Posted at 8:45 p.m.
Slovakia lived its hour of glory this summer.
Prior to this summer’s auction, Marian Gaborik was the highest draft pick, third overall, by the Minnesota Wild in 2000.
Marko Dano was the last Slovak drafted in the first round, 27e rank, in 2013.
Not only did Juraj Slafkovsky break a barrier by being selected first overall by the Canadiens in July, but his compatriot, defenseman Simon Nemec, followed at second overall, drafted by the New Jersey Devils.
It was also only the second time that two Europeans from the same country had been chosen in the top two, after Russians Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin in 2004.
To top it off, a third, Filip Mesar, had the honor of being chosen in the first round, on 26e rank, by the Canadiens again.
Led by these three youngsters, the nation of the Stastny brothers surprised the hockey world by reaching the final of the Ivan-Hlinka tournament last year, intended for players under the age of 18.
This small country of five million inhabitants could have had great ambitions at the World Junior Championship, where it claimed only two bronze medals, in 1999 and 2015, but, deprived of this extraordinary trio, retained by their respective clubs in anticipation of the training camp, he is no match for the great powers.
Unsurprisingly, Canada crushed Slovakia 11-1 on Thursday night in Edmonton in their second game at the World Junior Championship.
Despite appearances, the young Slovaks, who had only 6 players aged 19 or over, against 13 for Canada, and 12 players aged 18 or under, against 3 for their opponents, at least had the merit of fighting.
They still got more chances than Canada’s opponents the day before, Latvia, but goaltender Dylan Garand, a fourth-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2020, showed more confidence than Sebastian Cossa Wednesday.
McTavish performing!
Canada captain Mason McTavish, the third overall pick in 2021, took advantage of the Slovaks’ vulnerability to add six points, including four goals, to his record. The Anaheim Ducks will have quite a center line in the next few years with Trevor Zegras and McTavish.
PHOTO JASON FRANSON, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Mason McTavish and Joshua Roy (9)
Canada’s youngest player, Connor Bedard, 17 since mid-July, opened the scoring for a second straight game. He added a helper. Barring a major surprise, there will be no suspense at the next draft: Bedard will be the first choice. Not only does he already possess a blistering shot, but he has rare and canine offensive instincts.
The third member of this trio, Joshua Roy, the Canadiens’ fifth-round pick in 2021, had one goal and three assists. He has one goal and four assists in two games since the start of the tournament.
Roy, however, lost his position on that line in the third period to Brennan Othmann, a 2021 Rangers first-round pick. Othmann had direct assists on two MacTavish goals.
Slovakia suffered on Thursday, but they will be one to watch in the coming years with such a young formation. Undoubtedly an attentive spectator in front of his television set, Juraj Slafkovsky earlier today became the youngest Slovak in history to win the title of most valuable player in his country in 2021-2022.
Canada will face the Czech Republic and its captain Jan Mysak, another CH hopeful, on Saturday.