Canada’s No. 1 Overall Pick Juraj Slavkovsky After 3 Months
Canada Canada winged rookie Juraj Slavkovsky1 in last summer’s NHL draft, will be out of action for three months, the team announced Wednesday.
Canadaiens says the imposing Slovakian winger has a lower body injury and will not require surgery. He took to the field on Sunday against Rangers.
Slafkovsky had 4 goals and 10 points in 39 games before being substituted due to injury.
Montreal general manager Kent Hughes spoke about Slafkovsky’s development in the media on Wednesday.
“We believe his development will happen in phases,” he said. “No, ‘hey, we have 10 things [for you to do]; find them.’ Because I think when you do that, [the player] is on tape thinking and not reacting. And I think sometime this year we’ve seen him think on tape and other times we’ve seen him react.
“But we’re not worried about the manufacturing side of it. We’re really worried about seeing the areas where we want him to improve. Are we seeing progress in those areas? Because we know, or we certainly believe, long-term, if he does [certain] change his game, it will allow him to adapt to the North American style and become the most successful player he can be. He’s going to be a hockey player with a different style from the others.”
Slafkovsky is the second Canadian rookie to suffer a long-term injury this season. Defender player Kaiden Guhle suffered a lower body injury in late December which, by the time he was diagnosed, was expected to keep him out for eight weeks.
Montreal also announced that goalkeeper Jake Allenfront Joel Armia and forward Jake Evans also injured. Allen has an upper body injury that will keep him out for a week. Armia has an upper body injury that will keep him out of action until the All-Star break, while Evans has a lower body injury that will keep him out for eight to 10 weeks.
Team Canada now has five players — Brendan GallagherArmia, Evans, Guhle and Slafkovsky — on IR.