It was a full-circle moment for Habs rookie Juraj Slafkovsky when he made his triumphant return to the Montreal Canadiens Hockey School this week.
Slafkovsky, who was drafted first overall by the Canadiens in 2022, was a student in the summer program all the way back in 2014.
Showing his progression over the past nine years, the Canadiens posted a photo of Slafkovsky standing alongside former player David Desharnais while receiving his diploma at the Brossard practice facility. Just 10 years old at the time, no one could have predicted that the young Slovakian would go on to become one of the main faces of the franchise.
The team also included some shots of the 19-year-old player-turned-guest-coach with this year’s class of kids.
Après avoir vécu l’expérience de l'École de hockey des Canadiens en tant qu'élève en 2014, Juraj Slafkovsky y était aujourd'hui de retour en tant qu'entraîneur!
After attending Canadiens Hockey School as a student in 2014, Juraj Slafkovsky was back as a guest coach today!… pic.twitter.com/c7WlrIKlZu
— Canadiens MontrĂ©al (@CanadiensMTL) August 22, 2023
Along with his return to the school, it’s been a year full of firsts for Slafkovsky.
Making his NHL debut last fall, Slafkovsky played 39 NHL games last season before a knee injury ended his campaign in January. The 6-foot-3 forward decided to use his time away from the ice to return to his hometown of Košice to finish his senior year of high school.
“I am a model pupil. My grades were one, one, two, two (A, A, B, B),” Slafkovsky explained in a recent interview with Slovakia’s Sportnet.sk. “I pleased my parents. When my parents are happy, I’m happy.”
Along with earning his degree, Slafkovsky, who netted four goals and 10 points in the NHL last year, has been training hard all year to prepare for the pressure that his sophomore season will bring as fans expect more production from him.
“I’m sure they’ll expect more from me. I’m already counting on that,” he said. “But I believe I’m very well prepared, and I can play hockey.”
Slafkovsky returned to Montreal earlier this month in preparation for the upcoming season.