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

[417]

I'm not looking to be “wowed” at a freakin’ rookie tournament.

Dude could have had a hat trick both games and I wouldn't be “wowed”.

I remember Guillaume Latendresse looked like a future superstar at a rookie tournament I attended.

Who cares!

 

[ReHabs]

Lmao, didn’t wow us. You can say that again. Maybe 3 times and people will believe it.

Does it change anything even if he had “wowed” you?

 

[Favster]

This thread is a shit show and will continue to be a shit show for years.

Threads like this are the reason I`m barely active anymore. Its just ridiculous.

 

[Retired]

My favorite play I’ve seen him repeat when 1v1 is to place the puck in a spot of open ice and challenge the other player physically for it while accelerating. I hope as he rounds off his game over the next years he never loses the instinct to roll guys over for the puck.

 

[Seb]

Threads like this are the reason I`m barely active anymore. Its just ridiculous.

Don't sweat over this, it's only really a handful of people looking for attention and reassurance.

 

[Bombshell11]

Don't sweat over this, it's only really a handful of people looking for attention and reassurance.

Its normal, the family unit has been destroyed, most people come from families where they dint get enough of it while growing up.

 

[CheldishGamibno]

Threads like this are the reason I`m barely active anymore. Its just ridiculous.

Pro tip: Ignore list

 

[ITM]

I went overboard with "overwhelming", but he was clearly seen as a very, very strong prospect worthy of a 1st overall spot:

Two Czechs measure up: [Final Edition]
Duhatschek, Eric. Calgary Herald [Calgary, Alta] 17 June 1990: F4.

...

The Oilers won't pick until No. 17, but who does Fraser like for No. 1?

"The best player is (Jaromir) Jagr," said Fraser. "But he has a year left on his team contract in Czechoslovakia (Kladno) and has his military service too. "Still, he's a great skater. He's a big kid who's excelled at every level. He's only 18 and on their national team."

Jagr won't be available for NHL duty for two years. He's a risk, but is he any bigger a gamble for the Nords than Sundin, who stayed home and was very ordinary for his club team in Sweden?

"Jagr is better than Sundin. He's not the same risk," said Fraser, who feels the left winger is more advanced than anybody in the Saturday (11 a.m. MDT) draft.

Fraser rates Jagr ahead of Robert Holik, the Czech kid who Hartford surprisingly picked last June with the 12th choice. The Whalers already have Holik coming to camp this fall.

...

-----------------------------

No headline: [3* Edition]
Beamish, Mike. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 31 May 1990: D14.

...

HOWEVER, the Canucks, with the second overall pick in the NHL entry draft June 16, probably saw their hopes of landing Nolan dim when Pierre Page was named general manager of the Nordiques. Page is from the Calgary coaching school which puts a premium on big, tough forwards like Nolan.

The Nordiques, with the top draft choice for the second straight year, are taking stock of Nolan, a combative right winger from Cornwall Royals of the OHL. They think he'd be a perfect fit alongside Joe Sakic. Still, Page isn't tipping his hand. He says the choice is difficult with so many outstanding prospects from which to choose.

Consider: Keith Primeau, a behemoth centre from Niagara Falls, blasted his way to the OHL scoring title. Petr Nedved, a rangy centre from Czechoslovakia, by way of Seattle, has the potential to be an NHL scoring star. Peterborough centre Mike Ricci was the wire-to-wire leader in the NHL's Central Scouting ratings and could be the surest bet of the bunch. If he hailed from Lethbridge or London, Ont., instead of Czechoslovakia, winger Jaromir Jagr would be No. 1, without a doubt.

"There are seven really good prospects," says Page, the others being Brandon goalie Trevor Kidd and North Bay defenceman Derian Hatcher. "Primeau just might be the most improved from the beginning of the year to the end. Ricci is the most complete. Nolan is a Cam Neely type. Nedved thinks like Gretzky, acts like Gretzky and, from what I hear, walks like Gretzky. Jagr's probably the best of all, talent-wise."

