christian buschardt
The NHL loves foreign players but hate when they don’t play for them
The NHL does not let foreign players play for their national team in international tournaments besides Americans and Canadians
In the summer of 2022, the Montreal Canadiens won the opportunity to draft the first pick, and with it they picked up Juraj Slafkovsky. Since being drafted to the NHL, Juraj has been awarded Slovak player of the year at a ceremony in Bratislava, including the forward award and best player under 20, the kid is only 18 years of age.
What caught the attention of the young player was his ability to play with grown men at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, having a terrific journey throughout the world class competition beating Sweden for 3rd place, giving him a bronze medal. Juraj had such an impressive run in the Olympics it won him the MVP, surely Montreal couldn't pass up the opportunity to draft him the upcoming summer.
Unfortunately, players signing for NHL teams are often shut down by organizations by not being able to play for their national teams right after signing their contract, even if the season hasn't started yet.
In 2021, Canada beat Slovakia to knock them out of the IIHF World Championship with their star team, as Slovakia were missing team members drafted to the NHL.
Hopefully Juraj Slafkovsky will be able to compete in the 2023 IIHF World Championship and the U20 IIHF World Championship and break the control the NHL teams have over foreign players.