Juraj Slafkovsky drives offense from the wing. He’s a massive winger who has made a strong case to challenge for first overall. He can play at a high pace and has impressive agility for someone his size.  Using strong strides with his long legs, he can generate a lot of speed with just a few steps. While he lacks that extra gear to create separation, it’s how well he protects the puck when challenged that makes up for any speed or burst concerns that may follow him. With strong stickhandling and the ability to move the puck in tight, he can control possession as well as the pace of the play. On-ice awareness in all three zones is another aspect of his game where he excels, making the extra effort on backchecks as well as going down low to support his blueliners when defending. He also uses his stick very well, taking advantage of his long reach to win battles to loose pucks. He has such immense offensive potential that it can be frustrating to see him pass up great scoring opportunities for himself and teammates. Learning how to take what’s given to him and remove moments of tunnel-vision from his game is something he will need to improve on to be a more consistent impact player when attacking. His unique blend of size and skill could make him a dominant player at the NHL level. He is the ultimate swing on upside while still having a solid floor. If he becomes the player he is capable of developing into, there is little doubt Slafkovsky will be a force at the NHL for the next 15 years and people will wonder why there was even a debate about the top pick in this class. If he doesn’t hit his that potential, he’s still got potential as a top-six scoring winger who impacts the game regularly.

– FCHockey’s 2022 NHL Draft Guide