Slafkovsky and Slovakia will open the men’s Olympic tournament against Team Finland at Santagiulia Arena on Wednesday (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, TSN, CBC).
Slovakia will have its work cut out for it in Group B, being joined by two hockey superpowers in Finland and Team Sweden, along with Team Italy. In order to make it past the preliminary round, coach Vladimir Orszagh will rely on a collective effort from his team, rather than place all of the burden on Slafkovsky alone.
“The Olympics aren’t the story of one single player,” Orszagh said Tuesday. “Juraj is a dominant winger in the NHL and a first overall pick (2022 NHL Draft). He had a wonderful tournament in Beijing and scored plenty of goals, but it’s a different story in Milan. We’ll still need him. He’ll be very important for our team on the ice, but also in the locker room.
“People will look to Juraj, but he won’t be the only one. We can’t rely on just one player. We mustn’t forget that he’s still a young player at 21. We need to realize that he’s going to play against the best defensemen in the world. The other teams will be keeping an eye on him, because they know he’s going to be a threat.”
Craig Ramsay witnessed Slafkovsky’s incredible run in Beijing firsthand. The 74-year-old, working as a special consultant for Slovakia in Milano Cortina, was coach of the team in 2022.
“He’ll be a key player for us once again,” Ramsay said. “He knows it too. If he uses his speed and his size, he’ll find ways to stand out. We also have good players who can get him the puck. I’d like to see him take more shots; he doesn’t always have to think about trying to make the perfect pass between the legs of two defensemen.”
