Prospect Info: [2022 - 1st] Juraj Slafkovsky

[River Meadow]

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.

Wright is a ghost.

He didn't elevate his play when it mattered.

Slaf did.

 

[Bee Holder]

OPEN HOUSE PARTY AT @Goldenhands !!

I’m there right now! THERE IS AN. ACTUAL. TIGER. In the place!!!!! (???)

LIT AF

 

[River Meadow]

The way Wright played in the playoffs, you wouldn't have noticed he was a 1st round player let alone potential 1st OA.

Slaf in olympics and worlds was a stud muffin, and his size and power added to that makes for a tempting package.

@Goldenhands is a GOLDEN GOD

 

[MTL-rules]

Bruh

Have you watched much of Wright this year?

He was a Ghost.

And Slaf was a monster against Great Britain. I know the drill...

I really hope I'm wrong, but I hated the KK pick for the same reasons I hate this one... Numbers don't lie... Scouting is an eternal combat of facts vs perceptions... We went with perceptions and it won't end well. Please let me be wrong...

 

[River Meadow]

And Slaf was a monster against Great Britain. I know the drill...

I really hope I'm wrong, but I hated the KK pick for the same reasons I hate this one... Numbers don't lie... Scouting is an eternal combat of facts vs perceptions... We went with perceptions and it won't end. Please let me be wrong...

KK was a C, they reached for him because of that.

Should they have done the same because Wright is a C, too?

Trending up and down is huge in trying to project these players, because they are so young.

Slaf is trending TO THE MOOOOON

 

[Montrealcowboys]

WE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE, SO GLAD WE DIDNT LISTEN TO THE SHEEEP

Less points per game in the Finnish league than K.K. We will see though.

 

[_habsfan9]

Haven't been this shocked since the Price draft

OFF THE RESERVATION!!!

 

[Et le But]

The way Wright played in the playoffs, you wouldn't have noticed he was a 1st round player let alone potential 1st OA.

Slaf in olympics and worlds was a stud muffin, and his size and power added to that makes for a tempting package.

@Goldenhands is a GOLDEN GOD

Slaf has zero track record of production against competitive hockey players. He's as close to an mystery box as you can draft.

I don't think European league stats for 17 year old prospects are the gospel. But it is extremely jarring how much worse Slaf's production was than anyone else you would even consider drafting from SM-Liiga.

 

[Kriss E]

The way Wright played in the playoffs, you wouldn't have noticed he was a 1st round player let alone potential 1st OA.

Slaf in olympics and worlds was a stud muffin, and his size and power added to that makes for a tempting package.

@Goldenhands is a GOLDEN GOD

Are Kazakhs even better than OHL teams?..
I really hope that's not what they just based their decision on..That does not sound like a strong and thorough analysis, and has ''what have you done for me lately'' written everywhere.

 

[River Meadow]

Slaf has zero track record of production against competitive hockey players. He's as close to an mystery box as you can draft.

I don't think European league stats for 17 year old prospects are the gospel. But it is extremely jarring how much worse Slaf's production was than anyone else you would even consider drafting from SM-Liiga.

They are projecting based on his toolbox (skill, size, skating) that he will be a beast.

Let's see.

 

[Zalos]

So many negative nancies in here. Everyone knew this draft did not have a sure-fire number 1 draft pick like most years usually do.

They didn't pick Wright over Slafkovsky. What is there to be upset about? The new management obviously knows a lot more about these players than we do. And anyway, we are in rebuild mode, we can't expect much for a while. Let's just hope that they are able to help all of our new prospects reach their potential, unlike the previous management groups.

 

[sandviper]

First, I'm happy the crowd cheered him.

And now he is a Habs prospect and I support him all the way!!!

Yeah, initial reaction was WTF, followed by being sort of stunned for a bit. I wanted one of the centers and went on record stating I’d take one of the dmen ahead of him.

Now that I’ve kind of cooled down and having us adding Dach, I’ve come to terms and am actually fine with the pick.

Also, props to @Goldenhands.

 

[River Meadow]

Yeah, initial reaction was WTF, followed by being sort of stunned for a bit. I wanted one of the centers and went on record stating I’d take one of the dmen ahead of him.

Now that I’ve kind of cooled down and having us adding Dach, I’ve come to terms and am actually fine with the pick.

Also, props to @Goldenhands.

@Goldenhands is literally a legend on this site.

Mods, please add VIP next to his username.

