32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Meet Juraj Slafkovsky

Episode Date: March 2, 2022

He’s 17 years old, scored 7 goals at the Winter Games, and was voted the 2022 men's Olympic hockey MVP. Juraj Slafkovsky is a forward for TPS of the Finnish Liiga and is expected to be a top pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He joined Jeff and Elliotte to talk about his Olympic journey, winning bronze with the Slovakian national team, building confidence throughout the tournament, his favourite moment from the Olympics, messages he received following their medal performance, players he looked up to growing up, looking ahead to the NHL Draft, and he tells us which team he cheers for at the moment.Music 8LIS5 - Faded WisdomListen to more music from 8LIS5 on SpotifyThis podcast is produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: CBCThe views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow. Welcome to a special edition of 32 Thoughts to Podcast presented by the all-new GMC AT4 lineup. Elliot, today our conversation with Jurej Slafkoski, future NHLer, right now NHL prospect, and someone who, you know, playing for Slovakia was front and center at the Olympics, the country picking up a bronze medal.

That puts smiles on everyone's face. Seven goals in Beijing, top goal scorer, voted one of the top three forwards in the tournament. He is the MVP. Your thoughts on Slavkovsky? I don't know as much about these prospects as you do generally, Jeff, but how could you not be impressed with what he did overseas? How good he looked, how calm he looked,

and it was something where you could see he gained confidence in the interview. He talks about, he didn't have a lot of expectations for what he was going to do there, but the moment he really got going, you could see it just took off. Yeah. He looked fantastic. And you know, that there were teams looking at this, just drooling at the idea that he could be with them next year. You know, a lot of things you look for in prospects too. You look for how they play with their club teams. You look at how they play, you know, with their peer group

as well. And then you always have to have a look at how they play when it seems as if they're in a situation where, uh-oh, they might be punching above their weight here. But I don't know that at any point in that tournament, watching him, he said, you know what? He can't hang here or he's punching above his weight. He really needs to be down a level. Like to your point, he really excelled. And that must have made his head coach, Craig Ramsey, really happy.

And it certainly made everybody back home in Slovakia thrilled. And I just hope that we're seeing the beginning of the rise of Slovakia as a hockey power and the rise of the Slovak hockey player. I've talked to you about Marian Hossa and how much I think you feel the same way about Hossa. I don't know that I've ever seen a player receive a pass better than Marian Hossa. Peter Stastny is one of my favorite players of all time.

You've talked so much about how much you love Zdeno O'Chara. I just really hope that he's part of a new wave of athletes from Slovakia that lead the charge in the NHL. I'm just crossing my fingers for each. Well, the thing that I like as a hockey fan, Jeff, is I want hockey to grow. I want hockey to be strong. I want hockey to be strong. I want hockey to be as exposed to as many people

as it possibly can be exposed to. And when I look at a player like him, I see a guy who can bring in a next wave of Slovak hockey talent. I think you're the first one who mentioned it in the interview about how there was fear and concern about the future of Slovakian hockey. Big time. And maybe he's part of a new wave that brings it back.

So I like that. I really love that. I mean, I think we all want NHLers to be at the Olympics because it's the best on the best, right? But what happened in Germany in 2018 was good for hockey. What happened with Slovakia this year and 2018 was good for hockey what happened with slovakia this year and finland yeah is good for hockey and that doesn't happen if the best players are there it's the same old teams right so the quality of the tournament maybe wasn't as good but the result was helpful i'm trying to be as positive as i can and And the most positive way I can be is say,

that's a result that Slovakia needed. And that's good for the sport. Let's get right to the interview, Fridge. Jure Slepkovski, Slovakian bronze medalist, future NHLer on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Elliot, he is a Olympic star. He is a prospect star. And as we'll get into as well, he's a social media star. More on that in a couple of moments. Jure, how are you today? Thanks so much for joining us and congratulations on a wonderful achievement in Beijing. How are you today?

