Juraj Slafkovsky silences the 2022 draft critics

Back in June 2022, the Canadiens stepped to the microphone and took Juraj Slafkovsky at No. 1 overall. That call got picked apart almost right away.

And after his 2022-23 rookie year, the noise got even worse. Too many people were ready to stamp him as one of the weakest first-overall picks of the last 20 drafts.

That talk looks flat-out bad today.

At 21 years old, Slafkovsky is sitting on 24 goals and 54 points this season. For a power winger still learning how to control shifts, protect pucks, and drive play against top matchups, that's not a small jump.

He's also doing it with the frame Montreal drafted him for. At 6'3 and 225 pounds, he's no longer just a project with upside; he's a winger who can tilt the ice when he gets moving.

The biggest part of this story is development. Slafkovsky didn't just add points. He looks more assertive on entries, stronger along the wall, and far more comfortable staying involved after the first play.

That matters because the early criticism wasn't mild. People weren't only questioning whether he should've gone first. They were talking like Montreal had already missed badly.

That's impossible to sell now. Nail Yakupov never gave his team this kind of long-range value. Erik Johnson had a long career, but Slafkovsky already feels like a more direct offensive driver. Alexis Lafreniere is still a useful NHL player, yet Slafkovsky has forced his way into a different tier of conversation.

The more interesting debate is the next group. Owen Power, Nico Hischier, Aaron Ekblad, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all have stronger résumés today, but Slafkovsky has made it a real argument instead of a joke.

That alone tells you how far he's come. A year or two ago, he was being used as an example of why teams shouldn't swing on size and upside.

Now he looks like a winger Montreal can lean on in the top six for years. That changes the read on the draft, the rebuild, and the patience Kent Hughes showed with this player.

It also says something about St-Louis and the Canadiens. They didn't panic, didn't bury him, and didn't let outside noise steer the plan. That kind of patience matters when a young forward is trying to turn flashes into nightly impact.

So no, Juraj Slafkovsky is nowhere near the worst first-overall pick since 2002. At this point, the people who pushed that line are the ones wearing it.