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

[BargainBinSpecial]

Are you guys seriously expecting a McDavid?

You need to give him time and he will become another Rucinsky type forward (25 G/yr). Likely, he will be uni-dimensional too like Pacc. He's not going to be a superstar, but a serviceable top 6 forward. He reminds me a bit of Patrick Stefan. Hopefully, he doesn't become him.

If he busts, the Habs need to seriously re-think their whole existence. The media is not doing this kid a favour and a lot of them need to be run out of town. The Habs made a decision and if the media has something to say, they should go after management not the kid.

Everyone needs to give this kid some time. There is an abundance of forwards, so why the rush? I don't get it. The team is not competing for anything in the long run.

Drafting Wright was the best move. He had everything to become a dominant C, now the Habs need to live with their mistake. Dach hasn't proving anything thus far and Romanov was doing great.

Anyways, it sucks to be this kid right now. First overall means supetstar status and if can't handle the pressure, the Habs better find a way to repair their mistake fast and get another prospect or top talent via trade.

 

[Trabdy2]

I'll admit I was a bit skeptical when the Habs chose Slafkovsky at draft time, but I don't see his one preseason game last night as anything too discouraging. He's got the tools, size, and power to become an impact NHL player (and a fairly unique one at that). He just needs to learn how to use it all at the speed of an NHL game. It'll come in time with coaching, but he seems to be a little further behind in his development than I thought.

 

[RealityHurts]

How did they reach when the actual NHL scouts McKenzie interviewed preferred Slafkovsky?

It was recency bias. Everyone knew Wright had a better track record. Slaf scored versus team France .

Mckenzie was also clear it was close and it was only a sample of 10 scouts

What is your definition of reach?

Not selecting clear Bpa

 

[BehindTheTimes]

100% I learned that through trying to get shredded. Like I said the amount I would have had to alter my diet would have been terrible.

I'll take being healthy without abs but still in good shape over possible malnutrition and hating my life with abs every day.

You can get to seeing abs without malnourishment. You need to be strict and discipline, but you don’t need to put your health at risk to do it.

 

[ffh]

It was recency bias. Everyone knew Wright had a better track record. Slaf scored versus team France .

Mckenzie was also clear it was close and it was only a sample of 10 scouts


Not selecting clear Bpa

If 3 teams did it then maybe he wasn't bpa

 

[RealityHurts]

If 3 teams did it then maybe he wasn't bpa

Stop with that line. Ppl need to realize some teams draft for needs and circumstances too. I won't even bother to elaborate

 

[morhilane]

I love all the people claiming the Habs reached to get Slaf when more than half the NHL league scouts had him ranked #1 on their list. He's wasn't first because he's big and the Olympics, he was first because he had the most drastic progression curve among the top 10 (he was top 10 ranked at the start of the year) over the season.

People think Slaf looks lost right now? He was worst when he started in Liiga. It took him about 10 games to get used to the speed and playing against men in that league. It could take him longer for the NHL/NA ice adjustment. MSL said a few days ago that for him it took a year to get adjusted to the speed.

I personally think there was even improvement between his 1st and 2nd game in term of off-the-puck positioning which is what he mostly has to work on. His other issues are mostly game speed related.

 

[HostileCapSpace]

I still would have gone with a potential 1C or first pairing D over Slaf (Ghule and Nemec for 10+ years sounds sexy as f*** to me but what do I know), but now that it's done I'll try and be patient. One thing as I'll say is it's okay for people to be slightly concerned that we haven't seen much "flashes" from Slaf... yet. Usually with top prospects you do see a few moments of "greatness" even if their overall game is not that good. Can't say we have seen that with Slaf. A backhand pass in scrimmage? That's about it. More games to come, I know.

I'll add that it's a good thing that Mesar and Beck have both impressed as it puts the spotlight away from Slaf a bit. Imagine if he was the only top prospect from the last draft at camp - the freak out would be huge.

 

[Tuggy]

Slaf isn't NHL ready. Not sure what he'll become but he's not close to there yet. Putting him in the NHL right away will just put unnecessary pressure on him. No need for the Montreal fishbowl spotlight to be on him.

I'm still slightly depressed that us finishing dead last didn't result in a McDavid, Ovechkin, Crosby...etc *sigh*

 

[Andrei79]

Stop with that line. Ppl need to realize some teams draft for needs and circumstances too. I won't even bother to elaborate

You should elaborate, because your argument is nonsense. You're saying the Canadiens reached for the player ranked...1st. Make sense of that.

