A publication bursts the bubble of many experts and fans concerning Juraj Slafkovsky

PUBLICATION

Jeff Drouin
May 27, 2022 (8:54 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

For the past few weeks, but especially for the past few days, some fans, experts and observers have been changing their minds and now believe that Juraj Slafkovsky should be the first choice of Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens.

It's true that, on paper, the youngster is having a solid world championship, having amassed 9 points in 8 games at the MHC against adults.

Please note that the goal here is not to discredit the young Slafkovsky too much, but to share with you a remark that is very "game changing" in our opinion.

See the very interesting comment/statistic that Marc-Olivier Beaudoin just published:

"Juraj Slafkovsky has 9 points in 8 games at the World Championship. Impressive? Here's the breakdown:

2A vs FRA
0 vs GER
0 vs CAN
1B vs SUI
1B+1A vs KAZ
2A vs ITA
1B+1A vs DEN
0 vs FIN

9 points vs FRA/SUI/KAZ/ITA/DEN
0 points vs GER/CAN/FIN

A trend? #NHLDraft"

It had done relatively the same with Kaapo Kakko. He had produced a lot against clubs like Italy and France.

We're calling him back. The point is not to destroy Slafkovsky or to say that he won't be a good NHL player, but it's really interesting to look at his production, and see who he produced against. It's a game changer.

So, before you proclaim him the "1st overall pick" over even an incredible talent like Shane Wright, you have to be careful. Sometimes you have to look beyond the numbers.