When Slafkovsky gave his father the finger and five stories from Juraj’s youth

In the winter of 2016, Juraj Slafkovsky was 12 years old. In the stands, during a tournament, Juraj senior, his dad, follows the match with interest. Suddenly, the attacker is caught in the back of the offensive territory while the opposing team leaves with the puck. Dissatisfied with his son’s effort in defensive withdrawal, his father friendlyly shouts at him to put as much effort into defending as into attacking. “He then looked at me, mid-game, and gave me the finger! At the age of 12!” remembers Slafkovsky senior, bursting out laughing.

It’s rather disrespectful to parents who help their child achieve their dream, but on the other hand, it illustrates well why Juraj Slafkovsky was able to climb onto a first line in the best league in the world: his character.

Barely thirty days ago, some were calling for a return to Laval.

Today, not only does he play on the Habs’ first trio, but he manages to play an important role there.

Should we really be surprised by this impressive progress over the past month? Here are five stories told by people close to the Slovak at TVASports.ca who believe no.

“He could drive his teammates completely crazy”

Juraj Slafkovsky’s thirst for victory is not new.

In 2015, the young man played for HC Kosice in the U16 category of the Slovak Championship. Juraj was only 13 years old at the time and gave two or even two and a half years to most of his teammates.

“He started to get outclassed because of his skills. It was too easy, some evenings, against players of his age,” explains his father, Juraj senior.

And being the “young kid” of the group doesn’t intimidate Slafkovsky at all. Quite the contrary!

Tomas Kochan, the club’s coach at the time, was unequivocal on this subject.

“Juraj was very, very competitive. He had immense confidence in himself. And above all, he loved hockey. You should have seen this… The youngest on the team, who, with his insatiable appetite for victory, lit up the locker room before matches and drove all his teammates crazy. The guys were jumping on the ice full of energy. And that was thanks to Juraj.”

The Juraj wall that weighed 10 pounds at birth

May 29, 2021. Juraj Slafkovsky, then 16 years old, played his first tournament on the senior international scene. His Slovakia faces Denmark at the World Championship held in Riga, Latvia.

“I remember a sequence where Juraj sent the puck deep into Danish territory,” explains Andrej Podkonicky, who was the club’s assistant instructor at the time.

“Juraj got to the puck first and I saw a huge Danish defenseman rushing towards him. He arrived extremely quickly. Calmly, Juraj raised his head, dug his feet into the ice, and completely knocked this guy over. The Dane had just encountered the “Juraj wall” [rires]. I’ve never seen someone so strong at his age…”

Over the months that followed this tournament, Slafkovsky lost none of his physical strength.

But once in the NHL, he had to learn to protect himself properly, something he struggled to do in his first season in the Bettman circuit, where everything happens more quickly.

In recent weeks, however, progress in this regard has been evident.

“Juraj weighed almost 10 pounds at birth,” says his father.

And 19 years later, the young man is frankly well served by this atypical size.

“Everyone wants to be like Juraj, here”

The Montreal NHL market is a whirlwind.

It has also been very common, over the years, to see young players being intimidated when they arrive in the fold of the Canadian. But Juraj Slafkovsky does not fall into this category.

Being around him on a daily basis allows us to understand how comfortable he is with the reality of Montreal. He jokes with journalists, interacts with fans. He never misses an opportunity to criticize his game when he deems it necessary.

You would think you were facing a 29-year-old player from Boucherville, so mature is his reading of the “CH whirlwind”. Much of this is due to his status as a true celebrity in Slovakia, his father explains.

“Since his selection, I think he has been one of the most followed Slovak personalities,” says his father.

A simple glance at the Slovak website of Pravda the day after the winning goal in the shootout against the Sabers allowed us to understand the extent of his popularity.

An article discussing his performance the day before appeared in second place among the most viewed posts of the last 24 hours on the platform.

“Everyone wants to be like Juraj here,” even says Andrej Podkonicky, his former coach with the national team.

For dad, the examples illustrating the enthusiasm for his boy in Slovak territory are as numerous as they are evocative.

He didn’t know how to cook or do laundry

In 2018, at the end of the season played under Tomas Kochan in the Slovak Championship, Slafkovsky (who was then 14 years old) and his family found themselves in a dead end.

“Juraj reached a point where there was no longer anything viable hockey-wise for him in Slovakia. He wanted to make hockey his career and he needed better training conditions,” explains his father.

But although he is dominant on the ice, Slafkovsky remains a child.

“He didn’t know how to cook. Nor do the laundry,” laughs Slafkovsky senior.

The family’s choice fell on Austria, where the striker ended up in the Red Bull Salzburg U18 Hockey Academy.

“We opted for this location because it is one of the best sporting venues in Europe. Player support and services are top-notch. There is probably nothing better on the European continent.”

After 11 games, again against players much older than him, he had 17 points.

“We realized, after a few weeks, that despite the quality of the Austrian facilities, the competition was not necessarily at the level we wanted it to be. At that time, Salzburg mainly faced Hungarian clubs and won most of its matches by more than 15 goals!

Still with the clear goal of maximizing his chances of succeeding in professional hockey, Slafkovsky and his family then made another radical decision: a move for the teenager… to the Czech Republic, where he could finish the season in a context more competitive.

Slafkovsky finished with his club’s best points per game average this season and in the playoffs.

“He lived in a dormitory and attended a Czech school,” explains his father. Czech and Slovak are two similar languages, but he still had to learn some Czech notions.

“Honestly, I am convinced that this experience allowed him to better manage his arrival alone in Montreal. The choices we made were certainly the right ones.”

The Slafkovsky clan was then approached by TPS Turku, in Finland.

“He left me no choice”

After a successful stint with the TPS U18 and U20 teams, Slafkovsky, who is now 17 years old, is making his debut with the first team (Liiga) in 2021-2022.

But despite the impressive CV of his new protégé, Jussi Ahokas, the club’s head coach, is not doing him any favors.

Between the 4^e and the 18th^e match of the season, the winger only has four duels where he plays more than 14 minutes.

“It’s a difficult league for a 17-year-old,” explains Ahokas on the phone. You’re playing against the best adults in the country. At first, it wasn’t easy for him, honestly. He was very frustrated at not producing. It was a first for Juraj…”

“But he never sulked and he continued to work on his shortcomings during and after practice. Towards the end of the season, he really improved his game in the corners of the ice and in possession of the puck. He protected the disc much better and cut at the net with vigor. His presences were therefore much longer and more conclusive in offensive territory and he began to produce and… play more. He just gave me no choice!”

Slafkovsky’s ice time was ultimately more than 14 minutes in 22 of his last 27 Liiga duels (including the playoffs). Very often it even crossed the 16 minute mark of usage time.

“He then became an important part of our team,” says Ahokas.

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