Michel Therrien Highly Critical of Martin St-Louis' Handling of Juraj Slafkovsky

PUBLICATION

MarcO
October 19, 2022 (6:59 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

During his appearance on La Poche Bleue yesterday, Michel Therrien was very direct in giving his opinion on Martin St-Louis' use of young Juraj Slafkovsky since the beginning of the season.

Playing an average of only 10 minutes per game, the big Slovakian is the least used player by the Tricolore's head coach.

In the eyes of the former Habs coach, this is far from enough.

"That side of it, to play him 9-10 minutes, that's one thing for a young player that I don't like very much. These guys, since they were pee-wee, they've always been the best. So they're used to playing consistently, dominating and being good. From one day to the next, they play nine minutes." - Michel Therrien

The fact that the CH's number 20 has no presence on special units can greatly influence the amount of playing time he can get per game. According to Therrien, the first overall pick status should allow him to be on the power play on a few occasions.

"You need to give him a role on the power play or the short-handed. He could have been used on the power play a few times, he's still a first overall pick." - Michel Therrien

For the veteran head coach, there is a magic number to reach for the usage time of young players, in order to allow him to progress and thus leave him enough ice to showcase himself.

"My young guys, they had to play 14 minutes on average. When things were going really well, it could be 16 minutes. Sometimes they had a bad game and it could be 10. But it was around 14. There, the kid was still progressing.

Below that... let's say they can't keep him playing nine minutes all year." - Michel Therrien

It's clear that St. Louis wants to protect their youngster, so that he can play in the best situations in a game.

However, a player of Slafkovsky's caliber needs to see as much ice as possible to have confidence in his game and his skills. Sometimes over-protecting a player can stifle him and prevent him from taking his place on the ice.

Credit : Fanadiens

Previously on HockeyLatest

Patrick Kane Trade Market Will Be 'Unprecedented', Reveals Pierre LeBrun

The Canadiens' Lineup against the Coyotes is now known

Jean-Charles Lajoie Makes Bold Statement On Cole Caufield's Next Contract

POLL
19 OCTOBRE \| 75 ANSWERS Michel Therrien Highly Critical of Martin St-Louis' Handling of Juraj Slafkovsky Is Martin St-Louis a Good Coach?
Yes	67	89.3 %
No	8	10.7 %
List of polls