Juraj Slafkovsky Is A Born Leader

Considering his age, it’s incredible how he already has the leadership that he has on the international stage that he does. With that being said, don’t be surprised to see the Habs forward captain his country in future events as a young veteran.

In Montreal, we have seen Slafkovsky grow tremendously over the last few months since being the key to being the play driver on a line with 2 rookies, which was a sign of leadership but nothing compared to what we’ve seen from him during the Olympics. Former Habs forward Tomas Tatar may be the captain due to his hockey experience, but the true leader seems to be Slafkovsky.

The Canadiens forward is the guy that all Slovak players defer to whenever they need someone to lead them on the ice. We don’t know if Tatar is a better leader in the dressing room than Slafkovsky, but on the ice, it is clearly the younger forward who leads by example out there. Sure, leading the country to bronze back in 2022 plays a factor, but even NHLers who are older than Slafkovsky seem to look up to the 21-year-old.

Not to mention when he went down for a bit, hitting his head on the boards during Wednesday’s game, it seemed like the team rallied around him and took their game to another level to play in honour as if he were a veteran that had put in hard miles for the country. Honestly, at just 21 years old, he’s done more than most players have done for their country internationally, and he seems like their long-term future, so that plays a part. However, he’s usually the one who gets Slovakia in the fight each game that he’s played for them. Despite getting winded and not being 100% for most of Wednesday’s game, he still fought through it like a true leader once it was declared he didn’t have a concussion. Slafkovsky knew his team needed him, and that is what helped give them the spark against Germany to win pretty easily 6-2.

It makes you wonder if Slafkovsky has the type of leadership skills to eventually wear a letter in Montreal a few years down the road, as it’s very clear that he’s both a leader on the ice and also seems to be very vocal in the room as well. He’ll likely never be captain unless Nick Suzuki leaves after his contract, but Slafkovsky seems to have the qualities that make a great captain with Slovakia during the Olympics.

You can never have too many leaders that are able to collaborate and work as a team, which is why the growth that Slafkovsky is having in these Olympics itself should only help the Canadiens on the ice in the long run too. It seems like Slafkovsky is a true leader, and he’s no longer afraid to take charge to get the job done anymore. We should only see more of this in the NHL going forward.

Do you see Slafkovsky as part of the leadership group with the Canadiens in the future?