The Montreal Canadiens have one of many NHL‘s finest younger core teams and it has turned them right into a severe contender within the Japanese Convention.
Whereas Cole Caufield (50 targets this season) and Nick Suzuki (first Canadiens participant with 100 factors in 40 years) get the lion’s share of the eye, 2022 No. 1 general decide Juraj Slafkovsky is correct there with them when it comes to significance and worth.
He confirmed that on Sunday evening with a hat trick, together with the game-winning objective in time beyond regulation, within the Canadiens’ 4-3 Recreation 1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
This might be the beginning of Juraj Slafkovsky’s playoff breakout
In his transient profession, the 22-year-old Slafkovsky has already established himself as a big-game participant.
He has shined up to now two Olympics for Slovakia the place he was simply their finest participant, after which scored two targets within the playoffs for the Canadiens a yr in the past. Now, he opened this postseason with a game-changing efficiency to take Recreation 1 and home-ice benefit away from the Lightning of their Japanese Convention quarterfinal collection.
Add all of it collectively and he has already scored 16 targets in 19 profession Olympic and playoff video games.
That known as shining when the lights are brightest.
The issue is that he has not at all times proven that very same stage of manufacturing on a constant foundation and over the course of full seasons.
If you find yourself a No. 1 general decide, and particularly in a market like Montreal, that’s at all times going to come back with large expectations. You aren’t solely anticipated to be a star; you might be anticipated to be a direct star.
However not all prospects and younger gamers develop on the identical tempo, and there are gamers who take a few years to actually discover their stride. That has been the case for Slafkovsky, who entered this season having by no means scored greater than 20 targets in any of his first three seasons within the league.
He was at all times good. He at all times confirmed flashes of the stardom you count on and did loads of the little issues a participant must do to be productive. It simply by no means fairly confirmed itself within the type of targets and factors.
That began to alter this season when he set profession highs in targets (30) and complete factors (73) whereas nonetheless doing all the little issues that separate good gamers from nice gamers.
That stage of manufacturing began to place him extra on the NHL map and make him the most effective younger energy forwards within the league.
One other large postseason displaying may assist him take the leap towards stardom. His Recreation 1 efficiency is an effective begin.
