Jaroslav Halek sees himself taking a big step forward in 2023-24

In his native Slovakia, Juraj Slavkowski has already become the talkative man. After all, we’re talking about the first overall pick in the NHL Draft, a feat not achieved before the CH selection Slav in 2022.

He’s clearly inspiring the young Slovaks, even if CH hope still has a long way to go before he becomes a major player in North America.

And inevitably, the fact that he is so talked about among the population means that fellow hockey players are often questioned about him. It is still a hot topic in the Slovak hockey world.

Today, Jaroslav Halek was asked about Slavkovsky in a contextInterview with Tomasz Prokopjournalist in sports. When asked what to expect SlavHallak gave a somewhat optimistic response:

You can see him on the ice, he has a good shot. Still young, he will be stronger and faster. I think he will take a big step forward this year and he will have a very good career. – Yaroslav, how are you?

In the past, Hallak has been quick to criticize the way Slovakia is developing its young hockey players. On the other hand, he admits he is proud to see an increase in the level of youngsters in the country who have been recruited in the first two rounds of the two-year runoff.

He acknowledges that there is still work to be done, but that Slavkowski, Simon Nemec, Philip Messar, and Dalibor Dvorsky (among others) could mark the beginning of a new era.

In the same interview, Hallak also gave an update on his future: He expects to sign an NHL contract within two weeks and doesn’t rule out the possibility that 2023-24 will be his last year in the NHL. He was thought to be back with Rangers, but they eventually signed Jonathan Quick to replace him.

In the same interview, he gave a lot of love to Ronald Melanson, who greatly helped him advance even before he was drafted by the Canadiens. It’s good to see that he hasn’t forgotten those who helped him advance early in his career.

I don’t know which team would take advantage of the services of a goalie (who doesn’t want to be a simple third goalie), but one can suspect they’re waiting to see if the NHL’s goalie status changes in the coming days.

We agree any transaction Casey DeSmith is involved in could change things for him.

But even if DeSmith leaves Montreal, we agree it won’t open the door for Halak to return to Montreal. Although it predicts a bright future for Slavkovsky, let’s just say I didn’t expect to see the two of them being NHL teammates. This may be the case in the national team, but it is still too early to think about such a possibility.

a lot of

Billie Eilish was treated to a CH jersey while visiting Montreal last week.

Billy, a week ago today 😍

A week ago today…and we’re still happier than ever

(📸 Benoit Rousseau) pic.twitter.com/pUx0jJbOkU

– Montreal Canadiens (CanadiensMTL) August 12, 2023

– interesting.

Jessica Pegula qualifies for the final in Montreal.

– to listen.

Injuries continue to pile up for Jays.