Prospect Info: [2022 - 1st OA] Juraj Slafkovsky (LW) Part 2

[Retired]

Does anyone think he's trying to be too fancy?

He tried to deke a total of 12 guys on 2 consecutive rushes and I think that was the perfect time and place to play that way

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

He tried to deke a total of 12 guys on 2 consecutive rushes and I think that was the perfect time and place to play that way

yeah he almost pulled off one which would've been nuts.

 

[Gustave]

Look, he’s what he was in the tournaments that gave him his shine. He’s big, fast, interesting tools. What he isn’t is very aware positionally, has a tendency for skating the puck up without using the teammates and more importantly not a finished product.

He’s a fascinating prospect and I hope they will be patient. Let him grow without having to be the next instant NHL superstar. Give him the keys to Laval and for god’s sake, don’t put him in front of the net on the PP. The size brigade can’t help themselves on that front it seems.

 

[417]

You can definitely see the wide canvas you have to work with in Slafkovsky, that's the big appeal, you can imagine that he could be a dominant player in a few years if it all comes together.

 

[Whitesnake]

Laval with houle is better?

At this point, yes. And it's way too soon to already call Houle the future Lefebvre.

 

[Whitesnake]

Seeing how he performed on the bigger stage with top end players vs what we saw today, it,s that it's clear that one of the issues is trying to PROVE something in lower league, rather than trying to be PART of a team in higher league.

Once he will go past from having to PROVE he was worth a 1st overall pick, he will be a solid player. People should already stop by comparing him to Wright, Cooley or whoever. Everybody else but Slaf has the advantage to prove to 1 or more teams that they should have picked him. The 1st overall has to prove he deserved it. Just a different world.

Let the kid play and convince him that the rank doesn't matter anymore. Just be the player you have to be.

But right now, Slaf goes and say that he wants to DOMINATE. And then you see him holding the puck way too long thinking that his size, strength and skills will do just that. It's noble to want that. Fine with it. But he'll become a better player once he goes from wanting to dominate to wanting to be the best player.

 

[NewDef]

Look, he’s what he was in the tournaments that gave him his shine. He’s big, fast, interesting tools. What he isn’t is very aware positionally, has a tendency for skating the puck up without using the teammates and more importantly not a finished product.

He’s a fascinating prospect and I hope they will be patient. Let him grow without having to be the next instant NHL superstar. Give him the keys to Laval and for god’s sake, don’t put him in front of the net on the PP. The size brigade can’t help themselves on that front it seems.

Front of net in PP would be more for Roy imho.

 

[Gustave]

Front of net in PP would be more for Roy imho.

I prefer my net front presence players to be for the dogs, not the talent.

 

[NewDef]

I prefer my net front presence players to be for the dogs, not the talent.

Quick witt and quick hand ai'nt no dog. Not saying to play the screen but to be close for rebound which is an area Roy excel at. I should have said net presence, not canon fodder front of the net. Sure would'nt want him play like Gally on 5 vs 5 but on PP, roaming around the net front, Roy would be my man.

 

[Montreal Impact FC]

Something people (those you genuily are worried at this point about his style and extravangza lol) need to understand about Slafkovski He is trying to show he is on another level vs this group of unproven players trying to prove something like himself.. and its fine.. you dont want him to do that come habs training camp, right? cause you know he'll be there.. he knows it too and it, at that moment we will start judging him for real in terms of NHL readiness and style of play. o

once Marty talks to him.. what do you think will happen? I doubt he will encourage to do that i would think he will tell him how to use his assets instead Right now its just show time vs other prospects just lile him.. he is 1st overall its not NHL playoff hockey hehe.

Im confident, at least decision wise.. I still believe he will need AHL time to actually tweak his offensive creativity in a more profesional way.. to be able to come right in next year ready to show he is now ready to dominate.

The shined in big tourney and people doubt his skill.. its all going very fast for him.. I loved his vision he may hog the puck sometimes but has as he is extremelly good passer and actract players while opening his lanes.. with his huge reach and wing span.. I tell you it opens up a lot of space.

He is an exciting prospect.

 

[Bombshell11]

Point taken, I'm so used to seeing prospects given the grind-deez-guys, keep-it-simple mentality.

I definitely agree the players should learn by experimentation. I'm sure the coaches and Adam Nicholas will give insight on what they see as well.

