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

[Ezpz]

A great playoff where he paced for 40 points over a season. Laf will never be the first line star he was projected to be.

 

[Vachon23]

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

I was thinking at that actually when I wrote the post and I think I would have done it.

 

[MonkeyBusiness]

I would trade Slafkovsky for Lafrenière in a heartbeat. Call me crazy; I've always loved Lafrenière's game and his attitude.

A great playoff where he paced for 40 points over a season. Laf will never be the first line star he was projected to be.

I sincerely think he will. Need I remind you the Rangers aren't the most patient organization when it comes to developing youngsters and giving them opportunities.

 

[Vachon23]

A great playoff where he paced for 40 points over a season. Laf will never be the first line star he was projected to be.

It's only the production, his line was a big reason why NYR went that far and he had a big impact with his physicality

 

[morhilane]

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.

Despite what people think, Yakupov had a good 1st season pts wise (31pts in 48 games, prorated to 82 games: 52.9 pts). He regressed after that first season, years after years...

It's better to start with low production in progress years after years as the player gets adjusted to the NHL, than start strong via sheltering and babysitting and faceplant.

 

[waffledave]

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

I would, absolutely. He's not a bust at all.

 

[Whitesnake]

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

That recency bias is bullshit. You know how it can be called? Evolution. Or Progression. A 17 year old kid starts playing in a men's league. So he struggles at first...he's 17 year old. Then...he learns the speed of the game....and then in March he's 18 year old. And from the reports, he looked better as the year progressed. And in the playoffs. So recency bias? Or progression, evolution or adaptation? Tournaments? Yep. Not a fan either to SOLELY based a decision on this. But from the reports, it wasn't all about that either.

How many playoffs games from Wright have you seen? Truly. If it's possible. I've watched at least 3/4 of them. Not joking. And I can tell you that he OFTEN did not look REMOTELY close to a 1st overall pick either. He was being pushed around and beaten in puck pursuit by guys that will never make the NHL.

Yet again, I also did not have Slaf as my 1st overall. But not being worthy of 1st overall? Pure BS.

One last thing about recency....

Slaf dominated his age group everytime except when he joined the Liiga. Also, we are not talking about Kotkaniemi recency bias. Started at 20 at the start of the draft year to finish 3. Slaf was always a top 5 pick from the start.

By the way, the best prospect when all is said and done might very well be Marco Kaspar. Yet, NOBODY would have said that he deserved to be the NO1 pick. Which in the end, if Kaspar ends up being the best...3 to 5 years from now, it wouldn't have matter if he would not have deserved it....

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.

I've watched Savoie in Buffalo. He often looked worst than guys that were invitations.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

I remember the first pre season game KK vs Tkachuk. That was Bambi vs the monster. But, I recall, after the game, Tkachuk went to the mic and said that KK will become a good player into the league. At that game, I remember, I said, why we havent drafted Tkachuk, he is already a beast? And everybody told me, : « you need to be patient with KK. ». Yeah, Im still patient…
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.
But, this is only 2 pre season games. So, I need to evalute him on longer stretch, but right now, Im not satisfied.

2 pre season games....FFS

And KK was amazing in his first pre-season....

 

[Vachon23]

2 pre season games....FFS

And KK was amazing in his first pre-season....

Remember when Bournival finish in the top 5 for PTS in the pre season ?

 

[JeffreyLFC]

I already knew habs fans are insane but this is next level.

So many fans want him to fail and it's hilarious and sad at the same time.

 

[CheldishGamibno]

I already knew habs fans are insane but this is next level.

So many fans want him to fail and it's hilarious and sad at the same time.

Gotta start working on your ignore list

 

[Vachon23]

I already knew habs fans are insane but this is next level.

So many fans want him to fail and it's hilarious and sad at the same time.

The funniest thing is that some of them where complaining about MB and his ego, but they want Slaf to fell because he wasn't there pick..

 

[Ezpz]

I would trade Slafkovsky for Lafrenière in a heartbeat. Call me crazy; I've always loved Lafrenière's game and his attitude.


I sincerely think he will. Need I remind you the Rangers aren't the most patient organization when it comes to developing youngsters and giving them opportunities.

Even so it's not as if they are deep on forward. They're built like a slightly better 2010's Habs. Without Shesterkin (Or Crosby being injured, or both Pens goalies being injured) they go out first round. They are a one-line team up front.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

The good news is that it should make the decision to send him to Laval easier. Don't want to have another instance of a rushed prospect.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I already knew habs fans are insane but this is next level.

So many fans want him to fail and it's hilarious and sad at the same time.

Too many people have chosen the subject of Montreal Canadiens prospects to feed their ego. It's f***ing insane. If you want to pick something, at least pick something where you can have a direct impact!

 

[417]

The good news is that it should make the decision to send him to Laval easier. Don't want to have another instance of a rushed prospect.

