MILAN \u2013 When Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd first took the ice as an Olympian for Team Slovakia four years ago in Beijing, he was a teenager, braces on his teeth, the best years of his hockey life still well ahead of him.<\/p>\n
He scored eight goals and was named tournament MVP as Slovakia won their only Olympic medal in men\u2019s hockey, a bronze \u2014 a moment of great national pride for the nation of roughly 5 million.<\/p>\n
A few months later, the Montreal Canadiens selected Slafkovsk\u00fd with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, a first for a Slovak player.<\/p>\n
While Slafkovsk\u00fd was already viewed in Slovakia as the country\u2019s next big hockey star when he made his men\u2019s world championships debut at 16 a year prior, his Olympic performance vaulted him into another stratosphere in his home nation.<\/p>\n
The hopes and expectations of a long-suffering hockey nation were heaped on the shoulders of a 17-year-old kid.<\/p>\n
As Slafkovsk\u00fd first took the ice as an Olympian for Team Slovakia at practice Monday, he did so as a young man of 21, no braces on his teeth, 257 games of NHL experience behind him, and bearing the weight of those expectations he helped create four years earlier.<\/p>\n
Slafkovsk\u00fd is Slovakia\u2019s most adored athlete, with every game he plays in Montreal, every comment he makes, anything he does widely reported across the country. He is on par with 2022 Olympic gold medal skier Petra Vlhov\u00e1, who completed a two-year comeback from injury to compete in the women\u2019s team combined event Tuesday. The main difference is at 30, Vlhov\u00e1\u2019s best years are likely behind her.<\/p>\n
Slafkovsk\u00fd\u2019s best years are still ahead of him, and perhaps directly ahead of him.<\/p>\n
He is back at the Olympics, and though this tournament features NHL players and Beijing\u2019s did not, the expectations on Slafkovsk\u00fd in his home country are far higher than they were four years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, good thing our country\u2019s small,\u201d Slafkovsk\u00fd said with a smile Monday. \u201cIt\u2019s not like Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
In some ways, however, it is like Canada for Slafkovsk\u00fd, and more specifically like what Canada\u2019s captain, Sidney Crosby, experienced in 2010 at the Vancouver Olympics. At least on a per capita basis.<\/p>\n
Crosby was 22 in Vancouver; Slafkovsk\u00fd will be 22 next month. While Crosby was surrounded by veteran talent, he was seen as his team\u2019s best forward despite his young age. Same with Slafkovsk\u00fd. Crosby had been anointed his country\u2019s next great player as a young teenager. Same with Slafkovsk\u00fd.<\/p>\n
It is a completely different scale and he is obviously nowhere near the same player and never will be, but in many ways, Slafkovsk\u00fd is like Slovakia\u2019s Crosby.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a completely different Slafkovsk\u00fd now,\u201d said Vladimir Orsz\u00e1gh, Slovakia\u2019s head coach. \u201cHe was a young guy on a roll (in Beijing). He scored eight goals. There is a quote, even when he shot from the buffet, he would score. So that\u2019s how hot he was in those Olympics.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, he\u2019s a different player. He\u2019s a lot more mature. He\u2019s the guy who should be taking over the leadership and leading the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Slovakia ran through some five-on-five drills a little less than an hour into practice Monday, Slafkovsk\u00fd and his teammates were going hard at each other. As the puck came around the boards and Slafkovsk\u00fd went to gather it, he got drilled hard into the boards by Calgary Flames forward Martin Posp\u00ed\u0161il.<\/p>\n
Slafkovsk\u00fd, five years Posp\u00ed\u0161il\u2019s junior, laughed it off. He appreciated the intensity.<\/p>\n
But it was indicative of the type of defensive attention Slafkovsk\u00fd will draw in this tournament as Slovakia\u2019s offensive leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to realize he\u2019s still a young guy. He\u2019s 21 years old, soon 22, but we\u2019re going to play against the best teams, the best players,\u201d Orsz\u00e1gh said. \u201cThey know he\u2019s our top offensive guy, so I\u2019m pretty sure they\u2019re going to be watching him and they\u2019re going to know where he is going to be on the ice. So it\u2019s not going to be just about him because he\u2019s going to be playing against the best defenders in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, there is going to be some pressure, because he\u2019s an NHL player, he\u2019s our point leader in the NHL and the pressure\u2019s going to be (there). But it\u2019s not going to be just about him, everybody\u2019s got to step up and everybody\u2019s got to help out.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Slafkovsk\u00fd is wired in a way to embrace this kind of pressure. He wants to be the best, always has, and he has worked toward this moment his whole life.<\/p>\n
As far as he\u2019s concerned, bring it on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I want to be the difference-maker, I\u2019ve got to be able to play against anyone, no matter what they\u2019re going to do,\u201d Slafkovsk\u00fd said. \u201cI want to play hard, I want to make it hard for them and score some goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the scrutiny he will face from his opponents on the ice may pale in comparison to what he will face from his own people. Slafkovsk\u00fd\u2019s dealings with the Slovak media who cover his every move are, to put it mildly, strained.<\/p>\n