If there is such a thing as the sophomore jinx, you wouldn’t have known it watching Juraj Slafkovsky play last season. He arrived at camp and found chemistry with Kirby Dach right away. Unfortunately for Dach and Slavkovsky, however, the former got a season-ending injury. The latter bounced from line to line before finally landing on Nick Suzuki’s wing alongside Cole Caufield. Slafkovsky seemed to improve on a nightly basis this past year and here are three of my favorite highlights from the young Slovak’s season.
Slafkovsky no Longer Looked Like Bambi on Skates
In his rookie season, the 6-foot-3 winger looked extremely easy to neutralize. He didn’t know how to use his big frame to his advantage. When he arrived at camp last September, though, it was immediately apparent he had managed to sort out that issue and no longer looked like Bambi on skates.
On September 27th, the Canadiens took on the Ottawa Senators in the first of two preseason duels between the two teams, and one in which Slafkovsky showed he was no longer the green rookie who could be sent down to the ice at the slightest push. No, Slafkovsky stood his ground and was confident enough to get in heavy traffic.
He was able to reach the areas in which you can have the best opportunities and no longer needed to look down at the puck to make sure it was still there. His newfound confidence allowed him to cut his risk of injury, no longer vulnerable to blindsided hits.
Riding Shotgun With Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield
In early December, for a game against the Seattle Kraken, Slafkovski was promoted to the first line for the second time and got to play with Canadiens’ captain Suzuki and the team’s snipper Caufield. He didn’t get on the scoreboard but was much more assertive and confident. Since he had played on the second line with Caufield for a few games, chemistry had already flourished between the teammates, and they immediately clicked with Caufield in the center.
Furthermore, Slafkovsky was dedicated to the forecheck with an active stick that often dispossessed opponents. From that game on, the sophomore improved by leaps and bounds in all aspects of hockey and soon enough, he wasn’t just the complement the Caufield-Suzuki duo needed, he was an integral part of the line.
Playing on the team’s top line, his offensive production picked up, so much so that he finished the season with 20 goals, 30 assists, and 50 points. He recorded 40 of those points while he was still a teenager, setting a record for the most points with the franchise by a teenager.
Related: Juraj Slafkosky’s Growth Lifting Canadiens Top Line
Progressively, the game appeared to slow down for him; whether he intercepted the puck or received a pass, he took the time to assess the situation before deciding what to do with it. He was no longer getting rid of the puck like it was a hot potato.
Slafkovsky’s First Hat Trick
Late in the season, on April 9, the Philadelphia Flyers came to town, and while they should have been playing with the urge of a team who wanted to avoid missing the playoffs, they didn’t. They were completely dominated by the Canadiens, who earned a 9-3 win, their biggest in two seasons since a 10-2 beatdown of the watered-down version of the Florida Panthers in 2021-22, which the President’s Trophy winners chose to rest most of their stars.
Slafkovsky was the night’s first star, getting his first career hat-trick. Funny enough, when Suzuki was asked what his favorite moment of the season was, he immediately replied, “Slaf’s hat trick, that was fun!” While it was his first hat trick, if he keeps improving as he has done last season it won’t be the last.
While this last season showed us a new version of Slafkovsky, it’s still hard to predict what his ceiling will be. Of course, he’s not a generational player, but slowly and surely, those who argued he wasn’t fit to be a first-overall pick are being made to eat their words.