Thank you very much for inviting and I'm feeling good finally after all celebrations and everything back to training and to play. What was it like coming back? I mean, we saw all the videos and we're following along on social media. We all fell in love with Miro Chetan's social media what was it like when you got back home oh it was amazing I mean people were in front of hotel and on the streets and even they came to the airport to Vienna because like we didn't fly to Slovakia but to Austria so they were already there and they were cheering and it was just very nice and I enjoyed a lot. Who did you get texts from? I'm sure you must have had texts or phone

calls or social media notes from some pretty famous people. Who got in touch with you? So like Marian Gaboryk and Marian Hossa. Yeah, then some Slovak singers and rappers and all of these guys. So on this list of people, who would be the coolest person for you when you looked at your phone and said, holy cow, I can't believe I just got a text from this person. Who was it? Of course, there were like big names but I would say like one woman she's doing like news at seven on the tv and she texted me that congrats and thank you I was like pretty surprised

when when I saw that. And what's her name? I was like pretty surprised when I saw that. And what's her name? Zlatica Pushkarova, but you won't know that. Hey, listen, if it's a big deal for you, it's a big deal. How was the Olympic experience for you? Because, listen, anyone who follows prospects and the draft knows your name and has followed you for a while, but this was the big international stage for you. Casual hockey fans from all over the world now know your name now know what you're all about what was the experience

like for you take us through the tournament oh so i mean first when we got there i got like i was in a little bit different role i was playing like in fourth line and a little bit more of defending. But then I somehow managed to score a couple of goals in the first game. Then I gained my confidence and everything. I would say my confidence was growing through the whole Olympics. It's just unbelievable. I didn't know that this can happen when you are 17, so it's even nicer.

What did you expect going in, Yiraj? What would you have been happy with before the tournament started? Of course, as a team, we wanted to go step by step. The first two games weren't that good, so then we wanted to just win as many games as we can and then I think quarterfinals was our first goal to get in there I think that that was our first goal that get to quarterfinals and for me personally I would say like I maybe score once get some assist and yeah that I would be like very okay with that. But then this happened.

When did you first start to feel, you know what? I feel really good here. I think I can really have a great tournament. When did that first start getting into your head? In the second game, when I scored like 50 seconds to go, I scored the goal, just like I touched the puck and then shoot it then i was like okay maybe now when i shoot from wherever i want maybe it can go in so then i was like okay i will try that and i will try to score as many i can seven goals is impressive

um but also in a top goal scorer you know also getting voted one of the top three forwards at the olymp Olympics as well. Like there's a team achievement and the medal that you'll have forever is a huge team achievement. And, you know, many people are looking at this and saying this is the rebirth of Slovakian hockey. But some individual, you know, achievements as well. I know you might want to say, oh, it's all about the team and it's all about the team. But one of the top forwards as voted in the tournament tournament seven goals as well top goal scorer like of all the individual things what do you look at and maybe say either i'm surprised i did that or i'm really proud that

i did that what stands out from an individual point of view for you no i was very surprised when because actually i was watching the hockey and like final game and after the game, they call my name as the MVP. So I was like, wow, I didn't expect that happening. Like when we look on an individual achievements, I think that's the biggest thing for me, like to be that MVP of the tournament. The shootout against the Americans. What's it like to be in that moment?

What are you thinking? What are your teammates thinking as all of that is going on? I think it's just, like, all or nothing. You either win or go home. So, like, I think there's nothing to lose at this moment. And, like, we had the great goalie, so we knew that we can really do something on that shootout. And Peter Cechlaric scored that goal.

Here's Cechlaric down the right side. Cuts back, scores! Advantage Slovakia! And finally a goal in the shootout as Petr Cechlaric will tuck it into the roof of the net behind Strausman. Incredible work there, finally. And this is a goal scorer's goal. Our goalie managed to save and that was just also like one of the greatest moments. The captain now, the pressure all on, needs to score.

Mili, Mili, stopped! They're going through! They're off to the semifinals. Slovakia win. Slovakia win. Magnificent scenes. They will rush to their goalkeeper, Patrick Rebart, who was magnificent in the shootout. There was a story that you told Shalara that he was going to score.

Is that true? Before he went on the ice, I grabbed him around the neck and I told him, hey, now you are going to score. Is that true? Before he went on the ice, I like grabbed him around the neck and I told him, Hey, now you are going to score. I believe in you. And then he scored. So I was, I was very happy. Now, did you really believe he was going to score or were you just telling him he was going to score? Yeah, I really believed because at the warmups, he was telling me I go backhand and forehand somewhere around the blocker. and he told me that he's going to do the same. So I was like, yeah, you are scoring with that one. So he copied your move is what happened.

