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

[durojean]

Idk his puck protection and play along the boards showed me he'll be elite in that category. He can also skate so he shouldn't end up as an Armia kind of guy. He showed some stuff, opening a lot of space for Mesar and co, giving them good passes and keeping the play alive. No one could take the puck off of him along the boards, I'd say that's a pretty great tool to have.

That is so not true. Just in the rookie tournament, he caught up the puck a lot of time while along the boards.

He did make some really good plays at other time. But it really is possible to remove him from the puck anywhere on the ice.

He showed great hands. Better playmaking ability than I imagined he would and the ability to make space for other teammates which leads to believe that he could be better with better linemates and that's encouraging.

Owen Beck did look worse when he was on the first line with him than the 2 first games. That is probably due to increased responsabilities.

 

[Mrb1p]

Even tougher to grasp when there's nothing to measure this statement against other than 2 games in some arena in America's armpit aka Buffalo.

Again...if this is true at main camp, I think it would be a fair knock against Slafkovsky (though IMO, still premature).

But right now, it's just like that other poster said.

You're yelling at a cloud that hasn't appeared yet.

I think that's the issue you're not capturing here...it's not that I think you're wrong, I just think you've jumped the gun with little to no information.

I wasnt aware that a players hockey career hit a reset on june 30th. Is it just for Slafkosvky? Is he the only one that becomes a unicorn with no related historical data?

Im also not yelling about anything. Im merely disappointed in the player the Habs got after 12 months of bs.

 

[SlafySZN]

That is so not true. Just in the rookie tournament, he caught up the puck a lot of time while along the boards.

He did make some really good plays at other time. But it really is possible to remove him from the puck anywhere on the ice.

He showed great hands. Better playmaking ability than I imagined he would and the ability to make space for other teammates which leads to believe that he could be better with better linemates and that's encouraging.

Owen Beck did look worse when he was on the first line with him than the 2 first games. That is probably due to increased responsabilities.

‘’He’s very good along the boards, he can be elite in that aspect’’

…

‘’NO!!! That is so not true, 3 guys took the puck from him in two games!!’’

 

[417]

I wasnt aware that a players hockey career hit a reset on june 30th. Is it just for Slafkosvky? Is he the only one that becomes a unicorn with no related historical data?

Historical data is what got him in a position to be drafted 1st overall. That's now history.

All that matters is what he does moving forward, that's what's going to write his book.

But he hasn't even begun the preface and here you are rating the book.

Im also not yelling about anything. Im merely disappointed in the player the Habs got after 12 months of bs.

It's a metaphor lol I know you're not yelling...again, I don't think your take is necessarily bad.

It's just jumping the gun.

 

[durojean]

The pressure on the kid is insane, 1st OV we got since Wickenhenser... Some people expect him to be the messiah, which is isnt, kid will be a great player, I have no doubt, but he is only 1 part of the puzzle that will fall in place in the upcoming years. There is no hurry when it comes to Slafkovsky, fans should let the kid acclimatize and develop at his own pace. The good thing is that he is well surrounded with the new management, great coach for kids in Marty St-Louis and some good veteran presence on the team, kid is also pretty strong mentally and will be able to deal with that pressure.

But god, some poeple should chill out, kid just turned 18 few months ago.

I'm sorry but seriously.

Listen to you the way you where before the draft. He was supposed to be the messiah. He had no weaknesses as a hockey player according to yourself.

The fact that weaknesses appear at the rookie tournament and that he doesn't even look like the best player of his draft class drafted by the Habs is worrying.

Right now, from the 2 game I've seen, he looked worse than Beck and Mesar.

Yet again, it's just 2 games and he showed a lot of good thing also and things could evolve pretty fast when competition get tougher and his size should help him look better then.

But you of all people, coming up with excuses after 2 games...

That being said, you are right with everything in that message. I just feel like you should not be the one telling us that because you hyped him up too much.

 

[SlafySZN]

delete

 

[durojean]

‘’He’s very good along the boards, he can be elite in that aspect’’

…

‘’NO!!! That is so not true, 3 guys took the puck from him in two games!!’’

I really wanted to see the elite side of his battle along the board. So I putted more attention to it than normal. He had flashes, especially on his first assist.

But what I wanted to say is that he did not look that much harder to push off the puck most of the time. He really could become elite at it. We've seen the flashes. In those 2 game the flashes were sparse so putting a big accent on it is kind of wrong from my point of view and that is what I wanted to express.

 

[417]

I'm sorry but seriously.

Listen to you the way you where before the draft. He was supposed to be the messiah. He had no weaknesses as a hockey player according to yourself.