----------------------------

Brian Burke interview explaining why he didn't take Jagr with Vancouver:

At 10:20



---------------------------

I appreciate the correction, but I remember that Jagr was amongst others, considered a very strong prospect. Answering the correction was my concern that, no, he wasn't "overwhelmingly" the consensus number one pick.

And you know what (forgotten?) name is that draft's best example of consensus pick caution? Peter Bondra: Picked 156th overall, finished fourth in Jagr's draft class, and seven points ahead of Nolan despite playing a little over a hundred games less.

Every draft a name emerges that boggles the mind how they were ever drafted so (in revision) low. Willam Nylander was for many, best talent in his draft. Drafted 8th...But he's looking up at Pastrnak and Point drafted well below him, with no sign of ever catching them when it's all said and done.

We could go on...I wonder how many might remember Cale Makar being the consensus number one pick, when he never was.

(Thanks for digging the information out. I'll watch the clip later.)

 

[Big Empty]

Looking forward to his first game at the Bell Centre in a week

 

[Favster]

Don't sweat over this, it's only really a handful of people looking for attention and reassurance.

Ya I know man, still though, it gets to me after a while. You`d think that people would have learned by now? Nope, same thing every year lol

 

[Wats]

I'm not looking to be “wowed” at a freakin’ rookie tournament.

Dude could have had a hat trick both games and I wouldn't be “wowed”.

I remember Guillaume Latendresse looked like a future superstar at a rookie tournament I attended.

Who cares!

He would have been a really good player if not for concussions and conditioning issues. Plus, he is one of the examples where rushing a player to NHL can hurt a career more ways than one.

Not being wow'd could at least help sending him to AHL easier decision. I don't get why people are surprised by the lack of production, he didn't produce much in Liiga either. That's not to say he never will, just needs more time. Nothing wrong with that and he should be given it.

 

[417]

He would have been a really good player if not for concussions and conditioning issues. Plus, he is one of the examples where rushing a player to NHL can hurt a career more ways than one.

Just saying, he looked like more than just a really good player.

I'm not a big believer in the “rushing a player” theory but I get what you mean.

Not being wow'd could at least help sending him to AHL easier decision.

I don't think sending him to the AHL for a specific time has any effect on the player he's going to become.

At least not directly.

 

[Wats]

Just saying, he looked like more than just a really good player.

I'm not a big believer in the “rushing a player” theory but I get what you mean.

I don't think sending him to the AHL for a specific time has any effect on the player he's going to become.

At least not directly.

I mean it more in the sense that until he can start producing good numbers in a pro like like the AHL/Liiga/etc, it's not really fair to expect him to produce at a NHL level/"wow" you against other top prospects. Looking around the league, it's hard to find many low producing players in pro leagues suddenly put up a lot of points in NHL.

 

[JohnLennon]

Threads like this are the reason I`m barely active anymore. Its just ridiculous.

Same here

 

[Mrb1p]

This thread is insane and has been insane for months now.

Its like 5 Slaf whiteknights acting like Slaf poops gold every stride he takes and 3 Slaf-haters that act like hes a bust.

Reality is Slaf aint show nothing so far, and its disappointing as a 1OA but hes probably gonna be a good player either way. Free top 6 forward with a unique skillset.

 

[le_sean]

s

So what do I think is "wrong", Slaf is playing the wrong game.

He's trying to finess and make those high quality plays that are not going to work in the NHL. He's looking to get that pass to a teammate for a goal, rather then pressing the play. Those cute tries to break in by himself are not working.

His possession game was to use his size it's not going to work when players around him are his size and far quicker then what he's use to. That's why he's losing control of the puck.

After he was drafted, he saw and conducted himself as Alfa Dog, the last two games he was in shattered that. He's in games where everyone wants to show their best, which probably caught him by surprise.