No, no, no, no, no. Like he did that already at the warm-ups. Yeah. Okay, okay, okay. Okay, I thought maybe he saw you do it, and he said, I'm going to steal that one. I went after him and I didn't score, so yes. On a warm-up, so.

You talked about the celebration and the parade with the open bus. Like with your teammates or with the staff or the trainers or just the Slovakian hockey group, what was the most special moment about the Olympics? Most special moment for me was probably in that game against USA. When we scored like 50 seconds to go, I would say that was the best. I was celebrating like, wow, that was the best moment for me.

Away from the medal and everything. That one. That celebration on the ice and on the bench. Jurassic blockered away by Strauss man on the big shot. Tchaikovsky with the shot. Rewing his daily flip at home. They've tied it. They've tied it.

43.7 seconds remaining with the goal he pulled. Strauss man couldn't track it 43.7 seconds remaining with a goal he pulled Strauss man couldn't track it down the captain was on the back post Craig Ramsey delighted with that as Riewik will slot it home 2-2 hockey game at National Indoor Stadium see the thing thatff talked about before was how slovak hockey needed this and you know you're as you're young you're 17 years old you this is an incredible thing for you i'm wondering about what you saw from the veterans the older players who've been around the last few years as slovakia wasn't doing as well what this meant for them and how they celebrated it and what you saw from them? Oh, I was actually very surprised. Actually, our captain, Marek Hrivik, I thought like he's not going to celebrate like that much, but I think he was the first one who jumped on the ice and

started throwing his gloves to the air and everything. So I was very surprised about the older guys, how how they were celebrating. Because I thought when you get older, you celebrate, but not that much. But I was also surprised and happy that they are also enjoying the moment that much. Everybody fell in love with Miroslav Shatan and his social media. And we followed all the great videos. And there's that one, i'm sure you've seen it that one video after you guys win and it's it's at the at the rink with a bunch of kids at

practice and they're all gathered around looking at this tiny phone to watch you guys and you win and the kids go absolutely berserk that has a huge effect on your country that has a huge effect on your country. That has a huge effect on hockey in your country. I'm sure you've seen it. What did you think of that one Miro Shetan video, which went all over the world and we all loved it? Yeah, like you said before, like Slovakia needed this one. It's also good for young guys, like which are thinking that maybe i i should go play hockey

then they think of that like they can celebrate like this and they can achieve something so i think it will help slovakia to to get some more kids to play hockey and that's i think important thing when we want to have successful national team i think think it's great. I can recall one of my earliest hockey memories was the Canada Cup 1976. This is from about a million years before you were born. And I remember my dad telling me about Peter Stastny because I was all excited about Team Canada was going to have this great team.

It's going to be awesome. He said, wait till you see Peter Stastny. And then the era that I was a kid and till you see Peter Stastny. And then, you know, the era that I was, you know, a kid and watching hockey, you know, the Stastny brothers were outstanding. Peter Stastny is still one of the, for my money, one of the best hockey players I've ever seen. Who were some of the, you know, maybe you already mentioned it, and, you know, Marian Hossa or Marian Gabra,

who are some of the Slovak players that you looked up to? The Stastnys are well before your time, but who is your generation of favorite Slovak players? Of course, like when I was starting, there was Marian Hossa, Marian Gaboryk and others and like Pavel Demitra. Yeah. But I like, I really liked to watch Marian Hossa when I was young. I think he was very good right wing and i tried to copy his game all the time on the trainings and everything so i i think he was the guy i looked up to like you said you got a text from hosa have you met any of these guys like i met them when i was younger but like they didn't

know about me so but these days i didn't meet any of them were you a chara are you a chara fan at all yeah of course just a a great Slovak player. Yeah, but it's hard to meet him. He's still out there and playing in NHL. He's going to play forever. You'll play against him one day. You'll play against him one day. He's going to play forever.

Yeah, you'll play against him one day. Out of curiosity, where do you keep your medal? Actually, it's in my home back in Slovakia and we got like little box for that. And I have it, I think it's right next to my TV. So always when I look that way, I can see the medal also.

What did your parents say to you after it was all over? They were also happy, but then they also were like, do you just need to still keep working and stay on the ground. And just like before, this medal can change me, and that's what they were like repeating to me. Don't get a big head, right?

