When the Montreal Canadiens were debating whether to use the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft on Slovak winger Juraj Slafkovský, their draft meetings were revealed in the team’s annual behind-the-scenes video.
In one of these meetings, Canadiens co-director of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov advocated for the hulking winger, who had risen late on draft lists that year.
Bobrov’s first key point was Slafkovský’s personality.
“He just has that personality to want to take the bull by the horns,” Bobrov said. “He wants to own the moment, the situation. … He’s doing it with that drive, desire, owning the moment, and it’s a personality trait. It’s more than just a skill, a hockey skill. He just has that personality trait to want to own the stage.”
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His second point was about the pressure Slafkovský faced in Slovakia, where he was seen as the next great hockey hope following in the footsteps of legends like Bondra, Pálffy, Hossa, Gáborík, Chára, and others.
“Lastly, a country of five million has been talking about this kid for, what, three years now? Four years now? The pressure on him is a country, and so far he’s handled it unbelievably well,” Bobrov said.
Two years later, Slafkovský is on the brink of NHL stardom, proving the Canadiens right in trusting his personality and ability to deal with pressure by drafting him at No. 1.
But what is behind that personality? Where does it stem from? And how has the Slovak environment molded Slafkovský into who he is today?
The fishbowl
Slafkovský wasn’t the only Slovak player picked in the first round of the 2022 draft. Šimon Nemec went No. 2 to the New Jersey Devils and Filip Mešár went at No. 26 to the Canadiens. Adam Sýkora went in the second round and more Slovaks followed in later rounds.
Regardless of the company he had, being drafted at No. 1 elevated Slafkovský’s status massively at home in Slovakia.
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