Senior, Slafkovsky's father, is watching the game with interest in the stands.
Suddenly, the attacker is caught in the back of the attacking area while the opposing team runs away with the puck. Dissatisfied with his son's efforts to retreat, his father gently calls out to him to put as much effort into defense as he does attack.
“Then he looked at me in the middle of the game and gave me the finger! At 12 years old!” says Slafkovsky senior and bursts out laughing.
This event happened several years ago. But as crazy as it may be, it also perfectly illustrates the central element behind the rise of the man who became the NHL Auction and Canadian's first-ever pick on July 7, 2022: character.
Just thirty days ago, some were calling for a stay in Laval, participation in the Junior World Championships or a few games in the stands, in Slafkovsky's case. Others even questioned the relevance of his selection.
Today he plays in the Habs' first trio, a trio whose identity he has completely changed, especially thanks to his play on the ramps and in the corners of the rink.
William Villemaire
A radical development, that goes without saying. But should we really be surprised?
Six stories told on TVASports.ca by people close to the Slovakian suggest this is not the case.
A behind-the-scenes discussion that potentially changed everything
Juraj Slafkovsky's performance at the Olympic Games (seven goals in seven games) and at the Senior World Cup (three goals and nine points in eight games) as part of the Slovakia national team made an impression in 2022.
At just 17 years old, it's amazing to put up these numbers compared to men on the international stage, and these two competitions also did a lot to put the young man on CH's (and other NHL teams') radar at the start of the draft. to move.
What people don't know, however, is that a behind-the-scenes discussion directly contributed to Slafkovsky's impressive offensive performance at both events.
Says Andrej Podkonický, the assistant coach of the Slovakian team at the time.
“We selected Juraj for the first time in 2020-2021 during the World Cup in Latvia. It was a COVID year, so no team was relegated, but had a tough tournament. That's why we wanted to give certain young people a chance. Juraj did very well, but didn't collect any points.
“After the tournament we had a discussion. I told him to work on the speed at which he shot his shots. The power of his throw was good, but it took too long for him to get the puck off his paddle. I felt like he was receptive. We separated there.”
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Eight months later, Slafkovsky reunited with Podkonicky and his national teammates for the Olympics.
“Before our first game,” says Podkonicky, “head coach Craig Ramsay told the other coaches that he hoped Juraj would score a goal.” We started him on our fourth line, but he quickly moved up to our first unit. And he finished the competition with…seven goals! Needless to say, the speed of his throw was much faster than it had been eight months before.”
Without this famous discussion and the striking changes that followed, who knows where Slafkovsky would be today.
“Without this great ability to develop, he would never have been ranked first overall, especially in this case,” says Podkonicky.
“He could drive his teammates completely crazy.”
Juraj Slafkovsky's hunger for victory is not new. And being one of the youngest Canadians certainly won't change that. The past itself says so.
In 2015, the young man played for HC Kosice in the U16 category of the Slovak championship. Juraj was only 13 years old at the time and gave most of his teammates two or even two and a half years.
“He started to be outclassed because of his skills. Some nights it was too easy against players his age,” said his father.
And being the “little kid” of the group doesn’t intimidate Slafkovsky at all. Quite the opposite!
Tomas Kochan, the club's coach at the time, was clear on this issue.
“Juraj always wanted to be at the top and stand out from other players. He was very, very competitive. He had great self-confidence. And most of all, he loved hockey. You should have seen this… The youngest on the team, who lit up the locker room before games with his insatiable desire to win and drove all his teammates crazy. The boys jumped onto the ice full of energy. And that was thanks to Juraj.”
Juraj Slafkovsky and his teammates from HC Kosice, winners of the bronze final of the Slovak U16 Championship in 2018. Tomas Kochan
And when the games began, Slafkovsky's boots, his former coach swears, still followed his lips.
“He controlled the puck excellently, had a very good shot and, thanks to his size, even excelled in duels. He quickly gained his place against players much older than him. I can't tell you exactly how many, but I can tell you that his trio have scored a ton of goals this year! I can't remember a practice or game where he didn't have stars in his eyes when he jumped on the ice.
“Everyone here wants to be like Juraj”
The NHL market in Montreal is known to be a whirlwind. Hockey is a religion here and everything that has to do with it often takes on exaggerated proportions.
Over the years, it has also been common for young players (especially Europeans) to be intimidated when joining the Canadian's team.
But Juraj Slafkovsky does not fall into this category. Not at all.
Interacting with him on a daily basis makes us understand how comfortable he is with the reality of Montreal. He jokes with journalists, interacts with fans. He never misses an opportunity to criticize his play when he feels it is necessary and always insists on talking about the team before talking about himself.
You'd think you were facing a 29-year-old player from Boucherville!
And a big part of that is his status as a true celebrity in Slovakia, his father says.
“Since his selection by Montreal, in my opinion he has become one of the most followed Slovak personalities, alongside Petra Vlhová and Peter Sagan,” says Juraj senior.
Furthermore, a simple look at the Slovakian website of Pravda (the oldest daily newspaper in Slovakia) the day after Slafkovsky's game-winning penalty shootout against the Sabers made the extent of his popularity understandable.
An article about his performance the day before appeared as the second most-viewed post on the platform in the last 24 hours.
