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#1OA Juraj Slafkovsky - Huge Disappointment

Hostile Offer said:
He was very good last year, the "hot streak" towards the end of the year was just his luck turning around (and grown confidence of course) as despite playing well he couldn't get any scoring going at the start of the year. Habs fans were deservedly excited about Slaf.

Somehow this year though it kind of seems his mind is not quite there, I'm not sure what it is but his playing is more timid and perimeter, and his passing (which was just brilliant last year) is now killing more plays than creating them.
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I can name you 60 million reasons...
 
Danarqhy said:
Juraj Slafkovsky is in his third season in the NHL, and he still looks like he barely understands the basic things needed to succeed in the NHL. Sure, he had 50 points last year after riding a hot streak, but his overall body of work is incredibly patchy and has been going back to even before he was drafted.

So far this season he has 29 points in 52 games but a measly 8 goals. Even Habs pariah Jesperi Kotkaniemi has more goals than Juraj. Some might laugh at the comparison but Slafkovsky gets an average 16+ minutes of Ice time per game, whereas Kotakniemi doesn't even crack 14. KK has 26 points. 3 more points with roughly 3 more minutes per game compared to someone like KK and riding a heavy dose of Suzuki and Caufield doesn't paint a promising picture. Things might change but at this moment in time Salfkosky isn't a better player KK, and KK is good defensively.

I'm not even gonna start comparing Juraj to Logan Cooley, as the latter is establishing himself as a bona fide #1C in the NHL. Hell, even Shane Right is looking like he's finally turning the corner.

Slafkovsky had a lot of question marks, and he is proving without a shadow of a doubt why so many were hesitant to take him first overall. Habs swung, and missed. Big time.

To make matters even worse, Habs brass offered him a huge contract before he even earned it, likely killing his motivation to get better and being content that he's already "made it" since he got the bag. Terrible.

Discuss.
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And people laughed at me when I questioned that contract. If you succcced or not is about hockey IQ, smarts, puckhandling/hands and skating.
Slaf can fox skating, but the rest? Does he have hands?

Nemec seems also to dissapoint. So Colley was the true top prospect after all. He looked to be really smart as a player at draftday.

Juraj was drafted casue scoring goals and being big. You could just say the Habs knew it was a weak draft, but trading down 1OA im front of fans would be dissapointing.
 
SwedishFire said:
And people laughed at me when I questioned that contract. If you succcced or not is about hockey IQ, smarts, puckhandling/hands and skating.
Slaf can fox skating, but the rest? Does he have hands?

Nemec seems also to dissapoint. So Colley was the true top prospect after all. He looked to be really smart as a player at draftday.

Juraj was drafted casue scoring goals and being big. You could just say the Habs knew it was a weak draft, but trading down 1OA im front of fans would be dissapointing.
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...Slaf actually has good hands; it's his feet that are his main issue, as in continuing to move them...he gets stationary far too often, which hampers his ability to use his size & strength to their full potential...he also looks to defer (pass) FAR TOO OFTEN when he should be ripping that nice snapper he has...imo, his main issues are very coachable things that a "tougher" bench boss can work with him on...MSL has done a good job with the kids in Montreal to this point, but he's not a "structure" type coach and that's what these kids need now in order to take their game to the next Stage in their development, imo...MSL'll ride out the Season, but I don't think he'll be back with the Habs next Season...it's time for a new voice with more structure & snarl...
 
BigDaddyLurch said:
...it does here in Nova Scotia as well...I thought it would be Nation Wide, tbh... :biglaugh:
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USA here. The only time I had anything unique at McDonald's was a lobster roll. That was 25 years ago in Maine.

And it was damn good. Those were the days... before I realized how bad fast food is for you.

SwedishFire said:
And people laughed at me when I questioned that contract. If you succcced or not is about hockey IQ, smarts, puckhandling/hands and skating.
Slaf can fox skating, but the rest? Does he have hands?

Nemec seems also to dissapoint. So Colley was the true top prospect after all. He looked to be really smart as a player at draftday.

Juraj was drafted casue scoring goals and being big. You could just say the Habs knew it was a weak draft, but trading down 1OA im front of fans would be dissapointing.
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Nemec. It's too early to tell. He looked extremely mature for most of his rookie year. I haven't lost faith in him yet.
 
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onmygameboi said:
USA here. The only time I had anything unique at McDonald's was a lobster roll. That was 25 years ago in Maine.

And it was damn good. Those were the days... before I realized how bad fast food is for you.
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...sorry, shouldn't have assumed you were Canadian; the Poutine ask threw me off...I'm not saying it's "great" poutine, amigo, but it is OK... :thumbu:
 
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BigDaddyLurch said:
...Slaf actually has good hands; it's his feet that are his main issue, as in continuing to move them...he gets stationary far too often, which hampers his ability to use his size & strength to their full potential...he also looks to defer (pass) FAR TOO OFTEN when he should be ripping that nice snapper he has...imo, his main issues are very coachable things that a "tougher" bench boss can work with him on...MSL has done a good job with the kids in Montreal to this point, but he's not a "structure" type coach and that's what these kids need now in order to take their game to the next Stage in their development, imo...MSL'll ride out the Season, but I don't think he'll be back with the Habs next Season...it's time for a new voice with more structure & snarl...
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I doubt MSL is not the right coach, well he is not as big maybe. But Ive seen this before, seemly goxable things doesnt gets addressed or fixed. Thats worriesome. They ahould do a one last try, get in a big guy who coaches the Big Slaf how to be smart, and how to find those scoring areas. For me, it sounds he just is a good player, not a superstar. The High octane plays, the vision and IQ is not top tier.
He doesnt refines himself like ex Draisaitl or Selänne did, Finding new ways to score or develope their games. He comes to the rink, flip flop the puck some. Going home. Im I right?
 