The fact that weaknesses appear at the rookie tournament and that he doesn't even look like the best player of his draft class drafted by the Habs is worrying.

Right now, from the 2 game I've seen, he looked worse than Beck and Mesar.

Yet again, it's just 2 games and he showed a lot of good thing also and things could evolve pretty fast when competition get tougher and his size should help him look better then.

But you of all people, coming up with excuses after 2 games...

That being said, you are right with everything in that message. I just feel like you should not be the one telling us that because you hyped him up too much.

So you've observed every player from this draft class play since draft day?

Interesting.

 

[NotProkofievian]

So you've observed every player from this draft class play since draft day?

Interesting.

He wouldn't have to in order to justify his claim. He'd have to have watched at least one other player in order for it to be possible, not *every other* player.

 

[CHfan1]

The ELC expires at the same rate regardless of the time spent in Montreal or Laval, but the road to full UFA status will be impacted by how much time Slafkovsky plays in the. NHL.

If Slafkovsky plays 39 games or less at the NHL level, he will be an UFA in 8 years. If he plays 40 or more games at the NHL level, he will be an UFA in 7 years.

Team control over the kid, if nothing else, would benefit from Slafkovsky having a long enough stint in Laval. Still, if it's not the best route for his development, don't let that motivate your decision.

I also thought a year of his ELC would expire whether he played in Laval. However, when I mentioned that, some posters replied with a section of the CBA saying that if he is sent to Laval, his ELC can slide.

From Capfriendly:

What is an Entry Level Slide?​

If a player who is signed to an entry-level contract and is 18 or 19 years of age (as of September 15 of the signing year), does not play in a minimum of 10 NHL games (including both regular season and playoffs; AHL games do not count), their contract is considered to ‘slide’, or extend, by one year.

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

www.capfriendly.com

 

[durojean]

There is no excuses to be made, he played good.

Of course people will quote and respond to comments that waited and waited just for those games to happen so they can find something to whine about him.

My point is more the fact that the one who talked about him as the second coming of god before the draft is now backtracking.

He was right in the subject. We absolutely should give him time and he'll become the player he becomes.

I for one did not like the draft pick as I would have chosen Nemec, Cooley, Wright before him and I've seen him as all hype and absolutely the trap we should not fall into. The big rising forward near the beginning of the draft.

I do want him to succeed. I'll be patient with him. But if Wright becomes clearly the better player and we get a 40 pts grinder out of Slaf. Of course I'll be sour as it was a bad pick from the get go in my books and nobody would be able to make me believe that he was worth a shot at the time.

I want and I expect to be proven wrong. I won't judge if I'm right or wrong based on 2 rookie games.

 

[morhilane]

So you've observed every player from this draft class play since draft day?

Interesting.

He meant Beck and Mesar (draft class drafted by the Habs).

 

[Kennerback]

My point is more the fact that the one who talked about him as the second coming of god before the draft is now backtracking.

He was right in the subject. We absolutely should give him time and he'll become the player he becomes.

I for one did not like the draft pick as I would have chosen Nemec, Cooley, Wright before him and I've seen him as all hype and absolutely the trap we should not fall into. The big rising forward near the beginning of the draft.

I do want him to succeed. I'll be patient with him. But if Wright becomes clearly the better player and we get a 40 pts grinder out of Slaf. Of course I'll be sour as it was a bad pick from the get go in my books and nobody would be able to make me believe that he was worth a shot at the time.

I want and I expect to be proven wrong. I won't judge if I'm right or wrong based on 2 rookie games.

I think it’s clear under any scenario (barring catastrophic injury), Slaf will be a Top-6 Forward. A 40 pts grinder is metaphysically impossible.

 

[durojean]

I think it’s clear under any scenario (barring catastrophic injury), Slaf will be a Top-6 Forward. A 40 pts grinder is metaphysically impossible.

I so hope you are right, but everything is possible at the moment.
NHL pace is something else. To maintain it for a long period of time is even harder.

We really don't know anything yet. We are currently high on potential. Potential and reality can be way way different. Flashes could really well stay just that... flashes.

 

[ReHabs]

The pressure on the kid is insane, 1st OV we got since Wickenhenser... Some people expect him to be the messiah, which is isnt, kid will be a great player, I have no doubt, but he is only 1 part of the puzzle that will fall in place in the upcoming years. There is no hurry when it comes to Slafkovsky, fans should let the kid acclimatize and develop at his own pace. The good thing is that he is well surrounded with the new management, great coach for kids in Marty St-Louis and some good veteran presence on the team, kid is also pretty strong mentally and will be able to deal with that pressure.

