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

[ReHabs]

We can agree that all three of Getzlaf, LeClair and Gillies are absolutely terrible comparables to Slafkovsky. It should be pointed out however that it took Getzlaf 5 years after he was drafted to reach a PPG. Either way he is a bad comparison as he is a pure playmaker and plays a very different style than Slafkovsky.

The Gillies comparison is bizzare as he was one of the most feared fighters in the history of the league and while he was skilled he was mostly the big bruiser on one of the the greatest lines in history that was carried primarily by Bossy and Trottier. LeClair might be the closest of the three but his stats were significantly inflated by playing with Lindros. LeClair was very much a straight line power forward with size, speed and a great shot who stylistically is more similar to Josh Anderson than Juraj Slafkovsky. I was a big fan of all three of these guys but none of them remind me very much of Slafkovsky.

Slafkovsky stylistically tries to play more like Jagr and Sundin, whether he has any success with that remains to be seen but he loves to play to contact and use his size/hands to carry the puck from the corner to the front of the net. I am not in any way claiming that he will be nearly as successful as these two but their are some significant stylistic similarities. Maybe he ends up closer to a Dainus Zubrus who also shares many similarities, who knows but these are much closer stylistic comparisons than any of Getzlaf/LeClair/Gillies are.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I’m quite intrigued by Slaf’s profile because he’s like one of them prospects who can seemingly do everything and anything, so commentators highlight one aspect versus another.

Personally, I don’t see him being the straight line bruiser type who plus shotgun on a line. I think he should be more central to the playmaking. This is based on a handful of highlights so I could be wrong..

Obviously, he won’t be able to do *everything* and will settle into a playing style and set of preferences — but until that happens, it’s fun to speculate what he could turn out to be… to that end we can add Mats Sundin and Danius Zubrus to the ever growing list of Slafkovsky comparisons

 

[BaseballCoach]

Or maybe just posters that want Slaf to actually earn his spot?

I said very clearly we should make room for him if he forces hands with his play. If he's not one of our 8 wingers that fit the best in our lineup, send him down. If he is, the you make the appropriate decisions.

Yes, of course. I never said otherwise. Be one of the top 8 wingers.

Not 9th, because it is silly to be in the pressbox at that age and contract status.

I've read all the threads. I have not seen anyone in favour of Slaf playing for the Habs even if he is not good enough to beat out 3 forwards out of the 15 we will have besides Byron, and after taking into account that another young F might distinguish himself (Heineman, Ylonen, RHP, Roy, who knows?).

Not a single solitary person has suggested that Slaf be played in Montreal even if he sucks, because it will "help the tank", but the pro-tank agenda types commonly advocate NOT playing or even acquiring some good player because that could "hurt the tank" or "lose Bedard".

The tank, the alleged confidence obtained from beating up on other teams' roster players 25-50, the intent to FORCE the compete window further into the future, the feelings of Hoffman or Armia or Monahan or anyone else -- these are not reasons to make roster decisions.

Only what you said - is the player good enough now? If he is good enough now to be top-12 F or top-6 D, and can only get better due to talent, then keep him.

C'est aussi simple que ça.

 

[Bombshell11]

Slaf reminds of Lecavalier but less polished

 

[FF de Mars]

If I remember correctly Zubrus was more of a speedster, how can you compare him to Slaf?

 

[Maitz]

If he can skate at the same level that Megatron ran, he will be very special.

And pushed down the Dmen like Julio did with the CBs he will be a hall of fame

 

[Kennerback]

We can agree that all three of Getzlaf, LeClair and Gillies are absolutely terrible comparables to Slafkovsky. It should be pointed out however that it took Getzlaf 5 years after he was drafted to reach a PPG. Either way he is a bad comparison as he is a pure playmaker and plays a very different style than Slafkovsky.

The Gillies comparison is bizzare as he was one of the most feared fighters in the history of the league and while he was skilled he was mostly the big bruiser on one of the the greatest lines in history that was carried primarily by Bossy and Trottier. LeClair might be the closest of the three but his stats were significantly inflated by playing with Lindros. LeClair was very much a straight line power forward with size, speed and a great shot who stylistically is more similar to Josh Anderson than Juraj Slafkovsky. I was a big fan of all three of these guys but none of them remind me very much of Slafkovsky.