 

[RealityHurts]

I love all the people claiming the Habs reached to get Slaf when more than half the NHL league scouts had him ranked #1 on their list. He's wasn't first because he's big and the Olympics, he was first because he had the most drastic progression curve among the top 10 (he was top 10 ranked at the start of the year) over the season.

People think Slaf looks lost right now? He was worst when he started in Liiga. It took him about 10 games to get used to the speed and playing against men in that league. It could take him longer for the NHL/NA ice adjustment. MSL said a few days ago that for him it took a year to get adjusted to the speed.

I personally think there was even improvement between his 1st and 2nd game in term of off-the-puck positioning which is what he mostly has to work on. His other issues are mostly game speed related.

Don't you remember another big time prospect that had a good progression? One that left him from being a teen pick to 3rd overall at the draft. Kotkaniemi.

They're banking on a relatively small sample with questionnable compétition. Even if team France had nhl players, their top player would have been Antoine roussel

You should elaborate, because your argument is nonsense. You're saying the Canadiens reached for the player ranked...1st. Make sense of that.

The whole world knew new jersey wasn't drafting a center unless it was a bedard tier talent. Arizona had close ties with Cooley. They also wanted to keep him away from the shitfest going on with their team in a college aréna. Had they drafted wright, he'd be in nhl. Not that you should give too much thought on what Arizona does. They haven't done much right

Wright was bpa. If you're drafting solely on potential and draft outside of your draft slot for a pick that should be lower, it's a reach

 

[ReHabs]

Don't you remember another big time prospect that had a good progression? One that left him from being a teen pick to 3rd overall at the draft. Kotkaniemi.

They're banking on a relatively small sample with questionnable compétition. Even if team France had nhl players, their top player would have been Antoine roussel


The whole world knew new jersey wasn't drafting a center unless it was a bedard tier talent. Arizona had close ties with Cooley. They also wanted to keep him away from the shitfest going on with their team in a college aréna. Had they drafted wright, he'd be in nhl. Not that you should give too much thought on what Arizona does. They haven't done much right

And mighty Kazakhstan had KHL players, KHL!

 

[Schooner Guy]

Stop with that line. Ppl need to realize some teams draft for needs and circumstances too. I won't even bother to elaborate

What position does Cooley play?

 

[RealityHurts]

What position does Cooley play?

Would you trust whatever Arizona does ? See my post above behind why :/

 

[Zilo44]

People should not worry.

Play him in the AHL for a long stretch (at least several months) and see him get better.

DO NOT REPLICATE THE KK STORY

 

[Schooner Guy]

Would you trust whatever Arizona does ? See my post above behind why :/

There are many reports that NJ wanted Slaf at #1. Other reports were out there that if Seattle not taken Wright, he was slipping to 7. Philly liked Gauthier better.

You don't really believe that teams are passing up on the best player on their list at #'s 1-3 do you? It's as obtuse as deciding who won the draft during these players first pre-season.

 

[FerrisRox]

I would submit that the SEL is better than the AHL.

I would vehemently disagree with this.

 

[durojean]

What body of work since draft day are you looking at that makes it look 'real bad'??

It's not a lot. But it's what we got right now.

Most importantly the fact that he looks like he's 1 or 2 steps behing against AHL competition playing with NHLers. ( Not the best ones but still they played in the NHL last year)

Things could change pretty fast because the echantillon is small. Most of us hope it does.

 

[Paddy17]

"This person who disagrees with me on a hockey pick is an idiot!"
-Supposedly Positive Non-Toxic Hockey Fans

There's a big difference between disagreeing and making definitve calls on a career after 2 preseason games. Being an idiot is thinking like Michel Therrien: you either have it or you don't. It's not understanding what development is, how long it takes, and how different it is for each player.

If you're not one of those, then don't feel offended, but there are plenty of hot takes that do just that here.

And FYI, I wanted us to draft Wright or Cooley. We drafted Slaf, and I can understand why. I'm also not expecting him to be an instant star.

Second FYI: at this point in my life, I've seen and heard enough idiots to have a lifetime's fill. I'm perfectly fine with an echo chamber.

If you want to further debate on this, it won't be with me. I'm sure other people can competently take my place.

 

[FerrisRox]

Wow.

This thread is really something.

