Montreal Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky didn't win a medal, but he was named to the tournament All-Star team and comes back a better player than he was when he left.
After Team USA beat Team Canada in the gold medal game in Milan, the Olympic All-Star Team was revealed, and one member of the Montreal Canadiens made the cut. After his gold medal-winning performance on Sunday, Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck was the goaltender chosen. On the blueline, Minnesota Wild’s Quinn Hughes and Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar were picked. Up front, Edmonton Oilers’ captain and tournament MVP Conor McDavid got the nod, alongside San Jose Sharks’ sophomore Macklin Celebrini and the only player from outside the North American teams, Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovsky.
A Productive tournament
While this is not the honour Slafkovsky would have liked to come home with, it’s still quite an accomplishment. Before the tournament, many believed the Canadiens’ power forward wouldn’t be able to shine in these Olympics like in the last ones because there would be NHL players involved this time around. Still, that chatter died down before the end of Slovakia’s first game. The 21-year-old finished that game with two goals and an assist, leading Slovakia to a 4-1 upset of Finland, a side made up almost exclusively of NHL players (defenseman Mikko Lehtonen being the sole exception).
In the Slovaks’ second game, a 3-2 win over host nation Italy, Slafkovsky added an assist to his tally. In his side’s final preliminary round game, the forward added a goal and an assist on the all-important goal that allowed Slovakia to win the group despite the 5-3 loss to Sweden.
Slafkovsky added an assist in the 6-2 quarterfinal win over Germany, a goal in the 6-2 semifinal defeat at the hands of Team USA, but was held off the scoresheet in the bronze medal game won 6-1 by Finland and Canadiens’ teammate Oliver Kapanen.
With four goals and as many assists for eight points, Slafkovsky was fourth in the tournament scoring race behind McDavid (13), Celebrini (10) and Lukas Raymond (nine). Amazingly, he improved on his point total from the 2022 Olympics, when he had gathered seven points in the competition that didn’t feature NHL players.
A Place In Slovakian History
In two Olympic tournaments, Slafkovsky now has 11 goals and four assists for a total of 15 points. He’s now second in all-time Olympic goals for Slovakia, three goals short of all-time leader Marian Hossa. Given the fact that the NHL players will take part in at least the next two tournaments, he’ll have ample time to catch up. Hossa also leads the country in all-time Olympic points with 28. Slafkovsky needs 13 points to catch up and 14 to overtake him; that appears to be an achievable objective.
Coming Into His Own
More than the points, though, what was impressive from Slafkovsky in this tournament was the way he relished being the man for his country. He embraced the fact that he was the best player on the team and a leader (even though he didn’t have a letter on his jersey). In each game, he was the player opponents had been told to keep an eye on, but he still managed to shine and keep his cool under pressure.
His poise with the puck and his ability to win board battles were admirable. This tournament will have done wonders for Slafkovsky's confidence, even though he had already benefited from being tasked with leading his own line alongside rookies Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen with the Canadiens. He now knows he has the talent and skills to lead a team and returns as a better player than when he left for the tournament.
Despite the disappointment of losing the bronze medal game, Slafkovsky should come back energized and ready to finish the regular season on a high note. He’s currently on pace for a career year of 65 points, and with his newfound confidence, it feels like he would be able to play a bigger role on the top line if he were put back on the top line alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. The youngster no longer sees himself as a complementary piece; he knows what he can do, and he knows he can do it at the highest level. He’s just done it in a competition featuring all-star teams.
Not that his work on the second line hasn’t been exemplary, but the Canadiens are currently struggling to find someone who fits on the top line as well as Slafkovsky did. How Slafkovsky is used until the end of the season will be one of the interesting storylines to follow through the regular season and beyond. As things stand, it looks like the eight-year, $ 7.6M-per-year contract Kent Hughes signed him to will be seen as a steal in no time.
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