Juraj Slafkovsky not expected to be released to Slovakia for 2023 World Juniors
On Wednesday, Hockey Slovakia announced their preliminary roster for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. Two of the nation's three first-round pick from the 2022 draft were named to the roster, with the odd man out being Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky.
Following the roster announcement, Slovakia's head coach Ivan Fenes told reporters that he was still awaiting word from the Canadiens on if Slafkovsky will be released to them for the tournament or not.
"We are still waiting for a statement from Montreal. Juraj's participation in the championship is therefore open" Fenes said.
The odds of Montreal releasing Slafkovsky for the tournament were already slim-to-none, especially since he's recorded five points in his last seven games going into Thursday's game against Anaheim.
During Thursday's edition of Insider Trading on TSN, Darren Dreger said that he doesn't expect Slafkovsky to be at the World Juniors and that Canadiens management will inform Hockey Slovakia in the coming days.
"I don't expect that he [Juraj Slafkovsky] will be loaned to Team Slovakia by the Montreal Canadiens. And it makes sense, I'm sure that Kent Hughes and the Canadiens brass will inform Slovakia in the very near future. But you have to look at this kid's playing resume: the Olympics [2022 Beijing Olympics], the Men's World Championship. The fact that he is working on strong NHL habits that has helped him elevate in the lineup. He's a 13-15 minute player. He's has been productive of late, so they do not want to stall his NHL development." Dreger said.
Going into Thursday's tilt with Anaheim, the 18-year-old has appeared in 24 games, recording ten points (four goals, six assists), 27 penalty minutes and is a minus-one.
Source: Darren Dreger - Insider Trading
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