He needs to learn how to play in the NHL first, you have to keep things simple because of the speed and physicality. You're going to play against veterans, you have no time to try and experiment stuff. If you want to practice your dekes and finesse skills you need to do that during summer time or after practice.

Look at Giannis Antetokoumpo. The guy when he begin he was so light, so skinny. No one thought he would ever achieve anything but he put his head down and worked like a horse, he trained, trained and trained and got better at the simple stuff. He won a championchip and mvp not by scoring fancy buckets or ankle break everyone.... nah he did it the simplest way possible, take the ball and charge the basket.
Now that he's an established top level superstar he's focusing his work on 3-pointers.

Slaf should not even try to be cute out there, his game is underwhelming in alot of areas. He's gotta keep it super simple and use his assets which are physicality and shot.

This is one of the reasons why i have said before Mesar is a better hockey player because Mesar has alot more tools in his arsenal and he knows how to work with them and watching him play is a thing of a beauty for an 18 years old, Mesar is going to be a great player for us in a few years.

 

[tazsub3]

Does anyone think he's trying to be too fancy?

And in a rookie tournament is exactly where you work on that.
if he does it in a reg or playoff game last 2 min down by one, then we can revist this and say too fancy.
I think it is us habs fans that have been deprived of pure talent that we think it is too fancy instead of damn the kid is pure skill talented..

 

[Karma Police]

This is insane to me that we are talking about a 1st overall pick being too fancy in a rookie tournament.

Jesus christ let the kid play

 

[dinodebino]

A Sabre fan wrote in the game thread that he was there and Slaf was by far the best player on the ice. Not because of his play as much as what he showed. That is as an unbiased opinion as you can find here. Worth a lot more than what I’m reading here.

From what I saw, and if he progresses, this kid will be a force in the league.

He’s 18, got a lot to learn. But his attributes (as noted by this Sabre fan who saw him live) are very appealing. And yes Mesar could become a good player for us, but Slaf has the ‘it’ factor.

In an 18 year old, I don’t look at a finished product; I look at his tools. And man, he’s got the tool box of a master carpenter’s garage. He’s got plenty.

And NO, no junior hockey for him! Lolol He played against men already. Mtl or Laval. And I’m a bit hesitant about Laval only because there are a lot of goons out there who head hunt young players. And because of the coaching staff. Not 100% convinced about Houle. I wonder if the Quebec desertions this summer aren’t related to his coaching style.

 

[Karma Police]

A Sabre fan wrote in the game thread that he was there and Slaf was by far the best player on the ice. Not because of his play as much as what he showed. That is as an unbiased opinion as you can find here. Worth a lot more than what I’m reading here.

From what I saw, and if he progresses, this kid will be a force in the league.

He’s 18, got a lot to learn. But his attributes (as noted by this Sabre fan who saw him live) are very appealing. And yes Mesar could become a good player for us, but Slaf has the ‘it’ factor.

In an 18 year old, I don’t look at a finished product; I look at his tools. And man, he’s got the tool box of a master carpenter’s garage. He’s got plenty.

And NO, no junior hockey for him! Lolol He played against men already. Mtl or Laval. And I’m a bit frisky about Laval only because there are a lot of goons out there who head hunt young players. And because of the coaching staff. Not 100% convinced about Houle. I wonder if the Quebec desertions this summer aren’t related to his coaching style.

I take offense that he has more tool than myself as a Carpenter

 

[WeThreeKings]

His first official game as a Hab showed exactly why they took him #1.

He is an absolute freak. Guys that big at 18 should not move and have the skill level that he does. Were there pass decisions, rush decisions, etc. that need to be refined? Obviously yes. But I appreciate he was taking the opportunity to be creative and try in circumstances where the result of the game doesn't matter.

He is literally a unicorn and even if he doesn't have the profile of a 100 point player, what he can do and add to a team will be really interesting to watch.

 

[Gillings]

I prefer my net front presence players to be for the dogs, not the talent.

RHP is a fine player for around the net

 

[Whitesnake]

Here's the situation....I wanted Wright. But I'm damn glad we got Slaf. And if Owen Beck can become a Wright-lite....we won that draft.

 

[GalHabsGal]

I loved slaf game yesterday, but my only problem i have with is game, is that he play with the Lindros syndrome (head between is legs)... With all the game i saw from him, he got the skills, but to often he play with is head down, i often saw in liiga dangling 2 players with is head between legs ... thats work in finland or OG, but in NHL he will get destroyed ...

