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

[Mrb1p]

Boys you guys are overthinking this. My expectations are that this kid will bust solely because of the name of our organisation and the bad offensive mojo around it. Keep them expectations low like me and you are sure to not be dissapointed! Go slaf go! If we win the cup with him putting up 40 points in year 5-6 that's a win at first overall don't care what anybody tells me.

And anyways bedard or michkov can be our PPG stud while slaf asserts dominance on smaller humans

Lmao amen

 

[Pickles]

Not sure why so many of you keep bringing up Shane Wright. He’s not a Hab, get over it.

The Habs had their pick and chose Slafkovsky. We should learn to live with that and all that it entails.


To this day Andrew Kostitsyn has fanboys and moonlight dreamers. Who are you kidding? Slafkovsky will have die hard believers until the end of time no matter what happens.

Only the club and media run players out of town and they do it very well. Most Habs fans are still rooting for Drouin ffs!

Personally I root for anyone who puts on that jersey until they give me a reason not to. I think Slaf will always be compared to Wright because that's who alot of people felt we should have drafted. It's really unfair to do so. We should enjoy the players we got in this draft and wait a few years before assessing who is better.

The whole narrative about fans driving players out of town is overblown. Piss poor management and the toxic media buzzing around the team has been the cause of players leaving town not the fans.

 

[Sagikev]

this was not a great draft, probably one of the weaker ones the last 10 years.

I disagree. It wasn't top heavy, but the depth was good to great even. I mean, Mesar at 26, Beck at 33, Hutson at 62, even Engstrom at 92... That's some good depth.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

I'm not ready to judge, but his weaknesses seemed apparent at the NHL level. NHL players just don't give you the space that Slaf needs to play his game. We'll see how he improves over camp.

 

[ReHabs]

Yes, the Galchenyuk, Drouin and Kotkaniemi threads were a cesspool of overreaction and nonsense. Galchenyuk and Kotkaniemi were run out of the organization by inept coaches and general manager. Drouin literally went on a mental health leave. It would have been a matter of time without the OS that the fans would have helped the Habs jettison KK out.

I don't think the right question is.. why is it any different with Slafkovsky but why are we constantly looking to prove that a promising young player sucks and fixate on every single shift of that journey to find something bad to complain about?

And don't give me the whole.. I'm skeptical of Slaf but want him to succeed. That's about as believable as me saying the same thing about Ryan Poehling. I wanted to be right more even if I said the politically correct thing after bashing him. No one can fixate negatively on every minute detail for a player/prospect but also be genuinely cheering for their success.

I’m all set without your projection.

I don’t have any reason to nitpick Slaf and fixate on his mistakes — but until he produces points (at any level, in any context) I’m going to doubt him as a serious player. Because [everybody, all at once now:] he couldn’t even produce in Liiga.

I don’t particularly care about Wright or Poehling or whatever. The fact is the Habs organization constantly mishandles players and until this one, with his unusual number of warts, succeeds (with the help of or against the Habs’ guidance) I’m gonna bet on 00.

 

[Pickles]

I'm not ready to judge, but his weaknesses seemed apparent at the NHL level. NHL players just don't give you the space that Slaf needs to play his game. We'll see how he improves over camp.

I think his skating and hands are great. I also think he's coachable and can adapt it will just take time.

 

[BenchBrawl]

I'm not ready to judge, but his weaknesses seemed apparent at the NHL level. NHL players just don't give you the space that Slaf needs to play his game. We'll see how he improves over camp.

He has the size to make space for himself. He will adapt, perhaps by playing more aggressive physically.

 

[Paddy17]

More people need to have the mindset I do.

As soon as the draft is over, I forget about who we didn't draft. This is all about the Habs making the right choice and doing the right things developmentally.

Basically, the odds are very small that you'll take the best player from the draft. Even if you are picking at #1. The problem recently is the selections we've made were developed so poorly that the choices were mostly wrong ones in hindsight.

I get people are in PTSD from Bergevin but you gotta let the new regime do its thing, you can't bring the past in here. It's clearly a completely different operation even if some people still remain in place.

Exactly. You wanted Cooley. I wanted Wright, and my second choice was Cooley. They picked Slaf. I was OK with it, knowing that development would play a major role with any of these 3.

The good news is, I trust this management team and coach in terms of development, 1000x more than the previous regime. Slaf has the tools for an immense potential, and now it falls on him and the dev team to reach that potential, not next week, but over the next 3 years and even beyond.

Some just can't let it go because they care more about being right than keeping an open mind about player development.

 

[cphabs]

You can't get shredded without altering your diet. You can train your abs all day long, but they will just get harder underneath fat and the fat layer is what you will see.

You need to lose body fat to become shredded

Getting shredded is over-rated if it involves an unhealthy diet.

