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In pictures: Juraj Slafkovský is back in practice in Slovakia

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Jul 20, 2025 2:58 PM ET

Juraj Slafkovský enters his fourth NHL season this fall. The first overall pick in 2022, who will also begin the first year of an eight-year contract that will pay him $60.8 million, now has a little more pressure on his shoulders.

He’s got the big contract, he’s got (young) veteran status and he’s one of the Habs’ offensive tenors.

So, in Montreal, we’re expecting him to turn the corner this year. He’s shown he’s capable of success, but now he has to do it over 82 games.

And the young Slovak is clearly well aware of this. In the last few days, images of him practicing on the ice in Slovakia have surfaced… and he looks like a hard worker.

In fact, he practices with Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak, who is also a native of Slovakia.

Juraj Slafkovsky training with Erik Cernak in Slovakia pic.twitter.com/LWXvXum7sW

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 18, 2025

TVA Sports also reported the news earlier today.

Of course, we know there’s a lot to take in such images. After all, practicing with a handful of skaters on the ice is hardly representative of what you’d see in an NHL game setting… but we can see that the kid seems to be taking it all in stride.

He looks pretty explosive on his skates, and we can also see him practicing his dekes and his shot.

Last year, Slaf scored 18 goals and 51 points in 79 games. That said, his end-of-season performance was extremely encouraging… and if he can find his rhythm more quickly during the campaign, he has the potential to increase his personal bests.

Especially as, at the moment, he seems to be giving himself the means to achieve his ambitions.

We’ll see if it all pays off, but the Canadiens’ young forward is working hard right now. I can’t wait to see him this season.

Overtime

– No pressure, Bob, hehe.

Sergei Bobrovsky told reporters that Artemi Panarin threatened to cut him from his celebrity game next year if he kept letting in goals

(via @Uggg_uggg )pic.twitter.com/pRLQoJiWvE

– BarDown (@BarDown) July 20, 2025

– Probably, yes.

Brad Marchand dropped this photo in response to the “Big 3” tweet

Do the Panthers have the best third line in hockey?

(via IG/bmarch63, @FlaPanthers) pic.twitter.com/zqhmDapVNh

– BarDown (@BarDown) July 20, 2025