The Montreal Canadiens 2022-23 season is young, much like their roster. After breaking camp with several rookies, building around a younger nucleus in itself, there’s been a lot of learning. A lot of work goes into getting ready for the season and so far, the Habs have overachieved.
For rookies like Kaiden Guhle, there was no way they expected the type of performance he has shown to this point. For a player like Juraj Slafkovsky, being the first overall draft pick from this summer’s NHL Entry Draft, there are some expectations to be met.
While according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the plan is to send down Slafkovsky to Laval at some point, right now, he’s soaking it all in. He went out and scored his first goal in Thursday night’s rout of the Arizona Coyotes.
After a turnover near the top of the zone, Slafkovsky steps up with the puck and lets one rip from the top of the circles. He beat Connor Ingram and picked up his first career NHL goal and let defenseman Josh Brown know it. Here’s a piece from Site Co-Expert Ken MacMillan with more of a look at the goal.
Montreal Canadiens rookie Juraj Slafkovsky soaking things in.
There has been a learning curve with Slafkovsky and that is expected. He’s 18 years old. There are going to be some times when he makes mistakes, and frankly, he’s held his own to this point. Slafkovsky has adapted to the NHL level quite well.
There have been some lapses at times, but it’s to be expected, it’s the reason that Dreger suggests the Habs will be sending Slafkovsky down to the minors to work on things and refine his performance; again, totally an okay thing that may happen.
Slafkovky has played just five games with the Habs, but he’s been able to soak things in. From scoring his first goal in front of the home crowd, getting named one of the three stars getting his “curtain call” skate around post-game, and frankly just going through training camp and experiencing what it’s like to be a part of the Montreal Canadiens hockey club.
It’s been great that the Habs rookie has settled in so smoothly this season. It’s only going to bring good things moving forward if Slafkovsky can continue to soak it all in and keep getting better. He’s going to struggle, he’s going to make mistakes, and it’s going to take time for him to adjust.
Some people could make the argument that he’s the first overall pick and one goal through five games is not enough. He’s 18 years old, there was talk he may not make the Habs roster out of training camp two months ago, but he’s done a great job adjusting, and showing the Canadiens he deserves his looks in an NHL uniform.
Hopefully, Slafkovsky can continue to develop and hone in his skills to be the player the Habs drafted him to be.