Juraj Slafkovský after the premiere for the Canadiens: Interest in Montreal? It was worse in Košice – Denník N

[Pre sériu článkov Slafkovského začiatky v NHL vycestoval reportér Denníka N Štefan Bugan na mesiac do Kanady. Na tomto odkaze nájdete všetky články série a aktivujete odoberanie témy, e-mailom vás upozorníme zakaždým, keď vyjde nový článok priamo zo zámoria.]

“There is no need to worry about Slafkovski. He will be completely fine,” Canadian expert on the Montreal Canadiens Arpon Basu tells me in the elevator on the way to the locker room, where in a moment we will ask Juraj Slafkovski about his impressions after the first game for the most successful team in hockey history. Slafkovski’s premiership was not ideal, Montreal lost to the New Jersey Devils 1:2, Filip Mešár also started for the home team, Tomáš Tatar for the guests. Šimon Nemec (Devils) did not play. Tatar scored a goal on the power play to make it 1:1. Slafkovský didn’t exactly play badly, but people will forever look at him as a draft pick. His performance did not meet the expectations of many Canadiens fans and awakened doubters on Twitter who wished for Shane Wright on the team before the draft and are now sending Slafkovski to the farm. And also those who stand up for him. The environment in this club is challenging and you can easily succumb to the atmosphere. When Cole Caufield scored, I understood the sound Basu had been telling me about earlier. It was only a warm-up game and the 21,000-capacity Bell Center was not sold out, but the joy of the people in the special acoustics of the stadium created a few seconds of sound that gave me chills. They can easily appear in the locker room, where there are black and white photos of the biggest legends who won 24 Stanley Cups for the club. Now he is one of the stars of the Slafkovský club. Although his career is just getting started, his status as a draft pick is destined for him. Even the night match was not presented in the pre-match TV shows as the beginning of a series of friendly matches, but mainly as Slafkovski’s premiership. Interest in him is huge in Montreal. Won’t that be too much for an 18-year-old hockey player? I thought on the way to the dressing room. However, after Slafkovský’s answers to the questions of Slovak and Canadian journalists, I left with the same feeling as Basu: “There is no need to worry about him. He will be absolutely fine.” Overall, how satisfied are you with the performance in the first game? I won a few pucks, I lost a few. I know I can play better, skate faster and shoot more. There will be another match already on Wednesday. How did you feel when you went on the ice in the first game for the adult team of Montreal? It was phew – fast hockey, but pretty good. I had to adapt to the game from the beginning. That always takes me longer, I don’t understand why. It got better from shift to shift and I know what I have to improve for the next match. You gained five kilograms of muscle mass in the summer. How do you play with them? I don’t even feel it because it was natural. I guess I should have been as big as I am. It came with age. I didn’t do anything special in the summer. I was just practicing and it was building up. I feel very good on the ice and I think it will get better. How prepared are you for the pressure that comes with being a draft pick? When you don’t score two goals in a match, there are always critics. We are in a city where hockey is loved like [ho milujem aj] me. I also want to score goals and they want to see them. However, when I talked to the coaches, they told me that they were quite happy with my game. Even with the one without the puck. Hockey is also about her. Is the media and public attention getting on your nerves yet? I experienced this for the first time that I see This article is exclusive content for Denník N subscribers. Are you a subscriber? Log in