“Everyone here wants to be like Juraj,” even says Andrej Podkonicky, his former coach with the Slovakian national team.
For Papa Slafkovsky, the examples that illustrate the enthusiasm for his boy on Slovak territory are as numerous as they are impressive.
“In the summer, when he’s at home, people recognize him on the street. After training, the children always wait for him in the arena to have a poster or photo signed. Sometimes it takes him 10-15 minutes to take care of her. When he goes out to eat with friends, he is regularly recognized.
“Slovak fans are similar to Montreal fans: they are numerous and passionate. Many love it and some hate it. But I am happy because Juraj understood that you don’t have to follow social media and media much.”
“The Juraj Wall”
May 29, 2021. Juraj Slafkovsky, then 16 years old, plays his first international senior tournament. His Slovakia will face Denmark at the World Cup in Riga.
“I remember a scene where Juraj sent the puck deep into Danish territory,” recalls Andrej Podkonický, who was the club’s assistant coach at the time.
“Juraj got to the puck first and I saw a huge Danish defender rushing towards him. He arrived extremely quickly. Juraj calmly raised his head, buried his feet in the ice and completely knocked this guy over. The Dane had just come across the “Juraj Wall” (laughs). I've never seen anyone his age so strong…”
In the months following that tournament, Slafkovsky lost none of his physical strength. Quite the opposite!
But in the NHL he had to learn to protect himself in games where everything happens faster. He had trouble with it a few times last year. Some evenings he also tried the medicine that he himself had administered to that poor Danish defender months before.
However, progress in this regard has been evident in recent weeks.
Slafkovsky can read the play much more effectively, prepares better for contact and uses his power/frame combination to extend his sequences in opponent territory.
“Juraj weighed almost 10 pounds at birth,” his father says.
19 years later, the young man is honestly well served by this atypical template.
“He didn’t know how to cook. Not even the laundry.”
In 2018, at the end of the season played under Tomas Kochan in the Slovak championship, Slafkovsky (who was 14 years old at the time) and his family found themselves in a kind of impasse.
“Juraj reached a point where there was nothing left for him to do in Slovakia. He wanted to make ice hockey his career and needed better training conditions,” explains his father.
But despite being dominant on the ice, Slafkovsky remains a child.
“He didn’t know how to cook. Not even the laundry,” laughs Slafkovsky Sr.
“His mother and I thought about it and discussed it for a long time, but we came to the conclusion that he had to go, especially given our son's ambitions. Juraj obviously agreed.”
The family chose Austria, where the striker moved to Red Bull Salzburg's U18 hockey academy.
“We chose this location because it is one of the best sports facilities in Europe. The player support and services are top notch. There is probably nothing better on the European continent.”
Juraj adapts quickly.
“We visited him a few times and answered his questions on the phone. Everything worked out quickly and honestly. He became independent very quickly.”
And the strong skater also feels comfortable in ice hockey. Maybe even too much.
After 11 games, again against players much older than him, he has 17 points.
“We noticed after a few weeks that, despite the quality of the Austrian systems, the competition was not necessarily at the level we had wanted. At that time, Salzburg mainly faced Hungarian clubs and won most of their games by more than 15 goals!
Still with the clear goal of maximizing his chances of success in professional hockey, Slafkovsky and his family then made another drastic decision: moving the teenager… to the Czech Republic, where he could finish the season in a more competitive environment.
“We knew several people there and the Hradec Králové club was willing to take him in,” recalls Juraj senior.
Slafkovsky finished this season and the playoffs with his club's best points per game average.
“He lived in a dormitory and attended a Czech school,” explains his father. Czech and Slovak are two similar languages, but he still had to learn some Czech terms.
“Honestly, I believe this experience has allowed him to better manage his arrival alone in Montreal. The decisions we made were certainly the right ones.”
After this campaign, TPS Turku, a Finnish Liiga club, approached the Slafkovsky clan. A new adventure begins.
“He gave me no choice”
After a successful spell with the TPS U18 and U20 teams, Slafkovsky, now 17 years old, will make his first team debut (in the Liiga) in 2021-2022.
But despite his new protégé's impressive resume, Jussi Ahokas, the club's head coach, is not doing him any favors.
Between the fourth and 18th games of the season, the winger only played four duels in which he played more than 14 minutes.
“It’s a difficult league for a 17-year-old,” explains Ahokas on the phone. They play against the best adults in the country. To be honest, it wasn't easy for him at first. He was very frustrated that he couldn't produce. It was a first for Juraj…”
Vesa Pöppönen / AOP
“But he never sulked and continued to work on his shortcomings during and after training. Towards the end of the season, he significantly improved his play in the corners of the ice and in possession of the puck. He protected the screen much better and hit the net vigorously. His presence in the attack zone was therefore much longer and more impactful and he began to produce and… play more. He just gave me no choice!”
Slafkovsky's ice time ultimately exceeded 14 minutes in 22 of his last 27 Liiga duels (including the playoffs). Very often the usage time even exceeded the 16-minute mark.
“He gradually became an important part of our team,” says Ahokas.
To say that “progress” has been part of Slafkovsky’s life for a very long time is not an invention. Everything you just read is based on facts, on stories that really happened.
So where is the actual ceiling for No. 20 in the NHL? You can't say that at the moment.
But that's exactly what makes this selection so exciting, right?