Ya, on the overrated part. I’ve witnessed “shredded” folks trying to gain fat in training. Unfortunately, it doubles, or even triples the stress during training. Especially when confronted with foul weather… which is a norm.

 

[Habs]

I disagree. It wasn't top heavy, but the depth was good to great even. I mean, Mesar at 26, Beck at 33, Hutson at 62, even Engstrom at 92... That's some good depth.

I mean, obviously we have to wait a few years....

 

[Sagikev]

I mean, obviously we have to wait a few years....

Yes, but it looks good on paper IMO. Comparing draft year to draft year, at least.

 

[Mrb1p]

Yes, but it looks good on paper IMO. Comparing draft year to draft year, at least.

Yes well everything looks good when its theoretical value hasnt been tested.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I know this may seem like a nothing burger for a 1st overall pick but he is really good at closing in on guys defensively and on the backcheck (not so much in his own zone yet) , his NZ play is really good for his age and size imo. Skates really well without the puck. Obviously skating WITH it is what he has to work on ,and what we eventually want, but you can see the guy has alot of drive and knows where he needs to go to break up plays.

I know its not a big deal and at this point in our franchises history playing *well without the puck* is a huge therrien meme but I find that he really does lol

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Exactly. You wanted Cooley. I wanted Wright, and my second choice was Cooley. They picked Slaf. I was OK with it, knowing that development would play a major role with any of these 3.

The good news is, I trust this management team and coach in terms of development, 1000x more than the previous regime. Slaf has the tools for an immense potential, and now it falls on him and the dev team to reach that potential, not next week, but over the next 3 years and even beyond.

Some just can't let it go because they care more about being right than keeping an open mind about player development.

Well said, I was in the Wright camp but also liked Slafkovsky, Nemec and Cooley. The team that I am emotionally tethered to decided to choose Slafkovsky therefore I sincerely want him to be the best of the group. Scouting 18 year olds is an uber subjective excercise where even the very best in the world are wrong more than they are correct. Taking pride in such an unpredictable guessing game is ridiculous in my mind although we currently have an incredibly obnoxious poster claiming bragging rights over his unreasonable pre draft obsession with Slaf.......leaving out all of the other asinine predictions that he made in the same draft.

In a vacuum I still believe that Wright is the best hockey player in the draft but there were very legitimate concerns raised during interviews as well as some very questionable post draft behaviour. Given this knowledge I am happy with our pick and am willing to show a ton a patience as I think he will take some time but he truly is something of a unicorn and has a chance to be a very special asset that every team will covet. I think he fits in with the culture much better than Wright might have and I am not worried about becoming a negative distraction if/when things are not going his way.

I met Shane a handful of times when he was with Don Mills and while he was always a little awkward, he was a very nice kid and genuinely seemed to want to be a good teammate.....I know people change but I doubt that he is going to be a poor teammate, maybe just not an ideal situation for him in Montreal.

So I wish Shane well but I hope Slaf is better!

 

[417]

I know this may seem like a nothing burger for a 1st overall pick but he is really good at closing in on guys defensively and on the backcheck (not so much in his own zone yet) , his NZ play is really good for his age and size imo. Skates really well without the puck. Obviously skating WITH it is what he has to work on ,and what we eventually want, but you can see the guy has alot of drive and knows where he needs to go to break up plays.

I know its not a big deal and at this point in our franchises history playing *well without the puck* is a huge therrien meme but I find that he really does lol

he will create a ton of turnovers (and probably penalties) because of his long reach and tenacity back checking.

 

[Redux91]

and in some case who they wanted was an imaginary superstar player that wasn't available in the 2022 draft.

LOL wow you nailed it, and that REALLY is what is bugging most of these cry babies
Nobody could put the finger on it until this sentence, good job

 

[jaffy27]

Because [everybody, all at once now:] he couldn’t even produce in Liiga.

As a[everbody, all at once] a 17yr old in a men’s league.

But 1 month before his 18th birthday, he led Slovakia to a bronze medal victory over Sweden in the past winter Olympics and owned that tournament.

Wonder how many points Slaf would accumulate this year playing for the London Knights??

 

[Bombshell11]

As a[everbody, all at once] a 17yr old in a men’s league.

But 1 month before his 18th birthday, he led Slovakia to a bronze medal victory over Sweden in the past winter Olympics and owned that tournament.

Wonder how many points Slaf would accumulate this year playing for the London Knights??

I don't think he'll burn the league, Maybe 80 pts?

 

[Andrei79]

Its a false dillema you raise. Jagr looked like Jagr at 18. Crosby looked like Crosby. Ovi like Ovi.

Even guys that needed a few years to establish themselves looked special.

