Another press briefing from Juraj Slafkovsky, another occasion where the young Canadiens first-timer looks anything but an 18-year-old guy stressed out by the big league.
Posted at 5:19 p.m.
Saturday noon, after the day’s training, it was about the nickname “Batman and Robin” that Chris Wideman found to talk about Slafkovsky and his teammate and friend Filip Mesar. The two Slovaks are great friends and live together their integration into a new team, a new city, even a new continent. They spend a lot of time together.
” I’m a good cook. Ask Filip, you’ll see! “Launched Slafkovsky at the end of his press scrum.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Filip Mesar
It was going well, because 10 minutes earlier, Mesar was just boasting about his buddy’s talents, talents worthy of Sister Angèle (our words, not his).
You have to understand that despite his young age, Slafkovsky had been living alone for a few years, he who went into exile in Finland without his parents to play hockey. Mesar was able to stay at the family home since his Poprad club played “20 minutes from home”, he says.
Slafkovsky therefore leaves with a head start in adult life and he tries to make his friend benefit from it.
“Here is the first time that I am not staying with my family. Juraj helps me a lot, admitted Mesar, first round choice of CH this summer. I am 18 years old, I am a man. I try to learn from him. »
What Slafkovsky showed him? “He showed me things for my credit card, to buy data for my phone. And he cooks well. It is good for making pasta, chicken, with sauce. He’s a good boss! »
What framework?
The Habs will nevertheless have a decision to make regarding the management of Slafkovsky. At the microphone of Mario Langlois, of 98.5, Kent Hughes mentioned: “We have to find something that works for him, but for sure he will need coaching, because he has become famous very rapidly. We want to protect it, find the best environment for it to develop. »
However, the file is not so simple, firstly because we still do not know if the big number 20 will play in Montreal, Laval or both places. Then, because precisely, Slafkovsky has just known the life of a single person. “I have kids in college and when they come home they don’t like the rules,” Hughes recalled in the same interview.
That said, many youngsters in the NHL have been hosted by a teammate. In Pittsburgh, top draft picks Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal were greeted by Mario Lemieux, Sergei Gonchar and Mark Recchi, respectively. John Tavares ended up at Doug Weight in New York, and Aaron Ekblad at Willie Mitchell in Florida.
Closer to home, Brendan Gallagher was 20 when he arrived in Montreal. His first two seasons, he spent them with Josh Gorges. However, the last two players to have found a permanent position in Montreal, Alex Galchenyuk and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, did not follow this formula. The first lived with his mother and sister, the second with his mother who had come from Finland.
David Savard, he served as a foster family for Pierre-Luc Dubois, who landed in Columbus at 19 years old.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
David Savard
” It depends on the person. Pierre-Luc, I think it did him good to be with someone, says Savard. I knew his father, he had coached me in junior. For us, it was a perfect “fit”. I had young children, it can be difficult, but he really liked it, on the contrary. »
Slafkovsky, if he’s used to being alone, that doesn’t mean he’d be ready to live with a family. Me, when I left at 19, I didn’t mind living alone and cooking. But I’m sure we’ll take care of him and if he needs anything, we’ll be there.
David Savard
Slafkovsky refuses to project himself too far into the future. For now, players with uncertain status are staying in a hotel during training camp. But whether he plays in Laval or Montreal, he will have to decide which way of life he prefers.
“I don’t know yet,” Slafkovksy replied. It depends on whether I stay with the first team, and what the management thinks. But I’ve been living alone for two years, so I think I’d be okay on my own. »