Home » Sport » Canadian journalist: Learning bonjour and merci. Then Slafkovský will win us over – Other – Hockey – Sport

Canadian journalist: Learning bonjour and merci. Then Slafkovský will win us over – Other – Hockey – Sport

Slafkovský here, Slafkovský there. The most inflected name of the past days in eastern Canada. Did the Montreal Canadiens do well when they reached for the 18-year-old Slovak hockey player? Stu Cowan, a journalist from the Montreal Gazette, has been following the events surrounding the Košice native for several months.


Photo: BRUCE BENNETT / Getty images / Profimedia

Juraj Slafkovský and his new Montreal jersey.

Were you also surprised that Montreal chose Slafkovski?

I won’t lie, but yes. And not a little. So far I think if he had gone for Shane Wright it would have been a safer pick. However, during the draft night, even Slafkovský started to make sense to me.

Why?

It turned around the moment the Canadiens brought Kirby Dach to the team. Now the club has at its disposal a big and strong wing and a 21-year-old center, who has already completed three seasons in the NHL.

What impression did Slafkovský make on you?

I spoke with him the day before the draft and I have nothing but good things to say about him. One thing is that he is a big guy, but his charisma is perhaps even bigger (smile). I liked how he coped with the huge amount of media attention. And this despite the fact that English is not his mother tongue. Seeing that he is confident, but not cocky, which is good. He doesn’t seem bothered by the huge media interest in Montreal. Hard to believe the boy is only eighteen.

In the vast majority of pre-draft rankings, Wright was on top. What finally convinced the management of Montreal?

Slafkovský’s good figure, great potential and personality. In addition, he excelled at the Olympic Games and the World Championships, these are also factors that played in his favor. In short, there was so much that Kent Hughes et al. you probably said that it would be a sin to decide otherwise.

Do you think Canadiens management was under pressure to select Wright?

Of course. Let me tell you, they had to have the balls to act like that. Shane Wright would be something of a security for them. In my opinion, it is already clear that, in the worst case, he will be the second or third center in any NHL club. He has many good seasons ahead of him.

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Montreal Canadiens logo.  It consists of the letters C and...


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