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

[le_sean]

I'm saying the scouts were blinded by recency bias. Wright was always the better player. Like I said in the past, I'd be thrilled to be wrong but both my pre draft and post draft assessment remain the same. He wasn't worthy of 1st oa

Was he the better player when he couldn’t be bothered to dominate in the playoffs in a league of children, 98% of who will never make the NHL? Because we saw the other guy dominate against men playing in professional leagues.

 

[waffledave]

In Slaf case, I honestly thought he was going to be better than this. Cause I read many comparison with Jagr, and the fact he was a first pick. Maybe my expectations are too high, but This is the first overall pick Im talking about.

The problem is that Jagr comparisons were stupid and made no sense. Jagr has more talent in his pinky finger still today than Slaf will ever have. Doesn't mean Slaf is bad, but he's not and will never be a Jagr type player.

 

[RealityHurts]

Was he the better player when he couldn’t be bothered to dominate in the playoffs in a league of children, 98% of who will never make the NHL? Because we saw the other guy dominate against men playing in professional leagues.

Expectations were high because he had been touted since youth. His season disappointed many people in terms of point production, myself included, but whenever i watched him play, a lot of things I'd always wanted in a player were present. He sees the play before it unfolds. In many cases, he made plays that didn't lead to anything but, looking back in détail, you tell yourself his teammate should have been there and it would have Led to something.

People bring up Wright's lack of result but overlook slaf's lack of results in the SHL. They look at Olympics and that's what I criticize as recency bias.

 

[Whitesnake]

In the end, it comes to this. Yeah, sure be dissapointed that your No1 overall doesn't look like Crosby, McKinnon and McDavid. Fine. Now with that being said, understand that it was NOT that type of year. So cry about it. We didn't tank the right year. Yep. Now...in ANY freakin draft that happens, at a minimum of at least 80%, for every draft that has ever happened in recent history, history where there are tons of professionnals giving their opinions on kids, not the Kansas City Scouts era, most top 10 picks have played a key role for their team. Most. Top 10 picks.

So you STILL got, last summer, a pick that is in the top 10 pick and if it's like it's suppose to be, will play a key role for your team. Then comes the when...and the how. When? Well you have to take into consideration that he's a European. That played on larger ice surfaces all of his life. That was often one of the biggest kid out there. And that still has to get use to his own body playing at that level he should be playing. Also, he's a winger. Not exactly the guy that is suppose to drive the line he plays in. But that you still need as every top team as top end wingers to succeed.

So in essence, it could take more time. It was said before. We say it now. We will say it later. Yes, it comes with a certain apprehension that what will be his ceiling. Yep. It's the case for most picks. And in a rather ordinairy draft year, I guess it will be the case for EVERY pick. Deal with it.

Having said that, I also don't like when tournaments are used to pick a guy. Hearing Bobrov talk about him, I did hear that they put a lot of emphasis on those and I was at first skeptic. But I also hear that he played better in Liiga as the year prorgressed. And he was great in the playoffs. And that's something I will choose to beleive that those pros did their homework in that regard.

So in resume, if not this year, Slaf will be great next year. That's my belief. This year, I'd have him in the AHL. On a line with Mesar. Heineman-Mesar-Slaf. Make Heineman stay here. Pay the fine or whatever. Have fun kids. Let Wright win the 2022 prospect of the year. And comeback stronger to help us.

 

[Deebs]

The problem is that Jagr comparisons were stupid and made no sense. Jagr has more talent in his pinky finger still today than Slaf will ever have. Doesn't mean Slaf is bad, but he's not and will never be a Jagr type player.

There's a huge difference between a Jagr type player and Jagr style player. Many didn't and still don't understand the difference between the two

 

[Vachon23]

I'm saying the scouts were blinded by recency bias. Wright was always the better player. Like I said in the past, I'd be thrilled to be wrong but both my pre draft and post draft assessment remain the same. He wasn't worthy of 1st oa


I don't think Wright is generational. I think he's a cut above Slaf as you can tell, but he's not going to be a difference maker the point that you have to go for him if your organisation doesn't need a center and you're set for the next decade. I'm one for drafting BPA, but there was absolutely 0 center need for them. Further, if you draft a center in their situation, they'd have to trade one of the 3 in the long run and they never would have traded at full value.

At time of draft, Nemec and Jiricek were projected 4-5 iirc. I love nemec but, based on where things were, NJD probably had Wright and cooley higher on their list but went for need because their immediate objective is roster building. Their rebuild is over and they want the next step

I watch Jiricek at the rookie camp because I had a family member at the Blues camp and I can tell you that they would be a lot of panic if he was our pick, Mateychuk look way better and Dumais was the best player on the ice. Does that mean Jircek is a flop and Dumais is a futur star ? Rookie camp and the 1st week of pre season are fun but the real evaluation will start at week 2.