But god, some poeple should chill out, kid just turned 18 few months ago.

Sounds like you’re suddenly less confident in the 1OA you were pumping for weeks leading into the draft

Not surprising — lowering standards and managing expectations comes with the territory whenever someone champions a project.

But have faith, keep hyping him, absolutely nothing has happened that should change your tune. You said he is virtually flawless — stick with it. He should shine at Camp, it’s not like there are many better forwards there (two? Maximum three?) — given the tools and toolbox you insisted he has, there is nothing else to expect than his shining success at camp. Maybe he squeezes Drouin or someone out of the roster entirely.

The sky is clear and the sun is shining.

 

[Kennerback]

I so hope you are right, but everything is possible at the moment.
NHL pace is something else. To maintain it for a long period of time is even harder.

We really don't know anything yet. We are currently high on potential. Potential and reality can be way way different. Flashes could really well stay just that... flashes.

He can follow NHL pace based on his game I saw vs Canada at the WC.

I believe we know a lot already. It’s not potential and it’s not hoping flashes become something more. I think the fact that he’ll be Top-6 is not projection anymore. it’s putting hard data together. We’re still in projection territory for the other Top-5s.

 

[ReHabs]

I think it’s clear under any scenario (barring catastrophic injury), Slaf will be a Top-6 Forward. A 40 pts grinder is metaphysically impossible.

Josh Anderson or Joel Armia is very possible

So is Hugh Jessiman

But then again… Jagr!

 

[MasterD]

Josh Anderson or Joel Armia is very possible

So is Hugh Jessiman

But then again… Jagr!

Pretty much this.

 

[admiralcadillac]

You seem to be giving him a different treatment because he's a 1st OA. You should treat all prospects equally, it's unfair for other players who are showing more but are disregarded just because they were drafted later.

The problem with Slaf atm is that a good amount of young prospects looked better than him in many aspects of the game. And i'm not talking about skills but more like confidence and hockey IQ. While other players looked like they knew what they needed to do he looked sometimes confused af.

I'm not saying we need to push the panic button just yet but we need to be realistic with what we're seing on the ice and not let our emotions get the best of our judgement.

I have faith in this org and i'm sure they will try to protect him as much as possible. I think its in his best interest to start him in the OHL where he'll be able to dominate the game physically and therefore give himself alot of space and time to learn the game as a superstar.

Not a single player in any of the 3 games looked like a better player than Slaf

 

[Kennerback]

Josh Anderson or Joel Armia is very possible

So is Hugh Jessiman

But then again… Jagr!

Joel Armia is impossible.

If you can infer that he’ll have 3 try-out games, he’s already obliterated Jessiman’s whole career. Can Slaf skate faster than McCarron? Yes. McCarron can skate faster than Jessiman.

Top-6 is half of Forwards in the NHL. Included are Jagr and Anderson.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

Not a single player in any of the 3 games looked like a better player than Slaf

not that im worried but Beck and Mesar were our best players in the rookie tournament that being said Slaf played 2 games it doesnt mean much lets be patient

 

[417]

He wouldn't have to in order to justify his claim. He'd have to have watched at least one other player in order for it to be possible, not *every other* player.

I understood it as he doesn't look like the best player drafted by the Habs from this past class. So in other words, Cedric Guindon, and Jared Davidson "look" better.

Considering exactly 0 games have been played since the Habs selected those players, I think my question still applies.

What are we basing this on?

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

not that im worried but Beck and Mesar were our best players in the rookie tournament that being said Slaf played 2 games it doesnt mean much lets be patient

...and, imo, we should look at it as a positive that we may have two absolute steals with Mesar & Beck along with a #1OA with HUGE (yes, that damn pun again) potential in Slaf the Slaughterer...

 

[417]

He meant Beck and Mesar (draft class drafted by the Habs).

Ok...doesn't change what I said

But just to drill down, there were other players drafted by the Habs also, do they count?

Again, especially considering not a single one of those players has played a game since (although I guess some of the euro prospects have started their preseason I think?).

 

[durojean]

I understood it as he doesn't look like the best player drafted by the Habs from this past class. So in other words, Cedric Guindon, and Jared Davidson "look" better.

Considering exactly 0 games have been played since the Habs selected those players, I think my question still applies.

What are we basing this on?

I wanted point out that Mesar and Beck looked better than Slafkovsky in those 2 games and that is worrying.

We are basing this on those 2 games only and it's got nothing to do with the future. I expect him to be a better player than those players.