Once he understands fundamentally that he's not Mario the finesse player, lacking the puck control and the elite vision , then he needs to do is basically change into a "net drive" game where he's using his size/skill to create havoc. The goals won't be pretty, but they will count.

Unless both games were completely out of character, he's showing flaws that need to be thought through by him and the coaching staff and need to be addressed.

That is my observation so far, but, again, it's 2 games. If we are in the same spot after the exhibition season, well, there is serious work to be done.

So far, he's far from playing in the NHL on opening night. Again, so far.

Lastly...sure, criticism is warranted but anyone calling him a "bust" is a drooling idiot. There is a looong runway to improve his game and he has the tools to do it.

Are you Michel Therrien? You want a #1 pick to start grinding away instead of trying to make “finesse” plays? This is why we can’t have nice things. Only once did he try to dangle an entire team and it almost worked. The rest, he set up glorious scoring chances. What he was doing worked.

 

[BlackEye from Xhekaj]

This thread is insane and has been insane for months now.

Its like 5 Slaf whiteknights acting like Slaf poops gold every stride he takes and 3 Slaf-haters that act like hes a bust.

Reality is Slaf aint show nothing so far, and its disappointing as a 1OA but hes probably gonna be a good player either way. Free top 6 forward with a unique skillset.

Huh??? Come on now.. he's played 2 rookie tournament games. Just give the kid time to develop.. he hasn't even played a preseason game yet.

 

[RationalExpectations]

Huh??? Come on now.. he's played 2 rookie tournament games. Just give the kid time to develop.. he hasn't even played a preseason game yet.

I think what he means is compared to what you can get as a 1 OA (McDavid, Matthews....)

 

[Kennerback]

Threads like this are the reason I`m barely active anymore. Its just ridiculous.

I come for the social commentary.

Its normal, the family unit has been destroyed, most people come from families where they dint get enough of it while growing up.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Caught a segment of Jici Lajoie this morning.

He said Slaf he should play with Evans and Gally and he "will probably never score 30g"

Big yikes

 

[Mrb1p]

Huh??? Come on now.. he's played 2 rookie tournament games. Just give the kid time to develop.. he hasn't even played a preseason game yet.

Hes a first overall pick. Hes not a bust, but hes 100% disapponting.

A first overall pick shouldnt need "time".

 

[BlackEye from Xhekaj]

I think what he means is compared to what you can get as a 1 OA (McDavid, Matthews....)

I mean teams always hope for a McDavid/Matthews type.. but other years we get Hischier, RNH, Hall, Nash, Kovalchuk types.. I don't think for a second that Slaf will be on that McD/AM level, but somewhere between a Nash/Kovalchuk would be a really nice and ideally acceptable upside. But who knows, maybe he ends up in the Nuge/Hall range. We'll see how things look in the next 3-6yrs.

 

[ReHabs]

Hes a first overall pick. Hes not a bust, but hes 100% disapponting.

A first overall pick shouldnt need "time".

What is it that disappointed you so far?

What should he do during the training camp to change your opinion?

We'll see how things look in the next 3-6yrs.

We’ll only be able to know in 6-9 years. Everybody needs to chill and not say a bad word about Slaf until then.

 

[Mrb1p]

What is it that disappointed you so far?

What should he do during the training camp to change your opinion?

Not look like a run of the mill first round pick. Actually wow me with something.

Theres players you watch play anywhere and you go "Yeah, hes special."

Thats what Id want from a first overall pick. Never seen that from Slaf even after hours of footage. On the other hand, hes probably gonna be a pretty good player for the Habs, with a very unique skillset. Kinda like when they shouldve went for Tkachuk. Not perfect but good value.

 

[BlackEye from Xhekaj]

What is it that disappointed you so far?

What should he do during the training camp to change your opinion?


We’ll only be able to know in 6-9 years. Everybody needs to chill and not say a bad word about Slaf until then.

He'll be a finished product in 9 years, absolutely.. but at the age of 23-24, we should have a very good idea of his upside and skillset and development.