Juraj Slafkovsky doesn’t think his hockey sense is bad

Even if Juraj Slafkovsky doesn’t score the most points, he’s still an effective player, and since he’s been with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the first trio, he’s a changed player.

But it’s not necessarily his two trio-mates who make him better. The Slovak makes his teammates better, and as Mathias Brunet mentioned earlier today, Caufield seems more visible when playing with Slaf.

So I’m not the only one who’s noticed this sudden improvement in the Canadian’s former first overall pick in 2022.

But a few weeks ago, I wrote about the fact that a scout present at the Bell Centre had found the forward’s sense of play dysfunctional . The forward is aware that this aspect of his game is not universally appreciated, but according to him, his sense of play is decent.

These are his words in a text by Arpon Basu on The Athletic.

He also said that it’s usually journalists who make such statements, and that former players and coaches don’t necessarily agree.

His coach, Martin St-Louis, believes his youngster is progressing well and is finally finding consistency in his game.

His feel for the game has improved so much that if scouts who doubted him a few months or even weeks ago saw him today, his feel for the game would be considered a “strength”.

On Monday morning, Arpon Basu also asked Slaf what it was like to play with Nick Suzuki. His answer was straightforward and simple: “it’s pretty easy and makes everyone better on the rink.”

No, he’s pretty easy to read, because if you’re somewhere and he sees you there, he won’t come to you. – Juraj Slafkovsky

Yet Alex Newhook was asked the same question earlier in the year and his answer was downright different.

Remember that he hesitated before offering an answer and that in his hesitation, he (accidentally) stated that it wasn’t always easy to play with him and that the captain always leaves you on the tip of your toes.

But for Slaf, playing with the number one center isn’t a difficult task – on the contrary. Further proof that his sense of the game isn’t as bad as some might think.

In bursts

– Not a bad kid.

– Don Granato in the ejector seat?

– Good point.