Slafkovsky stylistically tries to play more like Jagr and Sundin, whether he has any success with that remains to be seen but he loves to play to contact and use his size/hands to carry the puck from the corner to the front of the net. I am not in any way claiming that he will be nearly as successful as these two but their are some significant stylistic similarities. Maybe he ends up closer to a Dainus Zubrus who also shares many similarities, who knows but these are much closer stylistic comparisons than any of Getzlaf/LeClair/Gillies are.

While most of the Gillies YouTube highlights are his fights because he was so tough, he was good enough a player to be in the HHOF. He was only doing 100 minutes of penalties/season while real enforcers were doing 300 to 400. He was a very big hombre that could play hockey and could put the puck in the net.

Gillies had several 30 goal seasons while Semenko who was on a line with Gretzky and Kurri was usually doing single digit goals (best was 12).

 

[junyab]

Kid looks like a full-grown man...should be fun to watch.

 

[Habs10Habs]

And pushed down the Dmen like Julio did with the CBs he will be a hall of fameView attachment 581025

That was me pushing the old lady with a walker out of my way at the Mandarin buffet yesterday. Silly bitty, fat chance you were beating me to the shrimp platter.

 

[417]

Nah...this dude different.

 

[OldCraig71]

The next Lindros winger version? Big man at 18

 

[Le Barron de HF]

Don't know if this has been discussed in previous threads and I don't mean this to bash Slafkovsky but:

Given what was mentioned in the draft special the Canadiens did on YouTube and how they took into account how rare a player of his size is and the lack of player of his profile in upcoming drafts, would have management still picked Slaf if the Canadiens had selected Brady Tkachuk back in 2018?

 

[Redux91]

Nah...this dude different.

Its.. surprising leg strength honestly.. for a KID

One of his legs is the size of both of KK's..

I just always get surprised by how fast this guy is honestly

Don't know if this has been discussed in previous threads and I don't mean this to bash Slafkovsky but:

Given what was mentioned in the draft special the Canadiens did on YouTube and how they took into account how rare a player of his size is and the lack of player of his profile in upcoming drafts, would have management still picked Slaf if the Canadiens had selected Brady Tkachuk back in 2018?

It's a fair question bud

And the answer is most likely we dont
1- Big LW already next to Suzuki Cauf
2- We probably dont finish 1OV

 

[Hannibal]

Don't know if this has been discussed in previous threads and I don't mean this to bash Slafkovsky but:

Given what was mentioned in the draft special the Canadiens did on YouTube and how they took into account how rare a player of his size is and the lack of player of his profile in upcoming drafts, would have management still picked Slaf if the Canadiens had selected Brady Tkachuk back in 2018?

I don’t know. But Slaf upside and potential are higher than Tkachuk.

And that’s coming from a big B.Tkachuk fan since his draft year.

 

[Kennerback]

Don't know if this has been discussed in previous threads and I don't mean this to bash Slafkovsky but:

Given what was mentioned in the draft special the Canadiens did on YouTube and how they took into account how rare a player of his size is and the lack of player of his profile in upcoming drafts, would have management still picked Slaf if the Canadiens had selected Brady Tkachuk back in 2018?

Yes, because they said they went BPA... We have a tragically scary D right now, and before Dach, we had a big hole at C. Anything was more pressing than W.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

View attachment 581076

The next ERIC Lindros winger version

 

[cphabs]

It was written with the gusto of Hemingway writing about catching a fish.

Lmao fantastic!

I think that the reason that the discussion of Slafkovsky projections is so sterile I'd that few of us have actually seen him play a significant amount of games, so many people are simply making stuff up and others are overanalyzing the fabrications.

It's ok to wait until a few games into the season, be it AHL or NHL.

I for one am looking forward to watching more games this year. The Bergevin administration has given me a distaste for the team, but now I'm excited.

Yep! ESPN streaming any good? It’s through NHL.com

 

[cphabs]

It's good that for a big guy, he seems to have fast-twitch muscle fibers. It's important for explosiveness and agility.