I doubt that decision has been made already and personally, I think the coaching staff probably has a much different take on how Slafkovsky has looked so far.

 

[Vachon23]

Even so it's not as if they are deep on forward. They're built like a slightly better 2010's Habs. Without Shesterkin (Or Crosby being injured, or both Pens goalies being injured) they go out first round. They are a one-line team up front.

They just have 2 of the best LW in the league in front of Laf

 

[GobigorGohome]

At least we don't have worry about Slav having to get bigger and stronger.For decades that has been one of the Habs drafting weakness .
Drafting semi skilled weak players

 

[Jaynki]

Feel like i am the only who is genuinely excited by Slaf.

Its true that he hasnt shown much offensively but this will come. Its actually the part that worries me the less.

As for the other parts of the game, i believe he is obviously NHL ready. He has the speed, the strenght, the positioning and the understanding of the game. The kid clearly knows how to play hockey.

He orchestrated numerous zone exits, had some takeaways and ditched some sincere pass, especially to Armia. He will figure out how to let go his wrister or dangle a few D.

Id be happy if he stayed the whole season with Montreal and i would not have any problem even if he ends up the season with 10 goals and 20ish points. Its pretty normal for a non-generational 18YO and all the tools (and toolbox) are there for a magnificient power player.

Id rather that he played like he did instead of having some wowing offensive flashes but being lost in the other aspect of the game. Fans would totally adore him tho under those circumstances.

 

[Ezpz]

They just have 2 of the best LW in the league in front of Laf

On paper sure, but Kreider and Panarin were playing together. Goodrow was the superstar playing ahead of Laf in the top 6.

Anyways, Laf was heralded as a Patrick Kane-level talent, which he is not. Just based on the hype alone, even becoming a 60 point forward is a bust.

 

[Vachon23]

On paper sure, but Kreider and Panarin were playing together. Goodrow was the superstar playing ahead of Laf in the top 6.

Anyways, Laf was heralded as a Patrick Kane-level talent, which he is not. Just based on the hype alone, even becoming a 60 point forward is a bust.

30 G 60-70 big PF who plays a physical game are hard to find.

 

[SlafySZN]

Feel like i am the only who is genuinely excited by Slaf.

Its true that he hasnt shown much offensively but this will come. Its actually the part that worries me the less.

As for the other parts of the game, i believe he is obviously NHL ready. He has the speed, the strenght, the positioning and the understanding of the game. The kid clearly knows how to play hockey.

He orchestrated numerous zone exits, had some takeaways and ditched some sincere pass, especially to Armia. He will figure out how to let go his wrister.

Id be happy if he stayed the whole season with Montreal and i would not have any problem even if he ends up the season with 10 goals and 20ish points. Its pretty normal for a non-generational 18YO and all the tools (and toolbox) are there for a magnificient power player.

No, i am with you.

I would like to see more offense but i think he’s doing ok on many little things, looks like he is learning to play and position himself on smaller ice.

More intrigued to see what he can do offensively with better talent like Caufield or Suzuki.

 

[le_sean]

Remember when Bournival finish in the top 5 for PTS in the pre season ?

I more remember:

GUI GUI GUI

 

[Ezpz]

30 G 60-70 big PF who plays a physical game are hard to find.

Yeah, luckily that's what Slaf projects to be. Laf, not so sure; he really seems to be a guy who was pushing around boys and isn't getting the same results against men. At least ours is still 18 and looks physically more dominant even in his first pre-season.

 

[417]

Feel like i am the only who is genuinely excited by Slaf.

Its true that he hasnt shown much offensively but this will come. Its actually the part that worries me the less.

As for the other parts of the game, i believe he is obviously NHL ready. He has the speed, the strenght, the positioning and the understanding of the game. The kid clearly knows how to play hockey.

He orchestrated numerous zone exits, had some takeaways and ditched some sincere pass, especially to Armia. He will figure out how to let go his wrister or dangle a few D.

Id be happy if he stayed the whole season with Montreal and i would not have any problem even if he ends up the season with 10 goals and 20ish points. Its pretty normal for a non-generational 18YO and all the tools (and toolbox) are there for a magnificient power player.

Id rather that he played like he did instead of having some wowing offensive flashes but being lost in the other aspect of the game. Fans would totally adore him tho under those circumstances.

I thought he did a lot of good things last night and was let down by his two linemates several times.

Pitlick and Armia couldn't complete or receive a pass to save their lives last night (though few people on the team could last night, Slaf being one of few who did).

He does seem a bit passive though, seems like he's trying extra hard to defer and let the game come to him. I did catch a glimpse of him wanting the puck and being aggressive late in the 3rd on the PP.

This is a big adjustment and we all knew this, but there's no point trying to be rational here.

I can't imagine what this board is going to look like in November with this team if this is the reaction after 2 preseason games.