Juraj Slafkovsky was an NHL draft pick , just like Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard. The spotlight, however, has not been quite as bright or the hype train as strong for him in Montreal. “I like it that way,” Slafkovsky said.
Regardless of the attention or lack thereof, Slafkovsky is on the vanguard of hockey's next generation of stars, along with the likes of San Jose's Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, Buffalo's JJ Peterka and New Jersey's Luke Hughes. “It’s really cool to be a part of it, and I hope I will be a part of it,” Slafkovsky said two years after the Canadiens took him at No. 1 in 2022.
“Hopefully we can do some things as the younger generation.” Slafkovsky, Peterka, Hughes and Quinton Byfield of the Los Angeles Kings have been around a bit, and now is the time to show they can be among the league's best. Newcomers like Celebrini, Smith, Philadelphia's Matvei Michkov and even teammate Lane Hutson are front-runners in the race for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.
The most recent No. 1 pick does not have the so-called “generational talent” label like Crosby, McDavid or Bedard, but he still won the Hobey Baker Award last season at Boston University as the top college player in the country with 64 points in 38 games. Sharks forward William Eklund was not too familiar with Celebrini's game until the draft, so he made it a point to check out his highlights.
“I looked him up a li.