Montreal Canadiens power forward Juraj Slafkovsky is ready to be more than a complement to Nick Suzuki and Cole Suzuki, and he showed it this past weekend.
If the Montreal Canadiens were able to win their duel with the Los Angeles Kings, it was in no small part due to Juraj Slafkovsky’s performance. The 21-year-old power forward had three points on the night and managed to set a new career-high in the process.
During the Olympics tournament, Slafkovsky was the man for his country, something he hasn’t had to be for the Canadiens, given how well surrounded he is, but on Saturday night, he looked like he wanted to be just that.
Speaking to the media after the game, the young Slovak explained:
I feel like the mindset is you want to be the guy that changes the momentum, it’s important.
In previous seasons, it felt like Slafkovsky was content to be a great complement to the Nick Suzuki-Cole Caufield duo. Still, this year the youngster has gained a lot of confidence and taken charge of his own line, playing alongside Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen.
When he went back to the first line in the West Coast road trip, he brought that confidence along, and it did wonders for him. In two games alongside Suzuki and Caufield, he has racked up five points, including two goals. While he set a career-best in points on Saturday night, reaching 52, he had already surpassed his career-high in goals, which stood at 20 before this season. He now has 23 goals and has 20 games left to improve that total. As for the assists, he currently has 29, just four short of his highest total. He’s on pace for 38 assists this year and 69 points if he plays all 82 games.
It’s incredible to think that nearly 12 years ago, Slafkovsky was just a kid attending the Canadiens’ hockey school, posing for a picture with team mascot Youppi. He sure has come a long way since then, and he's well on his way to becoming a star player in the NHL.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.