You caught that too!

 

[OldCraig71]

The next ERIC Lindros winger version

With all due respect that is a lofty prediction. EL was one of the best big men ever to play the game. I think that it would be wise to temper your expectations.

 

[MoneyManny]

Don't know if this has been discussed in previous threads and I don't mean this to bash Slafkovsky but:

Given what was mentioned in the draft special the Canadiens did on YouTube and how they took into account how rare a player of his size is and the lack of player of his profile in upcoming drafts, would have management still picked Slaf if the Canadiens had selected Brady Tkachuk back in 2018?

I don't think you can get too many players like them on your team. Slaf is big, but he's definitely not going to slow his line/the team down.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Don't know if this has been discussed in previous threads and I don't mean this to bash Slafkovsky but:

Given what was mentioned in the draft special the Canadiens did on YouTube and how they took into account how rare a player of his size is and the lack of player of his profile in upcoming drafts, would have management still picked Slaf if the Canadiens had selected Brady Tkachuk back in 2018?

I would say always go for the BPA. Slaf was picked 1 and Tkachuk 4th so at the end, Slaf should become a better player. Slaf have more tools, he skates faster and have better hands. Both are big but Slaf is built better, he is more agile or more athletic. Being that said, a team must never pass on a big skilled center with hockey IQ and determination like Bergeron, Getzlaf, Carter or Kopitar. Having a dominant center is the centerpeice of a winning team. But let's not put false hopes on any center like Galchenyuk or KK. A dominant center must fill the check list. Sometimes that center can be drafted on second round. A team must have good scouts and brain. That was missing for the last 30 years with the Habs. Hopefully it changed the day they drafted CC.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

While most of the Gillies YouTube highlights are his fights because he was so tough, he was good enough a player to be in the HHOF. He was only doing 100 minutes of penalties/season while real enforcers were doing 300 to 400. He was a very big hombre that could play hockey and could put the puck in the net.

Gillies had several 30 goal seasons while Semenko who was on a line with Gretzky and Kurri was usually doing single digit goals (best was 12).

Semenko was not on Gretzky's line....that is a long standing myth. He would occasionally line up with him to dissuade the other team's goon from trying anything but those moments were only a few times a game at most. I watched Gillies play and he was not remotely in the same class as Trottier or Bossy. That is not to say that he was not a good player and I never said that he was a cement handed plug like Semenko. Gillies would never have hit 30 goals without playing on a mega line like he did, but his PIM's were not as high as most goons because most other goon's were terrified of him. Robinson was very much the same for Montreal as they may have been the two best fighters in hockey in the late seventies to early eighties and nobody wanted to challenge them.

In an era where players were putting up ridiculous point totals and Gillies could not break 40 goals on one of the top 5 lines in the history of the game is ample evidence that he was the meat and potatoes guy playing with a generational goal scorer and one of the best centers to ever play. He was a consistent 30 goal scorer who only broke a PPG twice in his career despite playing with two of the league's top scorers. I loved his game but his style is absolutely nothing like Slafkovsky in any way whatsoever.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

With all due respect that is a lofty prediction. EL was one of the best big men ever to play the game. I think that it would be wise to temper your expectations.

That’s why I put the question mark.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

If I remember correctly Zubrus was more of a speedster, how can you compare him to Slaf?

Zubrus actually looked an awful lot like Slafkovsky on the ice as he had slick hands and used his reach/leverage to his advatage. Slafkovsky seems to be more outgoing and gregarious which may result in more confidence to make things happen and push his talent to it's limits. Zubrus could fall into more of a conservative approach which limited his success.

Comparisons are mostly a fool's errand but when pushed to do so Zubrus was a player that quickly came to mind as a potential floor level projection for Slafkovsky.

 

[Runner77]

This thread is all over the map with Slaf comparables.

Can’t wait for camp to start so we start shaking off some of these labels.

 

[OldCraig71]

That’s why I put the question mark.

Because you just threw it out there? Lord Jesus Mary and Joseph, I have been here for a long time and I have seen my share of "can"t miss top prospects. Let's wait and see before proclaiming the next messiah.