| Juraj Slafkovsky | TPS | Liiga | L | LW | 6’4″ | 225 | Drafted by Erie Otters | 2021 | Kosice, SVK | 2004 | 2021-2022: A |
Ian Moran’s thoughts: Slafkovsky is a big young man who has an ideal NHL power forward frame as he currently weighs close to 225lbs, and he’s already played 31 games against men in Finland’s Liiga and produced 10 points. He has a very deep knee bend in his skating posture which allows him to be deceptive and move very quickly laterally as a puck carrier. He easily handles hard passes while at top speed and has shown the ability to adjust his route while receiving the pass which allows him to look almost slippery in traffic. He has a quick release and almost whips the puck to the intended target, but the thing that stands out to us is his man strength while shooting. Even while playing against men in the Liiga, Slafkovsky has the strength and body control to drive the puck through defender’s sticks while they try to use a “stick on puck” defending style to stop the shot. While in the slot he has a very quick on rebounds and has the body control to hammer cross body one-timers. As he continues to develop he will need to continue working on his explosiveness and endurance, but Slafkovsky leaves little doubt that he is ready for an NHL opportunity.
U18: Team Slovakia at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, August 12, 2021: Slafkovsky has the size and mobility to be in National League training camps this Fall. You would expect there to be awkwardness or stiffness in a player so young and so big, not with him. He has a fluid stride, crossovers with acceleration from a powerful under push and shows quickness when coming out of a hard stop to change directions. We like how committed he was to making a difference at both ends of the rink and he was regularly an F1 on the forecheck only to be seen flying past his teammates to be F1 in the defensive zone on the same shift. His first touch allows him to make skillful passes when receiving a bouncing puck and he settles passes quickly on his backhand. Slafkovsky has the hand eye coordination to quick stick bouncing rebounds and routinely gets his stick on point shots when he is the net front presence. He is a high end NHL prospect with excellent body control and a love for scoring goals.
Getting to know Finland’s 2022 NHL Draft Prospects, September 11, 2021: The next Finnish player to watch is not a Finnish native, but has played in Finland for the last few years. That is, Slovakian forward, Juraj Slafkovsky. Slafkovsky is one of the most exciting players in the 2022 NHL Draft class. Currently playing for TPS of the Liiga, the six-foot-four, 225-pound winger brings a ton of energy and skill to the lineup. He is big, strong, protects the puck well, and forechecks hard. He is also known to be a pretty decent skater considering his size. Slafkovsky started his young career playing in his home country of Slovakia with HC Kosice. He then played a handful of games with RB Hockey Academy in Austria, before transferring to the Czech Republic to play with HK Hradec Kravlove. Since the 2019-20 season, Slafkovsky has played with TPS in Finland. In his U18 season, he managed to score 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points. In that same season, he appeared in four U20 games, posting three points. This past season, Slafkovsky played in 16 games with the U20 team, scoring eight goals and five assists for 13 total points. Slafkovsky really made a name for himself at the recent Hlinka Gretzky Cup. In five games with Team Slovakia, he scored three goals and six assists for nine points. (“Get to Know” written by: Clare McManus)
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