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Juraj Slafkovský: we could see him playing for Slovakia in two weeks’ time

 Matthew Garcia
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Juraj Slafkovský: we could see him playing for Slovakia in two weeks’ time
Credit: Getty Images

The 2024-25 season will be an important one for Juraj Slafkovský. The young Slovak, who has just signed his big contract (which doesn’t start for a year, remember), will experience a different reality, as he arrives at camp as one of the team’s big forwards.

In years gone by, he was the young forward who wanted to prove his worth… but now, he’s the one who needs to be one of the club’s top forwards and is seen in Montreal’ s NHL as a guy who could explode this season.

So that makes the next few weeks different for the youngster… but there’s another factor that could change the game.

In two weeks’ time, Slovakia will take part in the tournament to qualify for the 2026 Olympic Games. The country’s team will play three matches between August 29 and September 1.

With the likes of Simon Nemec, Tomas Tatar, Martin Pospisil and Martin Fehervary taking part in the tournament, you have to wonder whether the Habs will let Slaf take part.

We know that in the past, the club hasn’t always had the same attitude towards Slafkovský and his national team. We didn’t let him take part in the 2022-23 World Youth Championship (when many wanted to see him), but last spring we did let him take part in the World Championship.

It was at this tournament, in fact, that he taunted Kazakhstan… a country that Slovakia will face at the tournament in two weeks’ time.

We know that Slafkovský likes to defend his country’s colors, and we can imagine that he would really like to take part in the tournament that would give his country a chance to take part in the Olympic Games in 2026. Especially since, should Slovakia qualify, it’s hard to imagine a world in which Slaf doesn’t take part in the Games (barring injury, that is).

On the other hand, having said that, you have to wonder whether the Habs, who just gave Slafkovský a big contract and want to see him take another step forward next year, are comfortable with the idea of letting the youngster play in this tournament. It could be a way for him to prepare for the season by playing games, but there’s also the risk of injury.

For the moment, nothing has been announced by the Slovak team about Slaf’s presence or absence… but we agree that it will be something to keep an eye on in the coming days.


Overtime

– Speaking of Slaf, Mike Gould of the Daily Faceoff  believes he’s capable of scoring 80 points this season.

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