 

[Captain97]

Should a number 1 pick be expected to score 20?

I would say no considering the last 5 players taken 1st overall 3 were forwards and of those 3 only 1 scored 20 goals in his rookie season.

+consider this drafts top end was a little bit lower than many other years.

If he spends the year with the big club 10-15 goals and 20-25 assists is what we should expect.

 

[puckeater]

The raw talent is a delight to watch. Awkward as can be and struggling to figure things out two game into preseason is a welcome change for this team. Exciting times.

 

[Ezpz]

Lafreniere would have been killed here with stats like his first two seasons. Ouff

Not really a great comparison since Laf is a bust with the worst numbers for a first overall over two seasons possibly of all time. Daigle's rookie season was more than Laf's first two combined. It's worse than Yakupov or Stefan. The worst since Brian Lawton, who played less games and still was within a few points of Laf.

 

[waffledave]

There's a huge difference between a Jagr type player and Jagr style player. Many didn't and still don't understand the difference between the two

He is neither a Jagr type nor a Jagr style of player. The only thing they have in common is sticking their ass out on the boards to protect the puck.

Jagr has been my favorite player my entire life. These comps make no sense at all. Even when Jagr says "oh yeah he reminds me of a younger me!" he's just being nice. They're nothing alike.

 

[le_sean]

Expectations were high because he had been touted since youth. His season disappointed many people in terms of point production, myself included, but whenever i watched him play, a lot of things I'd always wanted in a player were present. He sees the play before it unfolds. In many cases, he made plays that didn't lead to anything but, looking back in détail, you tell yourself his teammate should have been there and it would have Led to something.

People bring up Wright's lack of result but overlook slaf's lack of results in the SHL. They look at Olympics and that's what I criticize as recency bias.

Yeah it’s true, Slafkovsky had 0 points in the SHL. What a bum.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I think a big issue here is a lot of people don't know what previous top 3 picks have looked like coming into the league.

Also if you based your evaluation off even year 1, you'd conclude that Hischier is better than Makar. While Hischier is a great player, we know now that Makar is way better.

These are the hot takes that had this board in full fledged panic when Perron made it before Pacioretty. Yet no one would ever trade Patches 1 for 1 for Perron once his development was done.

Forest for the trees. Calm. Down.

 

[Deebs]

He is neither a Jagr type nor a Jagr style of player. The only thing they have in common is sticking their ass out on the boards to protect the puck.

Jagr has been my favorite player my entire life. These comps make no sense at all. Even when Jagr says "oh yeah he reminds me of a younger me!" he's just being nice. They're nothing alike.

He does have a similar style in certain areas, that can't be denied. But everyone really should move on and accept he's a project like Hughes has stated on a couple occasions and let the kid develop. Give him a couple years

 

[Captain97]

Anyone saying send him to the OHL is delusional, like literally delusional. He would destroy that league by nature of the fact he is 6'4 240. He would be one of the largest players in the NHL let alone the OHL.

The AHL vs NHL is a discussion to be had after he plays his ~5ish preseason games and ~5ish regular season games either is acceptable but we need to wait and see how he adapts to NA ice.

 

[Hannibal]

Not really a great comparison since Laf is a bust with the worst numbers for a first overall over two seasons possibly of all time. Daigle's rookie season was more than Laf's first two combined. It's worse than Yakupov or Stefan. The worst since Brian Lawton, who played less games and still was within a few points of Laf.

Not a great compariason? How come? Laf would have been killed here by this fanbase. We have no patience.

 

[RealityHurts]

Yeah it’s true, Slafkovsky had 0 points in the SHL. What a bum.

I want to be wrong so bad man. But I look at the SHL 10/400 chance for a player to become a super star

 

[waffledave]

He does have a similar style in certain areas, that can't be denied. But everyone really should move on and accept he's a project like Hughes has stated on a couple occasions and let the kid develop. Give him a couple years

Honestly I don't see it at all, they played in different eras too, and Jagr was one of the greatest players of all time. What good does a style comparison do? People have been comparing Laffy's style to Crosby since he was a teenager and it hasn't meant squat.

I have no issue letting the guy develop a few years in the AHL to find his game, I knew the moment we drafted him it would be necessary (though, I don't know if the organization will do that). I am fully aware that it's going to be at least 5 years before Slafkovsky is potentially an impact player for us.

 

[Ezpz]

Not a great compariason? How come? Laf would have been killed here by this fanbase. We have no patience.

