Juraj Slafkovsky (left) did not only win a bronze medal but was also voted Most Valuable Player of the 2022 Olympic men's ice hockey tournament.
photo: Andrea Cardin / HHOF-IIHF Images
Slovak prodigy Juraj Slafkovsky is the 2022 men’s Olympic MVP after his seven-goal haul in Beijing. The 17-year-old, who also finishes as top goal scorer at the Games, adds the individual prize to the bronze medal he won with Slovakia following a vote among accredited media.
Slovakia, which won its first ever Olympic hockey medal with yesterday’s bronze medal triumph, also saw goalie Patrik Rybar make the All-Star team. The 28-year-old wasn’t expected to be his country’s starter but won his place and had a GAA of 0.70 over six appearances, stopping 96.6% of shots faced. He saved the best for last, blanking Sweden in that bronze-medal game.
Youngster Slafkovsky, destined to be one of the hottest properties in this year’s NHL draft, was also voted as one of the three top forwards in this year’s tournament. Finland’s Sakari Manninen, who tied Slafkovsky, team-mate Teemu Hartikainen and Canada’s Adam Tambellini on seven points, also makes the team after helping the Leijonat to gold. They are joined by Sweden’s Lucas Wallmark, who scored five goals in six games as the Tre Kronor came fourth.
The two nominated defenders went head-to-head in the gold-medal game – a reflection of the solid defence displayed by both ROC and Finland. Yegor Yakovlev, a gold medallist four years ago, emerged as a leader on the Russian team this year: the Metallurg Magnitogorsk man ate up a big chunk of ice time and finished with two assists and a team-leading +4 rating. Finland’s Mikko Lehtonen had more ice-time than any of his team-mates and contributed 4 (1+3) points on the way to the final.
Goalkeeper:
Patrik Rybar (SVK)
Defenders:
Mikko Lehtonen (FIN)
Yegor Yakovlev (ROC)
Forwards:
Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK)
Sakari Manninen (FIN)
Lucas Wallmark (SWE)
MVP:
Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK)
Slovakia, which won its first ever Olympic hockey medal with yesterday’s bronze medal triumph, also saw goalie Patrik Rybar make the All-Star team. The 28-year-old wasn’t expected to be his country’s starter but won his place and had a GAA of 0.70 over six appearances, stopping 96.6% of shots faced. He saved the best for last, blanking Sweden in that bronze-medal game.
Youngster Slafkovsky, destined to be one of the hottest properties in this year’s NHL draft, was also voted as one of the three top forwards in this year’s tournament. Finland’s Sakari Manninen, who tied Slafkovsky, team-mate Teemu Hartikainen and Canada’s Adam Tambellini on seven points, also makes the team after helping the Leijonat to gold. They are joined by Sweden’s Lucas Wallmark, who scored five goals in six games as the Tre Kronor came fourth.
The two nominated defenders went head-to-head in the gold-medal game – a reflection of the solid defence displayed by both ROC and Finland. Yegor Yakovlev, a gold medallist four years ago, emerged as a leader on the Russian team this year: the Metallurg Magnitogorsk man ate up a big chunk of ice time and finished with two assists and a team-leading +4 rating. Finland’s Mikko Lehtonen had more ice-time than any of his team-mates and contributed 4 (1+3) points on the way to the final.
Goalkeeper:
Patrik Rybar (SVK)
Defenders:
Mikko Lehtonen (FIN)
Yegor Yakovlev (ROC)
Forwards:
Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK)
Sakari Manninen (FIN)
Lucas Wallmark (SWE)
MVP:
Juraj Slafkovsky (SVK)