At 6-foot-3 and 238 pounds, 20-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky’s size has been a blessing and a curse for the young NHLer. Despite going first overall in the 2022 NHL draft to the Montreal Canadiens, the Slovakian winger had a slow start in the big leagues.
In his rookie campaign, Slafkovsky scored only four goals and 10 points in an injury-shortened 39-game season. The first 10 games of the 2023-24 season looked worse, with Slafkovsky posting a single assist during that span. By the end of 2023, he had tallied four goals and 13 points through 36 games, just shy of a nine-goal, 30-point pace over a full 82-game season. For a first overall pick, a performance like that invites the dreaded “bust” word into the conversation.
But in 2023-24, Slafkovsky revved up and produced 20 goals and 50 points in 82 games. Slafkovsky found his stride in the new year, producing 16 goals and 37 points in 46 games for a Canadiens team where offense wasn’t an easy thing to generate. Over the course of a full season, that’s a pace of 28 goals and 66 points.
And at the World Championship in Czechia, Slafkovsky has helped Slovakia win two of three games so far. He’s continued to show off his budding playmaking abilities, notching three assists so far while getting under the skin of his opponents.
Juraj Slafkovsky with the "cry about it, look at the score" while heading to the box!🥶#MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/T5fCk70HIy
— BarDown (@BarDown) May 12, 2024
Due to his large frame, Slafkovsky’s flashes of dominance are intimidating. One of those instances was his first career hat trick in Montreal’s 9-3 home win against Philadelphia on April 9. With a massive stature, a wicked shot and rapidly sharpening offensive instincts, it almost seems unfair for the Canadiens to let Slafkovsky fly around on skates.
The first career hat trick for Juraj Slafkovsky! 🔵🔴
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/JUCjaojuPl
— NHL (@NHL) April 10, 2024
Slafkovsky’s pace with the Canadiens this season matched New Jersey’s star center and 2019 No. 1 overall pick Jack Hughes in his second season. Hughes scored 11 goals and 31 points in 56 games during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. Over 82 games, that’s 16 goals and 45 points, a tad behind Slafkovsky’s 2023-24 stats. Since then, Hughes has skyrocketed, tallying 43 goals and 99 points in 78 games last season and 27 goals and 74 points in 62 games while battling injury this season.
Like Slafkovsky, Quinton Byfield is a monolith on the ice, standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing in at 225 pounds. He is also finally developing into the offensive weapon he was expected to be when the Los Angeles Kings selected him second overall in 2020.
With a frame like Byfield’s and point production following a similar trajectory to that of Hughes, calling Slafkovsky a bust is shortsighted. His rapid improvement is no fluke, either, as there’s plenty of evidence supporting his rise in production.
For example, Slafkovsky’s ice time jumped to 17:56 this season compared to 12:12 during his rookie year. Coach Martin St-Louis consistently deployed him as part of Montreal’s trio of top-line young guns alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Often sent out as a left-shot right winger on that line, Slafkovsky was in a favorable position to unleash deadly one-timers.
#Habs Juraj Slafkovsky with one-timer for PP goal vs #BlueJackets
Assists: Matheson, Caufield#GoHabsGo #NHL #Hockey @RocketSports pic.twitter.com/qA5fIL9AFl
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) March 12, 2024
The Canadiens gave Slafkovsky the same responsibility on the power play, where he produced six goals and 14 points as his power-play minutes increased toward the latter half of the season. Slafkovsky was a vital addition to Montreal’s power play, not only as a scoring threat but as a dynamic puck-mover, highlighted by his eight primary assists on the man advantage.
#Habs Juraj Slafkovsky sets up Nick Suzuki for one-timer PP goal vs #Ducks
Assists: Slafovsky, Newhook#GoHabsGo #NHL #Hockey @RocketSports pic.twitter.com/Nut6svcpVO
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) February 14, 2024
But this is not to ignore Slafkovsky’s deadly release, which he showed off sparingly during his rookie campaign. With his underwhelming performance through the first half of 2023-24, Slafkovsky’s scoring prowess looked undeveloped from the previous year.
In the new year, though, Slafkovsky developed into a legitimate shooter. His shooting percentage in his second season in the NHL increased to a respectable 13.2 percent compared to 9.5 percent in his rookie year. And in the 2024 portion of the schedule, he scored on 15.6 percent of his 102 shots. That’s better than Filip Forsberg, who scored 48 goals for the Nashville Predators and had a shooting percentage of 13.8 percent this season. As an opponent, to give Slafkovsky even a moment of space with the puck is a crucial mistake.
Slafkovsky’s shot wasn’t the only weapon he leveraged on opposing goaltenders. He found new ways to score this season, stemming from his vastly improved play with and without the puck.
Slafkovsky often parked his big frame right in front of the opposing crease, screening the netminder and occasionally redirecting incoming pucks into the back of the net. Five of his 20 goals this year were redirections. When he did find the back of the net during his first season in the big leagues, it was from low-danger areas outside the slot. This season, 14 of his 20 goals were scored in the slot or on the perimeter.
ET DE 20 POUR LE NUMÉRO 20
GOAL 20 FOR NO 20#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/xmzh2yCWId
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 17, 2024
Physicality is another big part of Slafkovsky’s game. This season, he delivered the third-most hits among all Canadiens players, totalling 152, behind only Michael Pezzetta at 242 and Josh Anderson at 169. That’s 27 more hits than Caufield and Suzuki combined, showing why Slafkovsky is a much-needed force on Montreal’s first line.
Slafkovsky’s size and physicality are already effective additions to Montreal’s lineup, but in only his second season, he’s a 20-goal scorer in the NHL. With the blistering scoring pace he demonstrated in the second half of the campaign, there’s good reason to believe Slafkovsky can become a 30-goal scorer next season. And Canadiens and Slovak fans will certainly get excited if he can start filling the net at the Worlds.
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News Summary:
- Why Juraj Slafkovsky's Rise in 2024 Is No Fluke for the Montreal Canadiens
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