 

[Paddy17]

Wright was my choice, and Cooley was 2nd. Like I said before, I was initially disappointed, but Slaf is a good player. Let's not pretend we reached for a player that had no place there. He was seen as a potential 1st OVR by many NHL scouts and executives, and was top 3 for practically everyone.

Let's give him a chance to prove himself. I like the fact that in the interview he gave immediately after being selected, he said that he had a lot of room for improvement and will work hard to improve in every aspect. He could've easily basked in the glory of the moment, but he was lucid enough to say that, even if the question was not directly about that.

Can't wait to see him in camp!

 

[Et le But]

They are projecting based on his toolbox (skill, size, skating) that he will be a beast.

Let's see.

It's easy to see what they like about him, what is very worrying though is that a kid with those sort of tools produced so little against non-Kazakh competition. I understand these kind of gambles but it's not something you generally do with the first overall pick.

 

[montreal]

Numbers don't lie...

Most posters don't know what to do with #'s though. I see it all the time when dealing with Euro leagues that clearly posters don't watch a lot of say KHL, SHL or Liiga games.

With prospects it's not about the #'s, it's about how much or little they progress, to which no one knows. At 17, Rantanen had 9 pts in 37 Liiga games. Slaf had 10 in 31 at 17 as he turned 18 at the end of the regular season in March. It's not meant to compare them, just that if you drag Slaf for his #'s, what about Rantanen and his #'s? Now Rantanen clearly had great progress, just saying that #'s are misleading and in the end they don't tell the story, Slaf will either progress or he won't, only time will tell.

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

Reminds me a bit of Jagr in the highlights. Jagr was pretty good.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

1 year in the ahl, and then NHL
Hopefully has a similar development to Rantanen

 

[River Meadow]

It's easy to see what they like about him, what is very worrying though is that a kid with those sort of tools produced so little against non-Kazakh competition. I understand these kind of gambles but it's not something you generally do with the first overall pick.

Many scouts viewed him as 1st OA

 

[Andre Palot]

Kakko 2.0.


Well done HuGo.

If it's any consolation, we aren't happy either.

 

[Goldenhands]

OPEN HOUSE PARTY AT @Goldenhands !!

I’m there right now! THERE IS AN. ACTUAL. TIGER. In the place!!!!! (???)

LIT AF

Welcome everybody, only wanted to shoot right all along.

 

[River Meadow]

Reminds me a bit of Jagr in the highlights. Jagr was pretty good.

Dat toolbox is sexy af, ngl.

Lots of power.

He will be hard to stop and annoying af to play against in playoffs, no doubt.

Welcome everybody, only wanted to shoot right all along.

God bless you, dude.

We must cherish @Goldenhands and protekt him at all costs!

 

[MTL-rules]

Most posters don't know what to do with #'s though. I see it all the time when dealing with Euro leagues that clearly posters don't watch a lot of say KHL, SHL or Liiga games.

With prospects it's not about the #'s, it's about how much or little they progress, to which no one knows. At 17, Rantanen had 9 pts in 37 Liiga games. Slaf had 10 in 31 at 17 as he turned 18 at the end of the regular season in March. It's not meant to compare them, just that if you drag Slaf for his #'s, what about Rantanen and his #'s? Now Rantanen clearly had great progress, just saying that #'s are misleading and in the end they don't tell the story, Slaf will either progress or he won't, only time will tell.

With numbers, it's the context that needs to be understood in order to interpret correctly. It's not perfect but it's a lot better than intuition and gut feeling.

Slaf numbers even contextualized were horrible and too big a gamble to grab 1st OV. You talk about Rantanen. First, he's the exception, not the norm and second, he was selected 10th OV... There you can aim for the fences and gamble.

Slaf is a bad pick, period. Now, I just hope we'll get lucky and he'll defied the odds.

 

[River Meadow]

With numbers, it's the context that needs to be understood in order to interpret correctly. It's not perfect but it's a lot better than intuition and gut feeling.

Slaf numbers even contextualized were horrible and too big a gamble to grab 1st OV. You talk about Rantanen. First, he's the exception, not the norm and second, he was selected 10th OV... There you can aim for the fences and gamble.

Slaf is a bad pick, period. Now, I just hope we'll get lucky and he'll defied the odds.

Kucherov was drafted in 2nd round, Datsyuk, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Many scouts saw Slaf as a 1st OA.

Some saw him 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th....

But he is a top pick, for sure.

 

[MTL-rules]

KK was a C, they reached for him because of that.

Should they have done the same because Wright is a C, too?

Trending up and down is huge in trying to project these players, because they are so young.

Slaf is trending TO THE MOOOOON

KK was trending even higher.