My point is Laf actually is a bust, not a late bloomer. Laf's main hype was how NHL ready he was, he was never a guy who "needed time". If that's how Slaf pans out it's deserved criticism.

 

[HostileCapSpace]

Anyone saying send him to the OHL is delusional, like literally delusional. He would destroy that league by nature of the fact he is 6'4 240. He would be one of the largest players in the NHL let alone the OHL.

The AHL vs NHL is a discussion to be had after he plays his ~5ish preseason games and ~5ish regular season games either is acceptable but we need to wait and see how he adapts to NA ice.

Yeah, I wouldn't send him to the OHL for the fact he's too big for that league. He needs to learn to play against bigger guys and to use skills other than size to make plays. OHL would be the worst place IMO.

 

[417]

In the end, it comes to this. Yeah, sure be dissapointed that your No1 overall doesn't look like Crosby, McKinnon and McDavid. Fine. Now with that being said, understand that it was NOT that type of year. So cry about it. We didn't tank the right year. Yep. Now...in ANY freakin draft that happens, at a minimum of at least 80%, for every draft that has ever happened in recent history, history where there are tons of professionnals giving their opinions on kids, not the Kansas City Scouts era, most top 10 picks have played a key role for their team. Most. Top 10 picks.

So you STILL got, last summer, a pick that is in the top 10 pick and if it's like it's suppose to be, will play a key role for your team. Then comes the when...and the how. When? Well you have to take into consideration that he's a European. That played on larger ice surfaces all of his life. That was often one of the biggest kid out there. And that still has to get use to his own body playing at that level he should be playing. Also, he's a winger. Not exactly the guy that is suppose to drive the line he plays in. But that you still need as every top team as top end wingers to succeed.

So in essence, it could take more time. It was said before. We say it now. We will say it later. Yes, it comes with a certain apprehension that what will be his ceiling. Yep. It's the case for most picks. And in a rather ordinairy draft year, I guess it will be the case for EVERY pick. Deal with it.

Having said that, I also don't like when tournaments are used to pick a guy. Hearing Bobrov talk about him, I did hear that they put a lot of emphasis on those and I was at first skeptic. But I also hear that he played better in Liiga as the year prorgressed. And he was great in the playoffs. And that's something I will choose to beleive that those pros did their homework in that regard.

So in resume, if not this year, Slaf will be great next year. That's my belief. This year, I'd have him in the AHL. On a line with Mesar. Heineman-Mesar-Slaf. Make Heineman stay here. Pay the fine or whatever. Have fun kids. Let Wright win the 2022 prospect of the year. And comeback stronger to help us.

Good post.

But it's a sad state of affairs that you have to make a post like this given where we are as fans of this organization.

I mean, needing to implore fans to be patient with an 18 year old is completely wild to me.

This isn't normal behavior lol.

 

[ReHabs]

My point is Laf actually is a bust, not a late bloomer. Laf's main hype was how NHL ready he was, he was never a guy who "needed time". If that's how Slaf pans out it's deserved criticism.

Laf had a good playoffs didn’t he?

Maybe something is rotten in NY and their development is Therrien-esque?

 

[Hannibal]

My point is Laf actually is a bust, not a late bloomer. Laf's main hype was how NHL ready he was, he was never a guy who "needed time". If that's how Slaf pans out it's deserved criticism.

Your post proove my point, thank you. Laff already a bust. Lol

 

[Mrb1p]

Not really a great comparison since Laf is a bust with the worst numbers for a first overall over two seasons possibly of all time. Daigle's rookie season was more than Laf's first two combined. It's worse than Yakupov or Stefan. The worst since Brian Lawton, who played less games and still was within a few points of Laf.

Laf isnt a bust lmao, he scored more ES goals than Norris, Raymond, Caufield, Horvat, Anderson, Palat, Gourde and so on.

 

[Vachon23]

My point is Laf actually is a bust, not a late bloomer. Laf's main hype was how NHL ready he was, he was never a guy who "needed time". If that's how Slaf pans out it's deserved criticism.

Way too early to tell that Lafreniere is a bust. Scored 19 goals in 2nd years at 20 and he had great playoff.

If we drafted Wright and we had the option to do the same trade for Lafreniere that we did for Dach, I would have done it at 100 %

 

[ReHabs]

Way too early to tell that Lafreniere is a bust. Scored 19 goals in 2nd years at 20 and he had great playoff.

If we drafted Wright and we had the option to do the same trade for Lafreniere that we did for Dach, I would have done it at 100 %

The spicy question is if you would trade Slaf for Laf right now 🌶