Like, don't get a big head, that's what they were saying? Yeah. Parents, when you got back to Finland, what did your teammates say to you? What did Turku say to you? Yeah, they were laughing so hard because they didn't believe that Slovakia can win any medal. And yeah, I texted one day before our first game with my teammate. And I told him that we had a little bet if I score.

And he was like, no, you are not going to score and things like that. And then I scored against Finland. So, yeah, we were laughing on that together with the whole locker room. And also my coaches congratulated me and all those things. I hope you cashed in big, Juras. I hope you cashed in big. Yes. big.

I hope you catch it. You know, it really does feel right now like this is and maybe rebirth is too strong, but it feels like there's a real new wave of high end Slovak hockey players. You're going to be a really high first round pick. Simon Nemec is going to be a first

round pick. Delabar Dvorsky next year is going to be a high pick. Likeabar devorsky next year is going to be a high pick like do you get that sense right now that this is like we're about to see fingers crossed we're going to see the rise of slovak hockey once again i really hope that it's like that rebirth but it's hard to say because it has to be like every year and not just like now like it's two years i hope there is also like younger players that that will be like drafted high or or even drafted and that we get more and more players on the eyes of the scouts and everyone in america because that would be like great for slovak hockey to to have some like more medals or more success. I just wanted to ask you about this year,

because as Jeff mentioned, you're going to be a very high draft pick. What's this year been like for you in terms of attention, Jiraj? I think a lot of hockey fans who are really into the draft, they knew who you were, but now even more fans who are just generally into hockey you know just here and there nhl they're really know who you are now you know what's this year been like in terms of getting ready for the draft and all of the attention and everything that comes with it i would say like the start wasn't the best for me i didn't manage to score that many or create some points,

but I would say I was working still hard and just hoping that one day when it will all break and I will score some and I will play my very best game. And I think like it happened at the Olympics and I hope I will continue also in the league until the rest of the season I will go just up. That's a tough league man you're playing against men like that is a tough tough league how have you found it? Yeah it's tough and even we are defending really hard and it's hard to like create something but I have choose this way three years ago and i'm still here and it's good that i can that i like play against the men's and i just hope the results will come and that they are better and better you know you have um 127 000 instagram followers uh right now you

put up a lot of hockey stuff a lot lot of workout stuff. That's the obvious thing. How important is that to you? Keeping a big social media presence? Because listen, I think it's a great thing. Like once upon a time in hockey, that would be considered a distraction. Don't do that. Just focus on hockey. The new generation of hockey players says, yeah, that's ridiculous. I'm going to have my own brand on social media. I'm going to be myself on social media. I'm going to control what my image and likeness and how I behave. And I'm going to control a lot more things about myself through social media. What does things like Instagram mean to you? How important is it? I don't think that's like the important thing in the life. But of course, it's like maybe helpful like to show

and like that people will know me a little bit better but yep it's not that important like i would live normal life also without instagram and all the other things but it's just good that i can share and as you can see i i don't share that many things. Most of the things are just hockey or some workout. Yeah. But maybe in future I will share some sponsorships or something. But of course, it can also help me a little bit in everything. But like I said, it's not the most important thing in the life and it's just something that's just nice

and I would live without that normally. Who do you like to follow on Instagram? Who I follow? Yeah, who do you like? I like Austin Matthews. Like everything, his style of the eyes and on the eyes and what he's posting and everything. But yeah, of course, like a lot of NHL teams,

NHL players, and they're just my friends and like nothing special. So who's your favorite NHL team? Yeah, now it's Toronto, Maple Leafs. So I don't know if they're going to be able to pick high enough to get you, Yiraj. That's the only problem. I don't think they're going to be able to do that.

So you said now it's the Maple Leafs. Who was it before and why did you switch? Before it was Chicago Blackhawks when Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane,

Jonathan Taves, all these guys. But then when also Matthews came to NHL, I really liked him and then I made a little switch

to Toronto, to Canada. Did you, Did that happen? Did you watch Matthews when he played in Switzerland, or was it when he got to the Leafs? I watched him a little bit when he was in the Swiss League, because I heard that he's high-peak. Maybe he's going first overall and everything.

So I watched him a little bit before, but of course when he came to NHL, then I followed him more and more. Okay, so I got a couple more for you. First of all, I understand you have a sister who's a swimmer. Do you say to your sister, I have one Olympic medal, now it's your time to catch up to me?

