We understand even better, Friday morning, the logic behind the choice of Juraj Slafkovsky first in the draft in 2022, following a video published by the Canadian behind the scenes of this event presented at the Bell Center in July.
Posted yesterday at 12:07 p.m.
In the video, the content creators of the Canadian first remind us of how opinions are divided between Slafkovsky, Shane Wright and Logan Cooley, with a fondness for Wright in the eyes of several members of the media, as if to remind that the organization had ignored popular opinion.
After showing us the images of the young man’s interview with the recruiters, during the trials in Buffalo a few weeks before the big event, we are immersed in the meeting room of the team’s thinkers, where some twenty managers debate , Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes in the lead, with their recruiters, three or four days before the draft.
We notice how much the new director of the advanced statistics department, Christopher Boucher, has the ear of the group: “If drafting Slafkovsky allows us during the following rounds to avoid drafting players only for their imposing size, then it is already a gain for us. »
Impossible not to realize the ascendancy over the group of the co-director of amateur recruitment, Nick Bobrov, eternal ally of Jeff Gorton. We can witness a long monologue from him on Slafkovsky, which leaves no doubt about his preference.
“What he has done on the big stages this year is unique,” he says with conviction. His personality makes him want to take the bull by the horns. I just spoke to the officials of the Slovak national team. He started the Olympics on the fourth line and ended them on the first line because the others weren’t delivering the goods. Once on the top line, this unit got to work. The same phenomenon occurred at the World Championship. It’s a trait of his personality, wanting to make a difference, not just talent. »
Bobrov swears to his peers that this is not a flash in the pan. “We saw it in the playoffs with TPS Turku [en Finlande]. He shone. He continued to improve, month by month, day by day, face to face. This country of five million inhabitants has been following this young man for three years now. The pressure on his shoulders is enormous. An entire country is watching him. He has responded superbly ever since. He responds well to pressure, not only for one or two tournaments, but since the time when this country of five million inhabitants saw in him a possible star. »
Some Canadiens fans will worry about the same Bobrov’s enthusiasm for Kaapo Kakko in 2019 when he held a similar position with the Rangers. Kakko was the second overall pick, behind Jack Hughes, ahead of Kirby Dach, Bowen Byram and Alex Turcotte, but also Moritz Seider, Trevor Zegras, Dylan Cozens, Matt Boldy and Cole Caufield, among others.
Kakko, six goals in fifteen World Championship games in the months leading up to the draft, is coming off another disappointing season in New York with 18 points, including seven goals, in 43 games, a full-season production of 34 points.
In comparison, Caufield, drafted 13 places further back, amassed 43 points, including 23 goals, in 67 games, 53 points over a year of 82 games, despite a difficult first half of the season.
Kakko, it is true, has produced astonishingly for an 18-year-old at the World Championship with six goals in ten games, but looking back at his games, you realize he hasn’t dominated.
His first two goals, in the opening game against Canada, are nothing short of anthology: the first, a shot deflected off his leg as he crossed in front of the net (a good deed in itself), the second in an empty net.
He continues with a hat trick against Slovakia in the second game, then… a goal in the last eight games.
On the whole, we notice a lot of difficulty winning his battles for the puck (normal for an 18-year-old), a lack of physical commitment that results from it and a tendency to play on the periphery. In the last game of the tournament, in the final, Kakko played just 11 minutes.
On the other hand, Kakko had 38 points, including 22 goals, in 45 games in Liiga, which most likely also weighed in the balance for Rangers.
Slafkovsky, on the other hand, was not very productive in Liiga (10 points in 31 games), but he was transcendent in the World Championship, including in the games against Canada and Finland, even if he did not score . His coach Craig Ramsay used him for more than 20 minutes in the quarter-finals, a peak among Slovakian attackers. He was by far the best forward on his team in games against Canada and Finland, although he was shut out in both games. The Finnish coach systematically sent his pair of defenders made up of Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell against him, and Canada did the same with Thomas Chabot and Zach Whitecloud.
When a recruiter from the Canadiens asks Slafkovsky during the interview in Buffalo how he perceives the Montreal market, this young giant of 6 feet 4 inches and 218 pounds answers with great lucidity:
-It’s an amazing place to play when things are going well for you, but it can get very difficult if you don’t perform well.
-And what do you think?
-You just have to make sure that I play well for them…
Slafkovsky has already begun to immerse himself in Montreal culture. He took part in a three-on-three friendly tournament a few days ago.
He teamed up with his compatriot Filip Mesar, chosen at the end of the first round. The two Slovaks battled against some of the Canadian’s young leaders, including Nick Suzuki and Josh Anderson.
A few days earlier, Slafkovsky, Mesar, Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj attended the CF Montreal game at Saputo Stadium.
Starting September 15, Slafkovsky and these young men will take part in the rookie tournament, in Buffalo, to face the hopes of the Sabers, Devils and Senators, a prelude to the real training camp.
All the fruit of the work of the Canadiens’ recruiters will then be displayed before our eyes. For the best or for the worst !
The regular Rondelle libre column will be back on Monday, September 5.