First-round picks are expected to perform at the highest level and perform at their best all season, and Juraj Slafkovsky is no exception.
Although the former first-round pick has been consistently productive in his initial seasons—registering back-to-back campaigns of 50 points or more—he has also shown a tendency for slow starts, a pattern Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis has now made abundantly clear will no longer be tolerated.
Although the Canadiens shocked critics last season by making the Stanley Playoffs, St. Louis, who won a Stanley Cup as a player with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004, made it clear during training camp that the team that stunned everyone last season was nowhere close to where he expected them to be and called on his players to show more urgency, especially Slavkovsky.
“It starts with the player,” St. Louis told Sportnet’s Eric Engels. “You can’t hold everyone’s hand, and he’s not 18 years old anymore either. He’s older, he’s more mature, he has experience. How do you measure if someone’s hungry? I’m not talking about hungry for food, but hungry for success. For me, it’s urgency.”
Slafkovsky acknowledged Coach St. Louis’ remarks at camp without taking them personally. Rather, he recognized that certain aspects of his game simply did not yet meet the standards St. Louis was demanding. Consequently, he committed himself to rigorous practice, worked diligently to improve, and believes he has now done his due diligence.
“Some things were missing in my game, but I think I figured out what I need to do,” he said. “Maybe I didn’t commit to doing all the things I needed to do the past two years, and I just started to do them halfway through the season.”
St. Louis has issued a cautionary note to Slafkovsky without delineating the particulars. Based on the circumstances, another sluggish start could well result in a demotion to the Laval Rocket—a consequence that would be difficult to argue against. St. Louis is laying the groundwork for his players’ success, making it clear that accountability is nonnegotiable for anyone who fails to carry their share of the load.
The shinny hockey is over, (the real hockey) has gotta start now,” St. Louis said.“The decision you make with the puck in the neutral zone, it’s gotta start now. How your alarm goes off from offence to defence, it’s gotta start now. The way we play in our d-zone, it’s gotta start now.”
That message applies to the rest of the team. Get ready to work your butts off.