Prospect Info: [2022 - 1st] Juraj Slafkovsky

[Balthazar]

High floor and high ceiling. Good pick. Congrats.

 

[Kennedys]

Good pick . The tank still on . Should be worst team in the league again. The only benefit of having MB as GM for a decade.

Blackhawks : Hold my beer

 

[Deebs]

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Kotkamiemi - .5 PPG in SM-Liiga

Slafkovsky - .3 PPG in SM-Liiga

But hey, he dominated Kazakhstan in the Olympics.

Well, when you put it that way...

 

[KKWG11]

Haven't been this shocked since the Price draft

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

His stats are quite underwhelming for his draft placement in the Finnish league - pretty much the lowest total for pts in a draft year by any real top prospect in recent memory. He did however have a better year than Rantanen at 17 , but he was a late bday. My god I hope we hit on our 6'4 winger and get something close to Rantanen.

It definitely lessens the "blame" on management if Wright becomes the best player because 2 other teams passed him.

Overall this isn't what I completely expected but I am ready to see this out and not jump to judgement

 

[Jabba11]

Bienvenue à Montréal Juraj Slafkovsky!!!!

Let’s go!

 

[JoelWarlord]

Still can hardly believe they did this, but boy is he ever an exciting prospect. Let's just hope they were right.

 

[windycity]

I really hope I'm wrong but my gut tells me that we're going to regret picking him

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

When you hear Wright speak he seems so awkward.When big Slafkovsky spoke, you couldn't help but feel the enthusiasm and energy.

Yeah,

This is the thing... I don't really care about how a kid is in terms of being well spoken. Phil Kessel wasn't well spoken but he was a great player. I worry that we might have put too much of an emphasis on that here.

But who knows?

It's puzzling to me. Wright seemed like the no brainer here but... scouts thought Slaf was the best too so...

 

[Adam Michaels]

 

[calder candidate]

New Jersey didn't need another C so it was either Slavkovsky or the best D in Nemec for them. And Arizona probably expected MTL to draft Wright (per Bob McKenzie's tweet that most of the teams expected Wright) so they probably spent more time scouting and interviewing Cooley so they stuck with who they knew best.

Assuming Wright reaches his potential, Seattle in year 2 is already set at C, while MTL will hope Dach pans out or spend a couple more years looking for another C.

I wish Slafkovsky the best and hope he becomes an awesome player for MTL. Time will tell if MTL made the right choice. I certainly hope so.

They did there home work on all these guys they didn’t know which pick they had before the lottery… Don’t have a issue with Slaf will have to trust them, I have a bigger issue with Dach he as potentiel but that seem like a bigger gamble also isn’t great for the tank… I think would have made the pick instead.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

Yes, let hope both kids to well, but if Wright ends up much better, this draft will be remembered as a black day.

Bahh the world will keep turning. It won’t be worse then the 10 years Bergevin put us through lol

 

[BargainBinSpecial]

Well, when you put it that way...

Now listen carefully, HuGo needs to make an offer sheet that can be easily matched by the other team, than mismanage Slaf and hope the same team pulls a fast one with an offer sheet that cannot be justified. The Habs get picks in the end.

 

[Sagikev]

So how are we calling him? Bustkovsky? Slafbustsky?

Would've rather have Wright or Cooley, but can't be mad he's with us now. Let's hope he works out with Suz and CC, that could make a terrific line!

 

[Retired]

Lol Slaf, better be good, because the Habs will loose a lot of fans.

Lol

 

[cave troll]

Bahh the world will keep turning. It won’t be worse then then 10 years Bergevin put us through lol

Never say never.lol
I have a feeling Gorton & Huges are in for some 4,5 years of tanking since they didn't fix any crucial need in this draft. I'm afraid that we'll see what "building through draft" means. But hey, in 2026 we'll be a playoff team.

 

[elMatador]

Bruins fan here.
I absolutely hate that you got him.
In last 15 months I have seen him at the worlds 2021, later at the olympic qualifiers, then 2 games at canceled WJC '22 followed by this year's Olympics and worlds again. This guy has been improving from one tourny to the next one.
Don't get me wrong he still has a long way to go but by October your team will have to make a lot of effort and justifying why to cut him off from the season opening roster.

 

[V13]

Clearly something bothered scouts about Wright since both NJ and especially Arizona passed on him. NJ i can understand since they already have Hischier and Hughes at C but Ari i'm kind of surprised. It means they valued Cooley over Wright.

That said i really do hope that Slafovsky pans out for us. He,s a big body who certainly can perfectly complement Suzuki and Caufield on the 1st line. Again thatMs of course assuming he does pans out and doesn't end up as KK or Pujuuuarlvi 2.0.

Wright was my pick but i am kind of intrigued by Slaf potential. TRhis is clearly a swing for the fences pick and hope for the best kind of thing, Could pay out or end uo being a complete disaster. I don't think there is any in between and only future will tell

 

[Scott1243]

I just don't get it.... OHL proven player vs decent player in Finish league?? What I'm I missing here. Points, status, draft history all seem to point to Wright.

Slafkovsky had 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 31 games in Liiga, Finland's top professional league, but he really stood out on the international stage. He was named the most valuable player at the 2022 Beijing Olympics after scoring a tournament-best seven goals in seven games to help Slovakia win the bronze medal, its first men's Olympic hockey medal.

Wright.....
Wright (6-foot, 199) was eighth in the Ontario Hockey League with 94 points (32 goals, 62 assists), including 28 power-play points (eight goals, 20 assists), in 63 regular-season games, and had 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 11 playoff games. The 18-year-old had 18 games with at least three points. Wright has high-end playmaking skills and an accurate shot, and is exceptionally smart with and without the puck. Wright has been in the spotlight since he was 15, when he received exceptional-player status from Hockey Canada in March 2019 and then was selected by Kingston with the No. 1 pick of the 2019 OHL Draft. Wright was named OHL rookie of the year in 2019-20 after he had 66 points (29 goals, 39 assists) in 58 games. At the 2021 IIHF Under-18 World Championship, Wright led Canada with 14 points (nine goals, five assists) en route to a first-place finish, which laid the foundation for his strong draft-year season.

 

[FF de Mars]

Molson asked to meet Slaf before the draft. Wright looked like a people pleaser, oversmilling in his interviews, and Slaf frank and straightforward. Who knows, maybe we hit the jackpot?

 

[calder candidate]

When you hear Wright speak he seems so awkward.When big Slafkovsky spoke, you couldn't help but feel the enthusiasm and energy.

Agree, Everyone keep saying that Wright was used to the pressure and media but he gave me the weirdest vibe, he didn’t seem comfortable at all. Slaf in is second language seem more comfortable.

 

[Hacketts]

Cooley over Wright interesting.... Slaf over Wright time will tell. Maybe they can trade him for a Gomez or Drouin 2.0. FFS I've got a feeling this will bite us in the a$$,

I feel the slightest sense of vindication.

 

[Retired]

So how are we calling him? Bustkovsky? Slafbustsky?

Would've rather have Wright or Cooley, but can't be mad he's with us now. Let's hope he works out with Suz and CC, that could make a terrific line!

That’s Slaf-stud-sky to you, sir.

Hopefully some chemistry with the big boys Anderson and the new Dach kid too.

 

[Sagikev]

That’s Slaf-stud-sky to you, sir.

Hopefully some chemistry with the big boys Anderson and the new Dach kid too.

Chad-stud-sky