I really hope he fix this ... for him and for us ...

 

[dinodebino]

I loved slaf game yesterday, but my only problem i have with is game, is that he play with the Lindros syndrome (head between is legs)... With all the game i saw from him, he got the skills, but to often he play with is head down, i often saw in liiga dangling 2 players with is head between legs ... thats work in finland or OG, but in NHL he will get destroyed ...

I really hope he fix this ... for him and for us ...

Awareness. In the NHL, not all Ds hit. In fact, most don’t anymore. He needs to be aware of his opponents. If it’s Romy, you don’t. If it’s Girard, you do. That’s what pro hockey players do; they learn to be aware of who’s on the ice.

 

[Adam Michaels]

A Sabre fan wrote in the game thread that he was there and Slaf was by far the best player on the ice. Not because of his play as much as what he showed. That is as an unbiased opinion as you can find here. Worth a lot more than what I’m reading here.

From what I saw, and if he progresses, this kid will be a force in the league.

He’s 18, got a lot to learn. But his attributes (as noted by this Sabre fan who saw him live) are very appealing. And yes Mesar could become a good player for us, but Slaf has the ‘it’ factor.

In an 18 year old, I don’t look at a finished product; I look at his tools. And man, he’s got the tool box of a master carpenter’s garage. He’s got plenty.

And NO, no junior hockey for him! Lolol He played against men already. Mtl or Laval. And I’m a bit hesitant about Laval only because there are a lot of goons out there who head hunt young players. And because of the coaching staff. Not 100% convinced about Houle. I wonder if the Quebec desertions this summer aren’t related to his coaching style.

Slaf is far from a finished product. One thing Hughes said that they're not looking to draft the guy who is best at 18, but who they think will be best for the team at 23-24.

Imagine Slaf in 4 years.

 

[dinodebino]

Slaf is far from a finished product. One thing Hughes said that they're not looking to draft the guy who is best at 18, but who they think will be best for the team at 23-24.

Imagine Slaf in 4 years.

What Slaf is, as a raw product, is something I have rarely seen in a Habs uniform in my lifetime.

 

[morhilane]

What Slaf is, as a raw product, is something I have rarely seen in a Habs uniform in my lifetime.

People were not labelling him an unicorn for nothing. Not a lot of players in the NHL ever looked like this.

He needs to fix his decisions making thought (including positional play) and adjust to the NHL speed...which I suspect will be an hurdle.

 

[HuGort]

He needs to learn how to play in the NHL first, you have to keep things simple because of the speed and physicality. You're going to play against veterans, you have no time to try and experiment stuff. If you want to practice your dekes and finesse skills you need to do that during summer time or after practice.

Look at Giannis Antetokoumpo. The guy when he begin he was so light, so skinny. No one thought he would ever achieve anything but he put his head down and worked like a horse, he trained, trained and trained and got better at the simple stuff. He won a championchip and mvp not by scoring fancy buckets or ankle break everyone.... nah he did it the simplest way possible, take the ball and charge the basket.
Now that he's an established top level superstar he's focusing his work on 3-pointers.

Slaf should not even try to be cute out there, his game is underwhelming in alot of areas. He's gotta keep it super simple and use his assets which are physicality and shot.

This is one of the reasons why i have said before Mesar is a better hockey player because Mesar has alot more tools in his arsenal and he knows how to work with them and watching him play is a thing of a beauty for an 18 years old, Mesar is going to be a great player for us in a few years.

I see on Facebook people calling him Slowovsky. I never watched the game myself so I don't know. They are veteran hockey men though. They generally know what they are talking about.

Sounds like a year or two in Laval. If any doubt at all I would send him down. I wouldn't risk it. Prime directive is not get Slaf in Montreal this year but acquire a high pick in next draft. Doesn't matter if he is here or not.

Don't want this to turn into another Koktaneimi.
Koktaneimi he didn't look good early on in camp. Then second half of camp came on, made team at final roster spot. Looked right choice early on. That mint goal and stuff. But by late season could see holes in his game. Ended up busting him.

 

[Retired]

People were not labelling him an unicorn for nothing. Not a lot of players in the NHL ever looked like this.

He needs to fix his decisions making thought (including positional play) and adjust to the NHL speed...which I suspect will be an hurdle.

Good thing is even if it takes him 4 years he’ll be 22 and he aint getting smaller and slower!