WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Juraj Slafkovsky met with Slovakia's ambassador to the U.S. and his staff following the , brimming with a smile after signing jerseys and taking photos with folks from back home who are also big fans.
"They just love the game," Slafkovsky said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see that those people care, too, and they鈥檙e coming to watch these games.鈥�
They came to watch Slafkovsky, who in 2022 became the taken with the and is now midway through his second professional season . He atop the draft partially because he showed in the months leading up that he could score goals with an impeccable release 鈥� and the 19-year-old is now learning to trust his shot.
鈥淓veryone," he said, is telling him to shoot more. Well, maybe not ambassador Radovan Javorcik but certainly his teammates and coaches who see in practices and games what Slafkovsky can do.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying, but sometimes I see someone else and I鈥檓 trying to make a pass, then to find out that it鈥檚 not the best option,鈥� Slafkovsky said. 鈥淚鈥檒l just keep shooting, I guess.鈥�
Easier said than done for the 6-foot-3, 230-pound pass-first playmaker, who is only two years removed from a at the . He helped Slovakia win its first Olympic hockey medal of any kind, was named MVP of the tournament and then was a point-a-game player at the world championships that spring.
Slafkovsky had just four goals and six assists in 39 games during an with Montreal. He already has doubled that production 50 games in this season, with 22 points on nine goals and 13 assists.
His shot is still a work in progress.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a progression,鈥� said coach Martin St. Louis, who is as a player. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to keep evolving in that department. You always kind of find a way to reinvent yourself all the time. With a young player like that, though, he鈥檚 working on his shot every day.鈥�
Slafkovsky has scored three times in his past two games sandwiched around the All-Star break, and St. Louis is glad to see that work rewarded with the puck going in the net. Slafkovsky is slowly building the kind of confidence that teammates hope will allow him to let it fly.
"You can see the confidence now that he has with his shot," forward Jake Evans said. 鈥淏oth of them were total snipes. That鈥檚 huge for him because when you got a guy like that with his shot, having that confidence, it鈥檚 pretty lethal and it鈥檚 going to help our team a lot.鈥�
Is Evans telling Slafkovsky to shoot more? In his head, he is yelling, 鈥淪hoot!鈥� but he won't be the guy to deliver that message.
He's leaving that up to linemates Cole Caufield and captain Nick Suzuki, who empathize with a young player who prefers to defer.
鈥淚 remember I always wanted to give it to other guys, but when you have those chances to shoot, you have to take advantage,鈥� Suzuki said. "We鈥檙e trying to set him up to shoot, so he needs to have that mindset, and he鈥檚 doing a better job of that now.鈥�
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AP NHL:
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
