Juraj Slafkovsky expressed his remorse to the media on Monday following his two-game ban. The Montreal Canadiens forward thinks he’s learned a lesson from his dodgy check, but head coach Martin St-Louis doesn’t want him to change his style.

The No. 1 pick in the National Hockey League (NHL) final draft came up against Matt Luff of the Detroit Red Wings from behind on Tuesday. This will be absent from activity for 10 to 12 weeks after wrist surgery.

Watch Martin St-Louis’ press conference in the video above.

“I did not want to [le blesser], but something like this happens. I just have to try not to do it again,” Slafkovsky said after Monday’s practice session.

“I looked at the puck and it turned towards me. It happened. I contacted him, I’m trying to do it [les bonnes choses]. That’s all I could do, I can’t change what happened. It’s sad what happened to him with this injury.”

In the eyes of the 18-year-old Slovakian, the weight difference – he’s 6ft 3in tall and weighs 238lbs – certainly had an impact on this series. He believes he needs to be more careful but says it’s important to complete the review to help the team.

“I didn’t have that much speed. It’s hard when you weigh 50 pounds more. You’re not even really trying [de plaquer] and this stuff happens. I will learn from this and move on.”

For his part, St-Louis did not discuss the situation with his young recruit.

“I do not think so [j’ai besoin de lui parler]. I will let him play. He has to adapt a bit. If I see that there is something to discuss, we talk about it. We will cross the bridge when we get to the river.”

absentee

Forwards Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia missed practice today. The two men underwent various treatments attending Saturday’s match.

St. Louis had no additional information to give reporters at the press conference because he could neither confirm nor deny their presence in the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.

“We’ll see tomorrow,” he said simply.

Player press briefings