Juraj Slafkovsky Sent Down to the Laval Rocket: The Organization Has Officially Revealed They Were Ready to Demote the First Overall Pick But Martin St. Louis Got in the Way
Since the beginning of the season, two Juraj Slafkovskys have evolved for the Montreal Canadiens.
The first played about the first 15 to 18 games, but he failed to stand out in his game. He seemed to just survive in the NHL and many observers thought he could be sent to Laval to get back on track.
There were even rumors about his possible participation in the upcoming World Junior Championship to regain confidence.
Suddenly, in a rather drastic and unexpected way, we saw an incredible transformation in Slaf during the last few weeks.
The young Slovak became dominant in one-on-one duels, showing new aggressiveness in puck recovery and creating numerous opportunities for his teammates. In short, he is not at all the same player anymore.
After a shaky start to the season, the CH's number 20 seems to be gaining confidence from game to game. Even if the points don't accumulate much, he is clearly one of the best players on the ice every night.
As for the idea of sending him to the AHL, just a few weeks ago, journalist Alexandre Gascon of Radio-Canada revealed that it was Martin St-Louis himself who prevented his demotion to the farm team.
«When everything seemed to play against Juraj Slafkovsky, when even other coaches allowed themselves barely veiled criticisms, Martin St-Louis insisted: the young man was about to come out of his shell and he asked the organization to continue the development of the Slovak in the NHL.» – Alexandre Gascon
Apparently, St-Louis insisted with the organization to keep Slaf with the team, claiming he was about to reveal himself in the NHL.
This shows the great confidence the head coach has in his player. While the management was clearly considering sending him back to Laval to regain confidence, St-Louis made a decisive decision.
In light of Slafkovsky's current game evolution, it seems that St-Louis made the right decision by placing his trust in him and keeping him in Montreal.
| POLL |
13 DECEMBRE | 158 ANSWERS Juraj Slafkovsky Sent Down to the Laval Rocket: The Organization Has Officially Revealed They Were Ready to Demote the First Overall Pick But Martin St. Louis Got in the Way Do you think Slafkovsky was the right pick in 2022? |
| Yes | 135 | 85.4 % |
| No | 23 | 14.6 % |
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