'Who Knows Juraj Slafkovsky?' | The Art of Suspending Judgment

Seeing firsthand the stupidity and greed of the people in a democracy, driven by personal interests and short-term views, power should therefore, according to Plato, be placed in the hands of those who truly deserve it: those who have emerged from the cave and have finally been able to see the Sun (the Good). In his aristocratic political utopia, it is they who would become the “guardians” of the city, the “philosopher-kings”—the only true authorities and experts in matters of Justice, Truth, Beauty, and the Good, and thus the only ones capable of clearly identifying the noblest human ends in an objective and universal manner.

To illustrate the point in class—and for a change from the examples of the ship's captain, an expert in navigation, and the doctor, an expert in health—I decided to draw inspiration from a column by Mathias Brunet, who reminded us again this week just how much a good portion of the common folk, by definition Canadiens fans, had completely misjudged the situation on July 7, 2022.

Fed in theirtavern“cave” by a majority of sports news “puppet masters” who dangled before them the qualities of a certain young center with a magical and highly marketable name, Shane Wright (The Price is Wright, etc.), a majority of said people had given a very cold reception to the arrival on the red carpet in front of the Bell Centre, and later during his official selection, of the Slovakian colossus with the more “bizarre” and less “marketable” name: Juraj Slafkovsky.

Had the good people actually seen Wright and Slafkovsky play for more than 30 seconds in a Twitter clip before forming their opinion?

Who cares!

Just like in Plato's allegory, they had been so thoroughly convinced of their opinion on Wright that they were almost ready to “kill” the analysts who had spent hours watching footage and reflecting “outside the cave” and were advocating more strongly—like many NHL scouting experts—for Slafkovsky in the weeks leading up to the draft.

In short, on July 7, 2022, at the Bell Centre, for the “experts,” he was the Good and the Beautiful.

And that is why professional sports are not administered according to democratic principles of freedom and equality, much less dictated by a decision-making authority that responds to the will of the majority! It is fairer and more logical that this task fall to the experts.

As for politics, the res publica, I'll leave that for you to debate, just as Aristotle debated with Plato and as my students do in class…

But anyway, in this case, when it comes to sports—as history has already shown—the Canadiens' experts were not wrong to turn their backs on the people.

In short, before drawing the obvious parallels with Plato and his critique of democracy, I simply ask my students: “Who knows Juraj Slafkovsky?”

Let's recall that good old Juraj, just a few days earlier, had scored three goals against the Lightning in the Montreal Canadiens' first playoff game—perhaps Quebec's most famous institution—and that he was undoubtedly one of the most talked-about figures in Quebec over the past week.

Well, let's just say the example didn't seem to make much of an impression!

Two-thirds of the class—composed overwhelmingly of 17- and 18-year-olds born in Quebec, I should point out—did NOT know who Juraj Slafkovsky was!

Whereas in another era, I would have resorted to dripping populism by using examples tied to hockey stars—say, the era when two-thirds of Quebecers old enough to drink cow's milk read Le Journal, then watched Les Filles de Caleb and La Soirée du Hockey on Radio-Canada (yes, paid for with our taxes, Messrs. Lavoie and Niquet!)—in 2026, I almost felt like I was part of an “elite” in terms of “general knowledge” by teaching them the name of the Canadiens' #20 and his recent exploits!

In short, in the age of the Internet and social media, which send us all back and fragment us into our own individualized, “algorithm-driven” —on our YouTube (YouCave?) or our iPhone (iCave?), in the age of cat videos, instant gratification, and other 15-second TikTok nonsense that keeps the mind captive—we can no longer take anything for granted!

Note that last fall, “thanks” to TikTok and algorithms, the majority of students in my classes knew the controversial American influencer Charlie Kirk before his death.

The algorithms in my cave must have kept me away from him; I didn't know who he was…

Thus, it is quite possible that in Quebec in 2026, as no doubt elsewhere, “common general knowledge”—as the entry threshold into life in said society in its simplest and most accessible form—such as knowing basic information about the national sport and the local team for that sport, or even the name of the new Prime Minister—will be seriously threatened, or even on the verge of disappearing.

That was just the 18,765th observation. #GuyNantel

But anyway, I think everyone knows who Donald Trump is.

Phew! 

At least we have a “lowest common denominator”!

Which explains that… 

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We often judge too quickly and superficially…

Slafkovsky scores three goals in the first game: “What a playoff player!” “The REAL best player on the Habs,” etc.

Maybe. We love Slaf.

No one can take away the quality of his shots from last Sunday.

But the Lightning gave him way too much space during the first game on the power play. It was almost ridiculous.

Not bad, but much more subdued in Games 2 and 3, Slaf still needs to work on his consistency after his “magic moments.”

In the playoffs, Leon Draisaitl never seems satisfied after a great performance. He always tries to be even better in the next game.

Slaf needs to stay hungry. Always.

2. Kirby Dach takes a cleared puck that leads to the loss in Game 2: “He played his last game in Montreal!” “He's too slow!” “He has no heart!” “Put Gallagher in!” etc.

As Martin St. Louis says, whether you like him or not, Dach remains a very good hockey player. Not as consistent, durable, or smart as Suzuki, but when healthy, he possesses above-average skills (range, puck-carrying and control, vision, top speed) that could make him an excellent third-line center. And he's only 25…

Let's wait until the end of the playoffs before passing judgment on the rest of his career in Montreal… or elsewhere.

In any case, a major turnaround AT CENTER in Game 3 for Dach and a huge game for his line. Well done!

Dach, Texier, and Bolduc are, in theory, three good hockey players, and yesterday, it showed.

3. Even before the playoffs began, many fans and analysts doubted that Lane Hutson could excel in the playoffs after he was somewhat “shaken up” by the Capitals last year. That didn't stop him from recording 5 points in 5 games, though…

And here he is now, once again making history for his century-old club, with 8 points in 8 playoff games and as the ninth Habs defenseman to score in overtime… with a 90 mph (145 km/h) shot!

All this while holding his own and (finally!) playing on the penalty kill.

Hutson is doing more than his share to eat up minutes from Noah Dobson, one of the NHL's best right-handed defensemen.

Further proof that “it's not the size of the dog in the fight that counts, it's the size of the fight in the dog.”

4. Beckett Sennecke is really good. Ivan Demidov too. But the Ducks, unlike the Hawks (Artyom Levshyunov) and the Blue Jackets (Cayden Lindstrom), have no regrets—and never will—about their 2024 draft pick.

After a fantastic season, Sennecke is flying on the ice in the series against the Oilers. Tall, big, agile, fast, incredibly talented, superior vision, great shot. Reminiscent of Jack Eichel…