No, she tells me that. She always grabs the medal and say, oh yeah, I'm going to get one also. Just wait. And I think it's, I think it's like good motivation for her. And that's important thing. What's her name? Lucia.

Lucia. Okay. So we'll keep an eye on Lucia's future Olympic medal. The second thing I heard is I heard your house is a little bit of a zoo, that you have two dogs and two cats. Yeah. Are they yours or the family's? Oh, no. My mother likes to just come home and bring some cats and then come home in two weeks and bring another cat.

Yeah, so it's a little zoo, but I like all the dogs and cats we have. But I think it's enough for now. Now, Jeff is a dog guy. Jeff loves dogs. What kinds of dogs do you have? Big dog guy here. I don't really know in English, but one is really small one. Like we got him from the street, So it's some, something together.

I don't know. Okay. Other one is the reach back. Maybe, you know, on his, on a bag. Are you in charge of any of them? Like, do you have to take care of any of them or does your mom do all that? Luckily I don't have to. Of course, sometimes I go for a walk with them or something, but mom can't or dad.

You mentioned you love Hossa and you love Matthews. I also heard you love LeBron James. You're a big LeBron James guy. What is it about him that you like? I like Lakers. He's the big star in the Lakers. I just like him as a player, and I hope that this year NBA is going back to Lakers.

I don't know. They're, they're really struggling right now. Your eyes. It doesn't look good. I know too many good players in one play. And just a couple more for you. First of all, have you heard at all this year? Like, have you paid attention to the draft rankings at all this

year do you ever look at rankings and say oh this person has me ranked here this person has me ranked there or i think this team is really interested in me like of course i look on the rankings and everything but i don't take it like that because in the past I saw many rankings and there were many guys who were ranked not so high and they ended up pretty high. About the clubs, I don't think so yet. I haven't been in touch with so many teams. I think it's coming by the end of the season. At the end, I think it's just the lottery, so whoever can beat me.

Do any of your teammates ever show you the rankings? You'll show up to the rink in the morning and say, hey, check it out. This guy has you number three. Hey, look at this. This guy's got you number two. Any of your teammates ever do that? Yeah, one of my teammates is from Canada. And yeah, he told me about the Craig Buttons ranking once in the morning.

Uh-oh, I'm going to call Craig and I'm going to say he's on your bleep list. I'm going to say that to him. Is that Rodewald or Deschenio who did that? No, it's Steenbergen. Tyler Steenbergen. Okay, there he is. Okay, yes. Old Swift Cranbrocco.

Yeah, okay. So he's like a little bleep disturber he brings you the paper and says hey this is where you are yeah like it happened a couple times but when he's listening so i hope he's not mad he won't be he'll laugh yeah and the last one i have for you is your coach at the olympics craig ramsey he's been around the nhl for a long long time like did he say anything to you about hey you're gonna have a long career and this is what you need to know or this is what you have to be prepared for when you get there actually not much about that but i have been with him like for a couple

tournaments and he was always just... Either I wasn't scoring and he was telling me that I'm a shooter all the time on the training. He was calling me a shooter and that I can score one day. And of course, after the bronze medal game, he told me that whenever I need something, I can ask him and I can call him

and ask for something. So he's a really nice guy. That's fantastic. Listen, this has been a lot of fun. Thanks so much for taking time. Congratulations once again on the Olympic medal. It looks great on you. It looks great on your country,

on your country's hockey program. Very much look forward to seeing you in the NHL as I'm sure you're looking forward to playing there. Thanks so much for taking time today. Thank you very much. I really hope you enjoyed that interview. I know Elliot and I certainly did. And Elliot, you know our producer, Amil Dalaj, you know our part he's going to take away the most?

The dog talk. There are a few things I think that Amil likes more than dog talk, so I'm really glad that, that Uriah was able to, to talk about dogs as much as he did. I like the part with his sister too about, about the metal. I like that.

I thought that was really good. Follow the career, follow the career. Taking us out a musical collective that was formed online during the pandemic. Bliss is a multinational group with a broad collection of musical skills and a sound that draws on emotion and ambition. Here's Bliss.

Now, that's spelled 8-L-I-S-5, Bliss, with their first single, Faded Wisdom, on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Melancholy feelings Are all but forgotten the podcast. Where you are hiding now Why you cannot fall I can feel your eyes staring back at me Wondering The self-arising truth It has been now

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