In the winter of 2016, Juraj Slafkovsky was 12 years old. During a tournament, Juraj senior, his father, watches the game with interest from 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 performance when retreating to the defensive, his father kindly tells him to concentrate on defense as much as attack. “Then he looked at me in the middle of the game and gave me the finger! At the age of 12!” remembers Slafkovsky senior, who burst out laughing.
It's rather disrespectful to parents who help their child achieve their dream, but on the other hand it shows well why Juraj Slafkovsky was able to rise to the front row in the best league in the world: his character.
Just thirty days ago, some were calling for a return to Laval.
Today he not only plays in the Habs' first trio, but also manages to play an important role there.
Should we really be surprised at this impressive progress over the last month? Here are five stories told by people close to the Slovaks at TVASports.ca who believe not.
“He could drive his teammates completely crazy.”
Juraj Slafkovsky's hunger for victory is not new.
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.
Photo provided by Tomas Kochan
“He started to be outclassed because of his skills. On some evenings it was too easy against players his age,” explains his father Juraj senior.
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 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.”
The Juraj Wall, which weighed 10 pounds at birth
May 29, 2021. Juraj Slafkovsky, then 16 years old, played his first international senior tournament. His Slovakia will face Denmark at the World Cup in Riga, Latvia.
“I remember a scene where Juraj sent the puck deep into Danish territory,” explains Andrej Podkonicky, 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”. [rires]. I've never seen anyone his age so strong…”
Photo Getty Images via AFP
In the months following that tournament, Slafkovsky lost none of his physical strength.
But once he was in the NHL, he had to learn how to properly protect himself, something he found difficult in his first season on the Bettman circuit, where everything moves faster.
However, progress in this regard has been evident in recent weeks.
“Juraj weighed almost 10 pounds at birth,” his father says.
And 19 years later, the young man is honestly well served by this atypical size.
“Everyone wants to be like that Juraj, here”
The NHL market in Montreal is a whirlwind.
Over the years, it has also been common for young players to be intimidated when joining the Canadian's team. But Juraj Slafkovsky does not fall into this category.
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 game when he feels it is necessary.
You would think you were facing a 29-year-old player from Boucherville, so sophisticated is his interpretation of the “CH whirlwind”. Much of this is due to his status as a true celebrity in Slovakia, his father explains.
Juraj Slafkovsky in the auditorium of his high school, where his name is often mentioned and his photo is often seen. Photo Zdenek Matejovsky
“Since his selection he has become, in my opinion, one of the most followed Slovak personalities,” says his father.
A quick look at the Slovakian Pravda website the day after the shootout winner against the Sabers showed the extent of his popularity.
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 national coach.
For Dad, the examples that illustrate the enthusiasm for his boy in Slovakia are as numerous as they are impressive.
He didn't know how to cook or do laundry
In 2018, at the end of the Slovakian championship season played under Tomas Kochan, Slafkovsky (who was 14 years old at the time) and his family found themselves at an 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.
Juraj Slafkovsky was sitting on a terrace in Kosice, his hometown in Slovakia, where Le Journal met him in July. Photo Zdenek Matejovsky
“He didn’t know how to cook. Not even the laundry,” laughs Slafkovsky Sr.
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.”
After 11 games, again against players much older than him, he had 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 radical decision: moving the teenager… to the Czech Republic, where he could finish the season in a more competitive environment.
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.”
The Slafkovsky clan was then contacted by TPS Turku in Finland.
“He gave me no choice”
After a successful time with the TPS U18 and U20 teams, the now 17-year-old Slafkovsky will make his first team debut (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 4th and 18th games of the season, the winger only had four duels in which he played more than 14 minutes.
Juraj Slafkovsky in the colors of TPS Turku, Finland. Photo Vesa Pöppönen / AOP
“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…”
“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 then became an important part of our team,” says Ahokas.