Hokejové dobrodružstvo v najnebezpečnejšom meste Európy

It is difficult to find someone in Europe more called to ice-hockey in Montreal than the Swiss columnist Joël Charles Wüthrich. Since 1988, this publisher and specialist in sports PR, communication and marketing has regularly reported on Canadian sport and culture. The media lecturer is involved in hockey through his more than 30 years as an editor in chief and the international player’s management agency Sportagon, where he is the CEO in Switzerland. How was Slovak forward Juraj Slafkovsky rookie season in the Habs jersey? “It wasn’t stunning, but its development is promising,” thinks the 56-year-old expert living in Basel. The Montreal Canadiens was founded in 1909, it is the longest continuously operating professional hockey team on the globe and at the same time the only existing NHL club that operated before the founding of this famous league. The Habs reached the finals of the National Hockey League in the summer of 2021, but did not even make the playoffs in the 2021/22 season. What did you think when, in the summer of 2022, this giant with the largest stadium in the league (21,302 seats) drafted Slovak forward Juraj Slafkovský from the number one position? “I was closely following the whole situation, because I know the people from the hockey environment there. The entire summer the media reported that there were discussions whether the Habs would take Juraj Slafkovski or the Canadian center Shane Wright. In the discussions, many people preferred Slafkovsky, so it was not surprising that they chose him at the end. The reasons: The Canadiens team is going through a generational rebuilding. Captain Shea Weber left last summer after six seasons, and long time injured star goaltender Carey Price is not available. The management knew they would have a very young squad in 2022/23, especially in defense led by Kaiden Guhle. That’s why they wanted to get an ice-hockey player in the draft who has experience in men’s hockey and who can compete with other players in th