Jack Hughes was phenomenal every time he had the puck and would complete passes that could remind one of the Great one.

Even closer to home, Caufield and Suzuki looker every bit as special the first time they hit the ice. Now, granted these guys were 20 and Caufield has the talent level or a top pick in a 5'6 body but the point stands.

As of now, today, can you answer with an Aye or Nay if Slafkovsky impressed you as much, or gave you the same feeling as young Cole?

My reasoning is that Slafkovsky is going to be an awesome player, not unlike Weber was for the Habs, but like Weber, the Habs overpaid market value to acquire him. Wether that is important or not is another debate that Im willing to have.

Suzuki did not look good his first training camp at 19. He looked slow and passive. A lot of people were worried. Cole would not have looked good at 18. The overpaid market value is a really strange way to put it.

 

[yianik]

Two things bother me a little with Slafkovsky. It's that first, he really like stickhandling the puck in sometime dangerous or unnecessary positions and also (I am nitpicking) he has monster size, strength, reach, hands and skating but he has a hard time protecting the puck like a Draisaitl(I know he is god tier in that regard) to create chances on his own or teammates. He is only 18 years old and it's normal but even Draisaitl at 18 years old was impossible to take the puck away from him. So I would like to see him work on that. Other than that he has the tools to be a superstar.

See those are development, as in teachable issues. I absolutely believe MSL or whomever will give him guidance on picking his spots to be fancy stickwork/ teach technique on puck protection ( though I thought he was pretty good ).

Prior approach : "Don't do it". And that's a wrap on development.

So yeah, giving these guys every benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

 

[yianik]

Sure we Habs fans overreact, with the pendulum swinging too far right and left. But except here and there, the issue hasn't been the fans, but it has been coaches and GMs with agendas.

I mean there we are with Chucky scoring 30 goals and we are excited. But MB is going on about " just because a player can score 80 points doesn't mean he is a centre". MT isn't happy with him. And all of a sudden Galchenyuk is being trashed. Us fans ? Well we get manipulated.

The true questions were if this guy can't play a 200 foot game 5 years after being drafted then he sure as heck couldn't in D+1 , so why was he on the roster playing for a jack ass coach who stated " developing players is not my job". Should have been left in juniors.

Usually when fans turn on a guy without manipulation its because a coach misuses a player , as in DD as a 1st line C, 4th liner on the 1st line and so on.

Sure we get impatient, but management needs to calm it down. We aren't the only ones, see the Rags with Laff.

So far it looks like this regime will be different.

 

[ReHabs]

As a[everbody, all at once] a 17yr old in a men’s league.

But 1 month before his 18th birthday, he led Slovakia to a bronze medal victory over Sweden in the past winter Olympics and owned that tournament.

Wonder how many points Slaf would accumulate this year playing for the London Knights??

Other 17 year olds scored more much in the very same league. Slaf is a unicorn though, correlations don’t apply to him.

Slaf did very well in those tournaments. Good for him and his draft stock.

If he was in the OHL? I don’t know, maybe we’ll see this year if he gets sent down there. 1OA to OHL… Maybe it would be best for all involved if he learned how to put points in the board (ie develop hockey IQ) in league play. I’d support it.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

delete

 

[dinodebino]

Well said, I was in the Wright camp but also liked Slafkovsky, Nemec and Cooley. The team that I am emotionally tethered to decided to choose Slafkovsky therefore I sincerely want him to be the best of the group. Scouting 18 year olds is an uber subjective excercise where even the very best in the world are wrong more than they are correct. Taking pride in such an unpredictable guessing game is ridiculous in my mind although we currently have an incredibly obnoxious poster claiming bragging rights over his unreasonable pre draft obsession with Slaf.......leaving out all of the other asinine predictions that he made in the same draft.

In a vacuum I still believe that Wright is the best hockey player in the draft but there were very legitimate concerns raised during interviews as well as some very questionable post draft behaviour. Given this knowledge I am happy with our pick and am willing to show a ton a patience as I think he will take some time but he truly is something of a unicorn and has a chance to be a very special asset that every team will covet. I think he fits in with the culture much better than Wright might have and I am not worried about becoming a negative distraction if/when things are not going his way.

I met Shane a handful of times when he was with Don Mills and while he was always a little awkward, he was a very nice kid and genuinely seemed to want to be a good teammate.....I know people change but I doubt that he is going to be a poor teammate, maybe just not an ideal situation for him in Montreal.

So I wish Shane well but I hope Slaf is better!

Great post. Same opinion. We’ll see what the future brings.

 

[dinodebino]

And this debate is going to rage for years. I mean, tonight’s Seattle game, plus Slaf’s very pedestrian game yesterday (which is fine, kid is 18), is giving more fuel to the fire.