Being the first overall pick of the NHL draft comes with lofty expectations, and that’s normal; it comes with the territory, but not all first overall picks will be generational talents and point-producing machines. The Montreal Canadiens had the first-overall pick in 2022 when the draft was held on their turf at the Bell Centre, and that brings yet another dose of attention to a player.
The lucky recipient of those expectations and heightened scrutiny was 18-year-old Slovakian left winger Juraj Slafkovsky. Since then, the media and fans alike have been keeping a close eye on his development.
Islanders’ Sorokin Shocked By Dobson’s Trade To The Canadiens
Canadiens’ 2025-26 Schedule Revealed
Could Ivan Demidov Be The Canadiens’ Second Line Center?
The Habs wasted no time throwing the youngster in the deep end as he was made to start in the NHL right away, but his rookie season was cut short by a shoulder injury, and he only played 39 games that year, picking up an underwhelming 10 points.
In 2023-24, he had an excellent second half of the season, becoming a mainstay on the top line alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. He gathered 50 points in 82 games, an output that most were satisfied with for his sophomore season.
That marked increase in production meant that expectations were raised once again before the 2024-25 campaign and before the puck dropped on the season, Slafkovsky admitted he had set objectives for himself in his third season, but refused to reveal them. In the end, in 79 games, he put up 51 points, and it wasn’t the kind of progress most had in mind, including the 6-foot-3 and 225-pound winger. At the end of the year, when he was asked if he had reached the expectations he had set for himself, he replied: What do you think?
He hadn’t, but the start of his career is by no means a disaster. In his three campaigns, he has suited up for 200 games and picked up 111 points. That’s a 0.56 point-per-game average for a player who wasn’t necessarily picked to fill the net.
Fifty-one years before they picked Slafkovsky with the first-overall pick, the Canadiens had drafted local favourite Guy Lafleur. The legend in the making had been a driving force in the LHJMQ, scoring 379 points in just 118 games, a 3.2 points-per-game average. Many saw Lafleur as a generational talent, the man who would lead the Canadiens to the promised land time and time again.
His first three seasons weren’t all that impressive, however, since he picked up 175 points in 215 games. A 0.81 point-per-game average, much less than what he had been producing at the junior level, and Lafleur was a player who had been picked to fill the net, unlike Slafkovsky. Still, the Canadiens didn’t start trying to trade him out of Montreal; they knew what they had on their hands and that he just needed time to reach his full potential. In his fourth year with the Habs, Lafleur exploded with the first of six consecutive seasons of 119 points or more, and he never looked back.
No, I’m not saying Slafkovsky will turn into Lafleur overnight, or ever, but what I'm saying is that some players need a little time to reach their potential when they make the jump to the NHL. It’s normal; this is a league featuring the world's best players, all of whom are physically mature adults and tough to play against.
Before joining the Canadiens, when he played in the junior ranks in Slovakia, he was likely always the most significant body on the ice. Still, when he turned pro with TPS Turku in Finland, he became a different player. In the NHL, he wasn’t anymore. That’s not easy to adapt to, and in his rookie season, Slafkovsky looked easy to push off the puck; he wasn’t used to being pushed like that. he was used to being the wall players crashed into, and that was no longer the case.
Playing a physical game in the NHL is hard, it’s demanding, and it’s tiring, but Martin St. Louis is slowly but surely making Slafkovsky realize that his success will come from using that big frame of his consistently. The 21-year-old has heard the coach, he knows it, he even said so himself coming back from the 4 Nations Face-Off break, declaring he would like to play more like Brady Tkachuk.
Slafkovsky knows what he needs to do, he knows the way he needs to play and he’s also aware that he needs to do it right away when the season starts, when he manages to put everything he knows into practice all at the same time, he’s going to be quite a player and one that will be a massive asset to the Canadiens, give him the time to get there.
Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Ex-Canadiens Goalie Signed NHL's Most Unique Off-Season DealHeading into July 1, former Montreal Canadien Jake Allen was the clear top pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) goalie who could hit the market. Due to this, there was expected to be a ton of interest in the 34-year-old, and he was in a position to land a high average annual value (AAV) had he tested the market.
