Kent Hughes has targeted an NHL star player to transform Juraj Slafkovsky

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Wilson Salaun
April 13, 2023 (2:39 PM)

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After an absence of more than three months, Juraj Slafkovsky is back on the ice, and he seems to be slowly recovering from his left knee injury that prematurely ended his season last January.

Juraj Slafkovsky, who is only 19 years old, had a first season that was mainly a learning period. He faced difficulties and learned from his mistakes. He now needs to focus on protecting his health on the ice, in order to try and avoid future injuries.

Regarding this, journalists Arpon Basu and Marc-Antoine Godin from the website The Athletic recently reported that the Canadiens' management team has identified a star NHL player they would like Slafkovsky to emulate.

Even during his absence, the team's director of hockey development, Adam Nicholas, reportedly sent Slafkovsky numerous materials to analyze and study.

As for the player the team wants Slafkovsky to model himself after, it's none other than Matthew Tkachuk.

"The Canadiens had developed a plan with him to gradually integrate new concepts into his game. It was a plan that was developed over more than one season, but was cut short by the left knee injury he suffered on January 15th."

"That being said, instead of twiddling his thumbs while waiting for the day he could jump back on the ice - which he did on Monday - Slafkovsky spent time analyzing videos of Matthew Tkachuk that Canadiens Director of Hockey Development Adam Nicholas sent him. The star winger for the Florida Panthers is one of the best players in the NHL at combining the physical component of the game with offensive skills, and Nicholas invited him to watch what Tkachuk was doing right."

several of his qualities, including using his physicality to create space and exploit his offensive skills.

This season, Tkachuk even reached the 100-point plateau for the second year in a row, demonstrating his ability to score points consistently.

Although it cannot be said with certainty that Slafkovsky will become a player capable of scoring 100 points, it is undeniable that he possesses immense talent that could allow him to become a threat to opponents if he learns to use his size and physical strength, like Tkachuk.

With his imposing stature of six feet three inches and 238 pounds, he has all the necessary attributes to reach such a level of performance. However, patience will be required in his case.

Source : Marqueur