Juraj Slafkovsky and the Montreal Canadiens are one of the best up-and-coming teams in the NHL.
The 2024-25 campaign saw their young core blossom and grow into a playoff team with an extremely bright future still ahead. General manager Kent Hughes took it upon himself to add to the group, acquiring star defenseman Noah Dobson to further push his roster over the top.
Expectations entering the 2025-26 season will be the highest they’ve been in quite some time for the Canadiens, and for Slafkovsky, he wants to take his game to another level.
Anthony Martineau of TVA Sports recently interviewed the 21-year-old, who has lofty goals for the season in mind, including touching up on 65-70 points.
“These are good numbers. I like those numbers; that’s probably what I’m going to aim for, and hopefully I’ll get even more. I want to be a driving force for this team. I want to help the team accomplish a lot of things, and when I’m at my best, I can do that. But now I have to show it during the season, not talk about it during the summer,” Slafkovsky said.
“I want to be better with the puck in the backcourt and in front of the net, as well as create more opportunities for my linemates. That’s the most important aspect. I think I can score more often too, and I’m going to focus on that. The thing I’ll have to focus on is consistency, staying consistent all season, and I’m ready for that,” Slafkovsky added.
Slafkovsky is coming off a career-high 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists) in 79 games played last season.
Slafkovsky has put in the offseason work to achieve his goals
As a former first overall pick back in 2022, there’s no questioning the talent and skillset of Juraj Slafkovsky. The potential to develop into one of the game’s elite power forwards is absolutely plausible, but as he mentioned, it’s up to him to let his play do the talking.
In the interview with TVA Sports, Slafkovsky also gave some insight into his training thus far throughout the summer.
“After last season, I took a short trip and came home. Then I started training, and I haven’t stopped to this day. I haven’t taken time to relax, but that’s okay. We’ll rest when we’re old…. On the ice, Adam Nicholas [the Canadiens’ director of hockey development] sent me videos of what I need to work on. There are specific aspects of my game that I need to refine, and that’s what I’m doing. It’s going well, and I like it,” Slafkovsky said.
Heading into year four, Slafkovsky is primed for a breakout season, and if he does, the Montreal Canadiens will only be that much more dangerous for the rest of the Eastern Conference.
