We’ve been down this road before, during training camp in September 2023, when I begged fans to be patient with Juraj Slafkovsky, who was then 18.
You didn’t listen then and you probably won’t listen now — but the comparison is there for all to see, so it’s worth a try.
First, a history lesson. Back in the day when he was a regular along scouts row in the Bell Centre press box, Big Pete Mahovlich would refer to himself in his glory days as “the hole in the doughnut.”
Some hole. Some doughnut.
In 1963, the first year the NHL amateur draft was instituted to replace the sponsorship of amateur teams (and control of their players) by NHL teams, Mahovlich was the second player picked, four months before his 17th birthday.
The Detroit Red Wings chose Mahovlich after the Canadiens took his teammate on the St. Michael’s Buzzers, Garry Monahan, who would have a decent if unexceptional career, mostly with the Maple Leafs.
Young Mahovlich would spend three seasons bouncing back and forth between Detroit and the Hamilton Red Wings in the OHA. He spent some time with the Pittsburgh Hornets in the AHL and played some games for the Fort Worth Wings before he and Monahan were part of a trade on June 6, 1969, that sent Mahovlich and Bart Crashley to Montreal for Monahan and Doug Piper.
Mahovlich was 22 at the time. In parts of four seasons with the Red Wings, he had scored nine goals and added 10 assists. Nor was he an instant star for the Canadiens. In his first season (in 1969-1970) with Montreal, he had nine goals and eight assists in 36 games.
The following campaign, everything changed. On Jan. 13, 1971, Sam Pollock sent Guy Charron, Bill Collins and Mickey Redmond to Detroit for his big brother, Frank Mahovlich. Pete Mahovlich, meanwhile, scored 35 goals and added 26 assists. Oh — and the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup.
In the summer of 1972, Pete Mahovlich was selected to play against the Soviets in the Summit Series and in Game 2, he scored one of the greatest goals in the history of the game — taking an outlet pass off the boards, faking a slapshot at the blue line that turned Soviet defenceman Evgeni Paladiev into a pretzel, then deking the great Vladislav Tretiak out of position before burying the backhand.
In the 1974-75 season, the “Little M” would score 35 goals and add 82 assists (still a team record) for 117 points while playing on a line with Steve Shutt and Guy Lafleur. Mahovlich was 28 that year and he had come fully into his own.
Why the history lesson? It’s staring us in the face. Slafkovsky is Pete Mahovlich, nearly 60 years on. Slafkovsky wears No. 20, like Mahovlich. Physically, they’re almost identical — tall, powerful men. Both are of East European ancestry. Slafkovsky is Slovakian, the Mahovlich brothers descended from Croatian immigrants to Canada.
And like Mahovlich, Slafkovsky is a frequent target for the fans. Back then, they booed Mahovlich at the Forum. Today, they rag on Slafkovsky via the nasty web. Either way, it stinks.
Mahovlich hit his stride at 24. Slafkovsky will be 21 on March 30. Yet following a week when the big Slovak was absolutely dominant in Vancouver and Seattle, some fans were whining that he should not have been the Canadiens choice when they had the first pick.
Some argue that the Canadiens should have gone with Shane Wright, and perhaps there’s merit to that on the basis of the position. Wright has decent numbers this season — but I watched every minute of that Seattle game without noticing him once.
Slafkovsky, meanwhile, was cruising and bruising. First, he took a pass from Cole Caufield, breezed down the wing and unleashed that hard shot for a goal. Then he stood his ground in front and deflected a shot from Jayden Struble off the shaft of his stick to give the Habs a two-goal lead.
The previous night in Vancouver, Slafkovsky had a goal off another beautiful shot and added assists on goals by Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Back-to-back games, three goals, two assists. Not too shabby for a player who is the age Mahovlich was when he was bouncing from the Pittsburgh Hornets to the Red Wings and scoring a single goal for Detroit.
As he did last season when he came on late to finish with 20 goals and 30 assists, Slafkovsky now has 14 goals and 26 assists. Yes, he needs to put together a full season. Yes, he needs to use that big body and unleash that lethal shot. Yes, he needs to play more like Brady Tkachuk, although please don’t let him behave like the younger Tkachuk.
As his game grows to match his physique, Slafkovsky will be a key component along with fellow youngsters Lane Hutson, Ivan Demidov, David Reinbacher, Jacob Fowler and the under-25 group of players who have already proven their worth at the NHL level.
Why not just enjoy this exciting young team and lay off the ragging? Sometimes it takes a little patience. Ask Pete Mahovlich.