Juraj Slafkovsky: Slovakia's Olympic MVP talks inspirations and NHL future

Juraj Slafkovsky was ice hockey's breakout star at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Top goal scorer with seven strikes, the teen sensation helped Slovakia to their first-ever Olympic ice hockey podium when they beat Sweden in the bronze medal match.

Slafkovsky - the youngest player in the tournament - also topped the points table, was named MVP of the competition, and made the All-Star team as one of only three forwards next to Finland's Sakari Manninen and Sweden's Lucas Wallmark.

Not bad for a 17-year-old.

Currently playing pro hockey with TPS of the Finnish Liiga, Slafkovsky is eligible for this year's 2022 NHL Entry Draft, and his stock has skyrocketed - going from a top-ten pick to an almost guaranteed top five.

So what was the homecoming like for the rising Slovakian star?

"It was amazing, people in front of the hotel, in the streets and even they came to the airport in Vienna, because we didn't fly to Slovakia... but they were already there and they were cheering and it was just very nice and I enjoyed a lot," he told the Sports Nation 32 Thoughts podcast.

And who did he get messages from?

"Marian Gamborik and Marian Hossa (Slovakia's former NHL stars - Gamborik is a Hall of Famer), some Slovak singers and rappers and all of these guys."

Add some of the biggest newscasters in the country to the list, and it's been a crazy time for the teen star.

Juraj Slafkovsky: "I didn't know this could happen when you are 17"

Slovakia had a tough start to the Beijing competition meeting the eventual gold medallists Finland in Game 1 and the always formidable Sweden in Game 2.

The Slovaks lost 6-2 to the Finns and 4-1 to the Swedes, but Slafkovsky scored all three of their goals in the first two games.

"First when we got there I was in a different role, I was playing in the forward line with a little bit more defending," he continues.

"But then I somehow managed to score a couple of goals in the first game and then I gained more confidence.

"I would say my confidence was growing through the whole Olympics and just unbelievable... I didn't know this could happen when you are 17..."

Asked what he would have been happy with before Beijing he says:

"I think as a team maybe making the quarter-finals was our first goal, and for me, maybe to score a goal, to get some assists... I would be very ok with that, then this happened."

"In the second game when I scored with like 50 seconds to go, I just touched the puck and then shoot it and maybe now when I shoot it from wherever I want, it can go in, so I was like, 'ok, I will try that and I will try to score as many as I can'."

The quick-release and accuracy of the young Slovak's shots were key to his goals: getting plenty of force behind precise wrist shots, he was quickly bumped up to the team's top line and never looked back.

Juraj Slafkovsky: Beijing 2022 MVP

"I was very surprised when... I was watching the final hockey game and after the game they called my name as the MVP and I was like... Wow.. I didn't expect that."

"When we look on the individual achievement I think that's the biggest thing for me."

A huge moment for the Slovaks was when they defeated the USA in the quarter-finals and Slafkovsky was key once more.

He scored the goal that put his team 1-0 up before the U.S. took the lead 2-1, and Marek Hrivik made it 2-2 with just seconds of the 60-minute regulation time left to play.

Slovakia's young gun chooses that moment as the greatest of the Games for him:

"In that game against the USA when we scored with like 15 seconds to go, I would say that was the best, I was celebrating like... Wow... That was the best moment for me, that celebration on the ice and on the bench."

But they still had to face into the shootout.

"It's all or nothing, you either win or go home," Slafkovsky says of the penalty-shot shootout. "We had nothing to lose at this moment and we had a great goalie and we knew that we could really do something in that shootout."

While the Slovaks' young gun didn't score from his penalty shot, Peter Cehlarik stepped up and became the hero of the hour scoring the only goal while 'keeper Patrik Rybar shut out the U.S.

Rumour has it that Slafkovsky told Cehlarik was going to score before he took his penalty shot.

"Before he went on the ice I grabbed him around the neck and I told him, now you are going to score, I believe in you, and then he scored, so I was really happy," the teenager says.

"I saw him doing that backhand to forehand blocker-side move in the warm-up, I knew he was going to score."

Slovakia's viral bronze medal win

The Slovakian Olympians celebrated their wins over the USA and then Sweden in some style, throwing their gloves in the air and piling on, and their joy was mirrored all over the country.

Miroslav Satan is another big Slovakian name who played for various teams in the NHL and his social media feed was a good barometer of the mood back home as Slafkovsky and co. brought home a first Olympic medal.

From the celebrations in the changing rooms after the 4-0 win over Sweden - Slafkovsky scoring two in that game - to the packed public square and the open-top bus homecoming, Slovakian hockey had a moment.

"Slovakia needed this one," Slafkovsky continues. "It's also good for the young guys that are thinking 'maybe I should go play hockey,' they can think of moments like this and celebrating like this and they can achieve something."

This Olympic team and their young star has inspired the next generation of Slovakian ice hockey stars.

Juraj Slafkovsky's favourite players

So who inspired him?

"Of course when I was starting there was Marian Hossa and Marian Gamborik and others like Pavol Demitra, but I really liked to watch Hossa...

"He was really good on the right wing and I always tried to copy his game in trainings."

Juraj Slafkovsky's favourite NHL team

So what's his team?

"Now it's Toronto Maple Leafs," he says, "before it was Chicago Blackhawks when Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, all these guys...

"But when Auston Matthews came to the NHL I really liked him and I made a little switch to Toronto, to Canada.

"I watched him a little bit in the Swiss league because I heard he was a high pick, but of course when he came to the NHL I followed him more and more."

Away from the NHL Slafkovsky is also a huge LeBron James and Lakers fan.

Juraj Slafkovsky: Rising on social media

With almost 130k followers on Instagram, this rising star has game off the ice too, but doesn't put too much importance on social media.

"I don't think it's very important in life," he says.

"Of course, maybe it's helpful to show and let people know me a little bit better, but it's not that important, I would live a normal life without Instagram and all the other things but it's good that I can share.

"As you can see, I don't share that many things," he says.

His account has 30 posts to date: "It's not the most important thing in life," he added.

So who does he follow?

"I like Auston Matthews, his style on the ice, what he's posting and then just NHL teams, NHL players, my friends. Nothing special."

Juraj Slafkovsky's family

Back home with his family, his parents are keeping his feet on the ground telling him that he has to keep working, and he has also inspired his sister, Lucia, a swimmer like her mother:

"She always grabs the medal and says 'I'm gonna get one also, just wait!' I think it's a good motivation for her," Juraj says.

Watch out for another Olympic star emerging from the Slafkovsky house.