Canadiens Slafkovský Was as Big as the Moment

Every once in a while, you watch a guy and think that he’s built for the bright lights. That was Montreal Canadiens Juraj Slafkovský at the Olympics.

Slovakia didn’t end up on the podium—they finished fourth after a rough bronze-medal loss—but Slafkovský was easily their go-to guy. Four goals, four assists in six games, and honestly, the stats don’t even tell the full story. He looked stronger, calmer, and way more in control than half the veterans out there. He held pucks like they were glued to his stick, bullied defenders along the boards, and kept finding ways to create something out of nothing. When Slovakia needed a push, they looked straight at him.

What was the reaction back in Slovakia?

And the reaction back home? Totally wild. There were stories about schools having to shut down class projects about him because everyone picked Slafkovský. That’s the purest “small-country hockey hero” energy you’ll ever see.

For Montreal, this was a nice little reminder of the upside he’s sitting on. He’s 21 and still figuring out the nightly grind in the NHL. Some nights the edge is there, some nights it fades, but the tools are obvious—size, touch, instincts, and a real willingness to lean into the hard parts of the game. When the lights get brighter, his game gets louder.

Can Slafkovský bring the swagger back to the Canadiens?

If he brings even half of that Olympic swagger back to the Montreal Canadiens, it changes things. Montreal’s still technically in the race, and a more confident, more physical, more “give-me-the-puck” version of Slafkovský could shift the whole tone of their stretch run.

He’s not the finished product yet, but he keeps dropping these little reminders of what the ceiling might look like. And you can’t help but hope that some of that shine he showed overseas follows him home to Bell Centre.

He’s earning bigger moments. Now it’s just about seeing that version a little more often.