The Montreal Canadiens made a notable change to their lineup in their last contest against the St. Louis Blues, promoting 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky to the first line. This move came as a bit of a surprise, as the 19-year-old had a slow start to the season, posting just one assist in his first 10 games of the season. However, Slafkovsky’s first game on the first line was successful, as he scored his first goal of the season and did not look out of place in the slightest. As a result, it seems likely that he will continue to get reps with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis was recently asked, “what made the timing right” for Slafkovsky’s promotion to the first line. To hear St. Louis’ full answer, check out the video below.
Based on St. Louis’ comments, it is clear that there were multiple reasons why Slafkovsky got bumped up to the first line. Let’s now take a dive into the Habs bench boss’ comments.
Perfect Timing for Slafkovsky
There is no question that roster moves played a big role in Slafkovsky getting his chance on the Canadiens’ first. St. Louis first responded to the question by saying, “Sometimes things just happen for a reason. HP (Rafael Harvey-Pinard) goes down. Dvo (Christian Dvorak) comes in. You have to switch things around. It’s just the timing of that.” Without question, Slafkovsky benefitted from this timing.
Harvey-Pinard’s injury opened up a spot in the Canadiens’ top six, while Dvorak’s return forced the Canadiens to make a change to their third line. Thus, these moves gave St. Louis the freedom to give Slafkovsky his first test on the top line, and in the end, it is fair to say it was a success in his first game.
Slafkovsky was having some notable troubles in their bottom six, and it was great to see this swap benefit the young forward. He has shown signs over the first few games that he could make a bigger impact with his offence, and now we may finally start to see him rewarded for it on their first line.
St. Louis Impressed By Slafkovsky’s Defence
While the Canadiens’ roster moves played a role in Slafkovsky’s switch to the first line, it was not the only reason why it happened. St. Louis also noted that he has been impressed with Slafkovsky’s play on defence, and he wanted more responsibility in this aspect due to Suzuki and Caufield playing against tougher matchups.
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Slafkovsky getting praise for his defencive play at such a young age is promising, as he is showing that he has the potential to become more than just a scoring power forward. Clearly, he has gotten the attention of St. Louis because of it.
It will now be fun to see how much more time Slafkovsky gets on the first line and if he continues to get on the scoresheet in the process.