This fanbase is beyond embarrassing. What the hell happened to this forum?

 

[morhilane]

Don't you remember another big time prospect that had a good progression? One that left him from being a teen pick to 3rd overall at the draft. Kotkaniemi.

They're banking on a relatively small sample with questionnable compétition. Even if team France had nhl players, their top player would have been Antoine roussel

Slaf was always ranked top 10 and top 5 before the Olympics on many scouts list. The scouts are in fact not looking at small samples like fans are. They are looking at the progression from the start of the season to the end of it and Slaf started as a player who couldn't handle Liiga back last October to be one of the best players in TPS by the end in Spring. That's the real reason he went 1st, not his 7 goals in 7 games at the Olympics.

Wow.

This thread is really something.

This fanbase is beyond embarrassing. What the hell happened to this forum?

This fanbase has zero patience. People claim they are ok with the rebuild and waiting for prospects to develop, but everything they write says otherwise.

 

[Price is Wright]

He’s going to be a solid 20 G 20 A type of fwd who plays a heavy game down low.

But he needs time.

I feel like people want to see better numbers than Jack Roslovic but maybe I'm wrong.

Anyways this is preseason.

 

[durojean]

2 meaningless preseason games where he played with average to mediocre line mates and some people are already turning on him.

Completely crazy and after that we wonder why no one wants to come play here…

Hughes, Lafreniere, Power, Ekblad were all average to mediocre in their first seasons ( hell power didn’t even play) but two of them have figured it out and are now stars in this league.

He is a freak of nature of 6.4 240 lbs with skills but let’s not forget he is 18 years old and never played in North America before.

Completely crazy even Hedman and Stamkos were hot garbage in their first season but it seems people just have short term memory’s.

If In 2 years he is still not producing at an acceptable level in the nhl I will call him a bust, until then I will let him develop.

I'd like to argue that the average to mediocre line mates are still NHL players and it's not like they play against NHL competition either.

Ekblad was actually good and showed a lot of promises in his 1st season. Power had his 1st season at the end of last year and he was a dominating presence.

Hughes and Lafreniere, while they did not have a really good season, they were actually pretty good in the rookie tournaments and in the pre season games they played. We only saw Slafkovsky in pre-season right now so our basic of comparison is there. For all we know, Slaf will get it in the next 2 games and have a really good season and those debates will all be for nothing.

I personally hate to have only size and skills for arguments. I always felt like it was underrated. If he can't read the game at the NHL level, his physical attributes won't serve him much.

Stamkos had a pretty bad coach to start his career and once he was gone, he exploded. But you make a point that bad play right now doesn't make a career. I'm optimistic Slaf will get it together. But with his play right now he may have shown that there is way more work to be done that we originally thank we had to do. ( Again, it could change fairly fast )

I feel like 2 years is not enough patience. He'll be only 20 in 2 years. It could take longer. 20 years old is still pretty young.

 

[RealityHurts]

Slaf was always ranked top 10 and top 5 before the Olympics on many scouts list. The scouts are in fact not looking at small samples like fans are. They are looking at the progression from the start of the season to the end of it and Slaf started as a player who couldn't handle Liiga back last October to be one of the best players in TPS by the end in Spring. That's the real reason he went 1st, not his 7 goals in 7 games at the Olympics.


This fanbase has zero patience. People claim they are ok with the rebuild and waiting for prospects to develop, but everything they write says otherwise.

I feel they just fell in love with a huge forward that has all the physical tools and potential and ended up projecting him high. The ceiling due to his physical attributes is indeed high. But let's not kid ourselves, game sense is his weakness and it is also what made St Louis a hall of fame player. Game sense is also part of Wright's kit

Just because people are ok with rebuilding doesn't mean they're necessarily comfortable with the picks management makes.. if you're gonna rebuild properly, it starts with good draft picks

 

[morhilane]

I'd like to argue that the average to mediocre line mates are still NHL players and it's not like they play against NHL competition either.

??? Slaf played against the top lines and d-pair in the two pre-season games with zero sheltering and most of those players were NHL players and mostly not bottom 6/bottom pair ones at that.

Most played against:
Devils: Tatar/Hischier-Boqvist/Bratt + Graves/Severson
Leafs: Nylander/Jarnkrok/Robertson + Morgan Rielly was the D he played most against (they had to rotate the rest since two left the game, but a single of the Leafs D wasn't a NHLer).