Slafkovský set off the already ajar door to the big world – PRAVDA.sk

The biggest Slovak Olympic story is called Juraj Slafkovský. Only a 17-year-old hockey player who came to score under five circles and finally scored seven. Along with the medal, he took home the rare MVP award and surname, which they registered in hockey circles, but are now declining.

They eldered him

It all started in Košice. In a place where many great hockey players grew up. Even little Juraj was big in a way from the beginning. Compared to peers, he is also tall and more hockey-advanced.

“The zeal has been with him since he was a child. From the preparation. I never noticed he didn’t want to. He had no problem almost in the morning. Maybe it was because he was doing well. He always took everything responsibly, “Father Juraj recalls of his beginnings.

When he was thirteen, the coaches there let him play with sixteen-year-olds. Slafkovský played in 23 matches and collected an incredible 54 points.

“If a boy is so good among three years older, why not try to put him on the ice with eighteen-year-olds?” They said in the east. However, he did not get lost there either – he had a balance of 9 + 5 in eighteen duels.

Read more Slafkovský is the most useful player. All Star team with two Slovaks

It was already clear above the sun that we had a huge talent in Košice. Opponents, coaches, but also Juraj Slafkovsky’s parents saw it. “Because he had good physical preconditions, he was always pushed higher. They eldered him. But then came the time when we also wondered if the Slovak way of training could still move him further. I don’t mean it at all, but there is a different, more sophisticated methodology abroad, so that’s a fact, “says my father.

And so his son headed to the Salzburg Academy, famous for its excellent facilities. After three months – in the last year of primary school – a talented young man nodded at an offer from Hradec Králové. He won bronze with the local youth, scoring 56 points in 29 matches. Suddenly, the scouts began to compete with offers, in 2019 Slafkovský chose TPS Turku – at sixteen. Proven Nordic route.

“You can’t leave everything to a child at that age. We talked a lot and we felt that Juraj wanted to go away. I also solved Austria and the Czech Republic through my contacts, Finland through my manager. Of course, the wife was scared. When a child leaves home at thirteen, it’s not easy. However, we often went to see him. You got used to it quickly. Today, I am glad that he can take care of himself, “my father continues.

Better than Kakko

In Finland, too, his first season turned out to be excellent. They let him play with the elders there too. He was still only sixteen, but he also saw himself in his twenties.

Read more 17-year-olds can also celebrate. Video with Slafkovsky rolls the internet

By the way, we can already say that Slafkovský left a huge mark among the juniors in Turku. Kaapo Kakko, number two of the NHL draft and the rising star of the best league in the world, also worked on the same team a few years before him. However, the Finn scored five points less than Slafkovský in the U18 category. With his Nordic statistics, Košice even matched the Finnish regulars – Sebastian Aha and Jesse Puljujärvi.

In the current season, he is already jumping into the senior team of TPS Turku. However, he scored a single goal in 21 matches. In most of them he got minimal space, especially in the fourth line. Some say it’s because the Finnish club is careful and wants to start its career gradually, others don’t like it.

“We know his talent, he is unmissable. Many times I wondered what the hell they were doing in that Turku and what they were thinking when they didn’t give him more space. In the duels he played, he was given minimal time on the ice, sometimes in a team under the age of 20. If I were a TPS coach, I would immediately give him more significant space and minutes in the match. “

Slafkovsky’s father also shared this text on the social network Twitter in a few hours.

“I am glad that they have already noticed it in Finland. Juraj gives consistent performances throughout the season, but sometimes I didn’t understand the club’s philosophy. He has a talented player who can be something, but he doesn’t use him in any way. He is said to have missed it, but goals often come with higher minutes. I hope it will be better by the end of the season, “believes Father Juraj.

Me and Jagr? Nonsense

However, if someone trusts the young Slovak, then it is coach Craig Ramsay. He gave him the opportunity last year when he took him to the Senior World Championships in Riga. He was only sixteen, and many asked if the boy with the basket on his face really belonged there.

At that time, Slafkovský had no experience with senior hockey. However, already in preparation for the championship, he showed that he is a hockey player from a different path. He was given opportunities, but he couldn’t finish them yet.

Although the teenager did not make a hole in the world in Riga, Ramsay did not doubt his nomination in Beijing. Although Slafkovsky had not scored goals so far, an experienced Canadian convinced him that he was a born cannon. “He amazed me. When I took him to the Olympics, I thought it would be nice if he scored a goal. And he hit it there in almost every match, “the experienced coach shook his head.

“A boy with the body of a stout lumberjack (192 cm and 99 kilograms) became a sensation of the tournament,” wrote the Czech daily Mladá fronta Dnes, about the seven-goal Slafkovsky.

No wonder, he also overcame Miroslav Šatan, as the youngest Slovak hockey player at the Olympics. He shot himself at the top of the gunner’s list, attracting attention in Beijing, Slovakia and throughout North America, where – for sure – he will soon head.

Read more The hockey players showed politicians how to fight for Slovakia. I acknowledge that they have rejected them

Czech commentators liked to compare him to the young Jaromír Jágr last year in Riga. Slafkovský reminds them of his figure, predation, self-confidence and some moves on the ice. The hockey megastar celebrated its 50th birthday last week; Isn’t such an analogy pulled by the hair after all?

“It simply came to our notice then. Juraj is tall, powerful, has a great shot and skates wonderfully. In that I guess, Jarda also surpasses. It is not so robust. We can compare them, but if he wants to achieve the parameters of Jágr, then he still has a long way to go, “said Vladimír Vůjtek, a Czech hockey expert and former coach of Slovakia.

If someone rejects such a comparison and does not want to see it yet, then it is Slafkovský himself. “Me and Jagr? Nonsense. After all, he is still somewhere else in his fifties than I am at seventeen, “says the promising player.

Doors to the world

One thing is for sure, things are starting to happen around him now. It is the MVP of the Olympic tournament, high expectations are placed in it in the draft, but also after it. Do his parents watch with joy or slight apprehension?

“He is our son. There will be pressure, not just hockey. Whenever he was home in the summer, my wife and I reminded him to stay down and keep humble. I think he’s doing well so far. I captured various statements made by experts who advised him through the media about what and how to do. I try to interpret those things correctly for him, “added father Juraj.

In one, however, his son could soon overtake Jáger. The native of Kladno was chosen by Pittsburgh from the fifth place in the draft in the first round, the Slovak may not wait that long. Before the Olympics, the elite ten were boldly talked about. However, he significantly improved his pre-design prospects.

Read more He’s not American, but after that, there may be a Slafkov draft unit

According to renowned author Bob McKenzie from TSN, this may also be the best three. So far, only Marián Gáborík, who was chosen by Minnesota Wild in her time, has appeared in Slovak history.

“He had such a great tournament that goodbye. Wow, he only did that at seventeen. I’m still amazed. The top ten is no longer a topic, Juraj must be in the top three. If not the highest. Of course, he doesn’t have a Canadian or American passport, which can burden him a bit, but if the team wants him, he also has a good chance of being a unit, “said Branko Radivojevič, a former NHL representative and player, a few minutes after the bronze match against Sweden.

“He has the potential to become the star of the team in the overseas profile, once he will be able to play in the first two formations. But he still has a long way to go, “said Canadian expert Scott Wheeler.

In the first match of the tournament, Slafkovský started the match with a distorted name. He had a typo on his jersey – “Slafkovksy”. He scored two goals for the Finns, then his surname was returned to him and he scored another five. From now on, everyone knows him.

“I will remember it for the rest of my life,” says the young Slovak. In Beijing, he set off the already ajar door to the big world…