Olympic Games: Slovakia has high prospects for Juraj Slafkovsky

Jonathan Di Gregorio
Olympic Games: Slovakia has high prospects for Juraj Slafkovsky
Credit: Getty Images

As we all know, Juraj Slafkovsky is having an excellent season with the Habs, especially over the past 2 months or so.

The power forward has already surpassed last season's goal total with his 19th of the season, and has 40 points in 49 games.

His recent blossoming is not only being noticed in Montreal, however, as a lot of prospects are pinning their hopes on him in Slovakia for the upcoming Olympic Games.

In an article published on the Slovakian website SportNet, we learn that Slafkovsky wants to play a leadership role with the Slovakian team, leading by example and doing his best to defend his country's colors.

In fact, he'll be on familiar ground, as at the age of 17, he was part of the squad that won the bronze medal at the 2022 Olympic Games. Slaf finished as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals, and was also named the tournament's best player.

Now 21, the Habs forward will be one of the best players in his squad, and he'll be under a lot of pressure to perform well coming from his homeland.

It will be interesting to see how the Košice native responds to this pressure, and whether he can keep up the momentum in a few weeks' time in Milan.

However, the Olympics could prove more difficult for Slovakia, who are in the same group as Sweden and Finland.

In the article, Slafkovsky also explains how, this year, he's been quick to put bad games and mistakes behind him, referring in particular to the loss to the Capitals when the Habs let a two-goal lead slip away.

He thinks about it after the game and he's angry, but the very next day, it's forgotten and the page is turned, whereas before, he could let it linger for days and let it build up.

It's an attitude that seems to be right for him, as he's currently enjoying the best moments of his young career, and it'll stand him in good stead for the next Olympics, when he'll be playing a lot of hockey in a short space of time.


Overtime

– Goalie fight.

– His 1000th game.

– Dismissal by the Bills

– What a dunk!

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