Juraj Slafkovsky left Slovakia at the age of 15. The destination was Turku.
- Juraj Slafkovsky is Finland’s bully in Friday’s semifinals.
- The striker will be booked for the NHL this summer in the first round.
- The Slovak’s path to the bright lights of the Olympics has not been easy.
Slovakia’s 17-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky leads the finish line for the Olympic men’s puck tournament. The colossal striker has made five hits in five games. Swedish Lucas Wallmark is in the same numbers.
– I don’t think so myself, but I’m sure I’m happy that this (tournament) has gone this way, Slafkovsky told Iltalehti on Wednesday after securing the semi-finals in the USA.
Slovakia and Slafkovsky will challenge Finland in the semi-finals of the Olympics on Friday.
The discovery of a meadow
Juraj Slafkovsky has played 21 league matches this season in a TPS shirt. The 100-pound striker will be booked for the NHL this summer. VESA POPE / AOP
Slafkovsky is already playing in the TPS organization for the third season.
The striker was found in the 2018–19 season by the former sports director of TPS Antero Niittymäki. Niittymäki was watching together Tomi Kallion with c-Juniors match Vikings – Salzburg.
Slafkovsky was playing for the Red Bull junior team at the time.
For the next season, the Slovak moved to Turku. The striker was C-junior, but played in B-juniors and did Jani Kiviharjun coached in 39 matches 52 points. So as a minor.
– Let him play with his strengths. Sometimes he conjured some amazing goals for us, Kiviharju recalls.
For A-juniors
Last season, Slafkovsky already played mainly in A-juniors. Former NHL goalkeeper Fredrik Norrena has coached the 192-cent and 99-pound youth this and last season.
– He knows how to take advantage of his huge size. Juraj is a big, yet very mobile and skilled player. Power forward, Norrena tells Iltalehti.
– He’s a junior star still learning adult play. And it goes well all the time.
The challenge: efficiency …
Slafkovsky is still a B-junior. That’s why leading the Olympic paint exchange is an almost incredible achievement.
The teenage player has areas for development.
– Before this tournament, I would have talked about efficiency. He gets well into the scoring places and creates places for himself and others. But he has not been super effective. But it’s probably pointless to talk about it now, Norrena laughs.
– Learning to play the pentathlon is important to him. But it is also quite natural when you are 17 years old. And he’s learning it all the time and moving forward anyway.
Lively nature
Juraj Slafkovsky could play for his age in b-jun. Slovakia still leads the finish line for the Olympic puck tournament. AOP
There is nothing to complain about in Turku’s attitude and character.
– He is a happy boy who comes to the hall every day with a smile on his face. Juraj is a lively guy and a good guy. Gambler nature.
Norrena admits that Slafkovsky’s brilliant grips in Beijing have been a kind of surprise.
– Considering the age of the player and the level of the tournament, yes. However, there are the tops of Europe in the trough.
Hard ones
Norrena even thinks a little worried about the last years of Slafkovsky’s career in Kosice.
– At a very young age, he has left the world. He has lived in a cell house with two other Slovak players. In addition to playing, they have attended a distance school in Slovakia.
– He has made great sacrifices in front of hockey. It has probably not been easy every night. All that requires courage and pressure endurance. I don’t know if I would be ready to let my own son into the world when he was 14-15, Norrena thinks.
At the moment, Slafkovsky’s sacrifices are paying off.