The next Jaromir Jagr has arrived in the NHL!

The Montreal Canadiens stunned the hockey world at the start of the month when they selected winger Juraj Slafkovsky with the first pick in the NHL draft, making him the first player from Slovakia to be taken No. 1.

Since he came to Montreal, we are getting to know more about the first overall pick and he keeps impressing fans before lacing up the skates for his first NHL game. Montreal insiders Arpon Basu and Marc-Antoine Godin investigated some more on Slafkovsky and found out that he might be the next Jaromir Jagr.

That’s because, according to Oto Hascak assistant general manager of the Slovakian national team, the two players are at the same level of play: Slafkovsky now at 17 years compared to the great legend himself when he was that age:

“When I watched (Slafkovsky) in practice and in the locker room, his body language, in tight areas, high traffic areas, in the corners, in front of the net, I was just thinking, ‘This guy reminds me of somebody. Who is that?’ So I’m going back in my memories and it was, ‘What the fuck? This guy looks like Jagr!’,” Hascak said in a phone interview to the Athletic.

“Jagr was always smiling, always a very positive guy. He was very funny in the locker room. At 17 years old he was prepared to play in these championships at the men’s level. Same with Slafkovsky,” Hascak added. “It’s not even on the ice, but off the ice at dinners, he’s a very funny guy. He’s making jokes with all the players. I talked to Nick and said, ‘If somebody can take the big pressure in Montreal, it will be this guy.’

“Before when I compared him, I thought I probably said too much,” Hascak said. “But no, he could be like Jagr. He’s got a lot of things like him.”

Hascak isn’t the only one comparing Slafkovsky to Jagr. The legendary forward himself mentioned it when he watched him play.

“Even Jagr, when he saw him, said, ‘This guy looks like me when I was 17!’”

The crowd at Bell Centre was fired up for the league’s first in-person draft since 2019, and they will be some more about this brilliant comparison of the controversial first pick!