SwedishFire said:
I doubt MSL is not the right coach, well he is not as big maybe. But Ive seen this before, seemly goxable things doesnt gets addressed or fixed. Thats worriesome. They ahould do a one last try, get in a big guy who coaches the Big Slaf how to be smart, and how to find those scoring areas. For me, it sounds he just is a good player, not a superstar. The High octane plays, the vision and IQ is not top tier.
He doesnt refines himself like ex Draisaitl or Selänne did, Finding new ways to score or develope their games. He comes to the rink, flip flop the puck some. Going home. Im I right?
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...question; did you say the same when Draisaitl got sent down all those years ago (his 2nd year, I believe)??...he turned it around pretty well, I'd say...Slaf is 20, turns 21 at the end of March...he has all kinds of time to get the wrinkles out... :thumbu:
 
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Nicko999 said:
I can name you 60 million reasons...
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Ha ha. Slaf might look a little disengaged sometimes because of his sluggish skating style but I think showed some leadership qualities last year, he doesn't seem like the type of guy who would be content with just playing to get his paycheck.
 
BigDaddyLurch said:
...question; did you say the same when Draisaitl got sent down all those years ago (his 2nd year, I believe)??...he turned it around pretty well, I'd say...Slaf is 20, turns 21 at the end of March...he has all kinds of time to get the wrinkles out... :thumbu:
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I was pro Draisaitl even the draftyear, stating he would be the best player in the draft. Did you see the playing sense, and passes he made? Titled the German Gretzky, and the eyetest showed it as well.

It was great when they send him down, he was good enough, but other un-wave able players,(Klinkhammer right?) where kept. It actually did Draisaitl good.

I just dont see Slafkovsky be as good at Draisaitl. He looks like Jagr, could maybe be a Cam Neely, but I just dont see nor the instincts, reflexes or senses as top scorers. Reminds me of Laine. Or maybe just name any poerrforward that has been in NHL but scores 20 goals and is not engaged enough. If he was drafted 15 overall, he would be called at good 2nd liner.
 
Imagine learning a 20-year-old has 'plateaued'.

And if we're comparing, let's remember Slafkovsky at 19 already surpassed all of Kotkaniemi's six seasons (FYI, last season, Kotkaniemi had 27 total points while Slaf had 50).

The kid is 20. Questions are fair. Conclusions are ridiculous.
 
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SwedishFire said:
I was pro Draisaitl even the draftyear, stating he would be the best player in the draft. Did you see the playing sense, and passes he made? Titled the German Gretzky, and the eyetest showed it as well.

It was great when they send him down, he was good enough, but other un-wave able players,(Klinkhammer right?) where kept. It actually did Draisaitl good.

I just dont see Slafkovsky be as good at Draisaitl. He looks like Jagr, could maybe be a Cam Neely, but I just dont see nor the instincts, reflexes or senses as top scorers. Reminds me of Laine. Or maybe just name any poerrforward that has been in NHL but scores 20 goals and is not engaged enough. If he was drafted 15 overall, he would be called at good 2nd liner.
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Oh he's definitely not going to be Draisaitl, that much is absolutely certain. In fact 99 percent chance he doesn't even get anywhere near Draisaitl, but you could say that about almost anyone even someone like Celebrini probably doesn't get to that level.

I do think there is 1st line talent there though and the possibility he brings a unique skillset to the team if all goes well. He was never seen as a surefire star let alone superstar regardless of his draft position, that draft was just one of the worst at the top in history. Now we can go back and say Cooley may end up a star and some people did have him #1, but a very small amount in reality as seen on bobs list where he got 1 first place vote.

So the habs took a swing on Slaf , and to this point he is only a disappointment because he exceeded expectations last year for 45 games and everyone got ahead of themselves.

The good news is though, he was actually a beast for those 45 games and he's still 20 years old. So some growing pains and inconsistent play are to be expected to some degree. If we look at the big picture he is about where most people expected 2.5 years into his career. The highs higher, the lows lower, but overall he has been fine.

Just look how quickly things changed last year, and then again this year. He's so young that anything can still happen because he has shown that the skillset and package he was billed for are legit, we just need to see it more often.
 
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Gaylord Q Tinkledink said:
He showed more flashes, particularly in the 2nd half of last season, which is why he got his contract.

This year him showing the flashes is much smaller.

Hughes' flashes are also much different from what Slaf's flashes are.

Slaf will use his man body and hold people off and look really.strong for a shift, or two and then you swear a player similar size to Caufield can easily outmuscle him for the rest of the game.

Even if Slaf hits, he's not going to put up your typical 1st overall numbers. If he hits he's probably a 30-35 goal scorer at 60-70 points who's an absolute pain to handle down low most nights.
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At worst he probably becomes a Jordan Staal type player, never as good as the pick status but a superb NHLer.
 
He's not been consistently good at any level of hockey, the biggest problem is he was a major reach project player with no feel for the game.

He has enough natural talent that he might stick around the league but the problem is he doesn't have any real standout skill or identity on the ice besides being tall. He's a great passer although the game is too fast for him to always be effective at it.
 
Too early to say. Big boys like him generally have longer development curves.

HF posters have a long history of labeling young players into categories, good or bad, and being proven wrong within a few seasons, yet the same people don’t seem to learn from this mistake.
 
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i' ve watch 95% of Slaf Games i must say i was a big Cooley fan and a bit disappointed with the pick and still disappointed. I see 2 Huge scary weakness in his game,: his shot release his very very very slow and his passing skills are also very low. I think is celling his 50-60 pts seconde line PF. Gorton and Hugues drafting history Rangers+ HABS his very ugly
 
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