The 18-year-old forward made history July 7 when he and defenseman
Simon Nemec
(No. 2, New Jersey Devils) became the highest NHL Draft picks from Slovakia, surpassing Marian Gaborik (No. 3 by the Minnesota Wild at the 2000 NHL Draft). He was on the ice with Canadiens prospects for the first time during development camp Monday.
"It's a hockey city, so everyone likes hockey and I just enjoy it," Slafkovsky said. "I always wanted somewhere where they love hockey and I think I'm probably in the best spot in the world for that. It's just totally different. They are living a hockey life and I don't think it's anywhere else in the world like this."
Slafkovsky (6-foot-3, 218 pounds) was No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters. He had 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 31 regular-season games for TPS in Liiga, Finland's top professional league, and seven points (two goals, five assists) in 18 playoff games. He was voted most valuable player of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, when he scored seven goals to help Slovakia finish third for the bronze, the country's first Olympic medal.
"I think Slafkovsky, we're going to take that week to week, month to month," Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said Thursday. "The plan is for him to return at some point in early August to train here, skate here, work with the development group here and get to know the players on the team. Just get acclimatized with life in Montreal and North America."
The Canadiens agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract Thursday with forward
Filip Mesar
, the No. 26 pick of the 2022 draft. Mesar had 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 37 games with Poprad in Slovakia's top professional league last season.
NHL.com independent correspondent Sean Farrell contributed to this report
