Juraj Slafkovsky not expected to be released to Slovakia for 2023 World Juniors

On Wednesday, Hockey Slovakia announced their preliminary roster for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. Two of the nation's three first-round pick from the 2022 draft were named to the roster, with the odd man out being Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky.

Following the roster announcement, Slovakia's head coach Ivan Fenes told reporters that he was still awaiting word from the Canadiens on if Slafkovsky will be released to them for the tournament or not.

The odds of Montreal releasing Slafkovsky for the tournament were already slim-to-none, especially since he's recorded five points in his last seven games going into Thursday's game against Anaheim.

During Thursday's edition of Insider Trading on TSN, Darren Dreger said that he doesn't expect Slafkovsky to be at the World Juniors and that Canadiens management will inform Hockey Slovakia in the coming days.

Going into Thursday's tilt with Anaheim, the 18-year-old has appeared in 24 games, recording ten points (four goals, six assists), 27 penalty minutes and is a minus-one.

Source: Darren Dreger - Insider Trading

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