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

[Bombshell11]

It will be more of the same if we get Bedard and he doesn't dominate in his first 2 pre-season games.

It has nothing to do with dominating the first 2 games.

Mesar and Beck din't "dominate" but they showed really strong qualities that makes you wonder how were these 2 picked so high up?

We're just not impressed with Slaf's game as a 1OA, it's not sure he will ever develop or understand the game well enough to be a dominant 1st line player. As a 1st OA he'll have plenty of chances to prove himself so there's nothing wrong with talking about the issues right now.

 

[Le Tricolore]

Two games is all we have (Well for people who don't watch players pre-draft.), surely its not that hard to grasp that some are disappointed and would like to see "something".

I also just said I didn't really care what he looks like for the next two years, its not a me problem, its just a problem of Slaf being a raw prospect that would be picked in a top 5 generally and not first, picked first by a team that has had no luck at all offensively over the past 50 years. If we had the 4th overall last year and picked him up (assuming were in 2021, here.), no one would bat an eye at Slafkovsky, heck, he'd probably be in europe right now.

It comes with the territory for people, its just normal.

Being disappointed that he hasn't dominated his first two NHL games is one thing. People saying that the pick is a bust, the Habs f***ed up, etc. is ridiculous.

People wanted this team to tank for years. Some people got upset with making the playoffs in 2020 and 2021. Last season they finished in last place, got the top pick, and now people are overreacting to games that ultimately mean absolutely nothing with how Slafkovsky's career will turn out is mind boggling.

He's 18.

It's pre-season.

He played with f***ing Rem Pitlick and Joel Armia yesterday.

Let's give him more than 48 hours of wearing a Habs jersey before declaring the sky is falling.

 

[Mrb1p]

Thanks to hurricane Fiona I haven't seen the kid play one single shift. Should I go back and read what posters are saying about him or should I just skip it?

Some say he looked great and theres no issues
Some say he looked bad but its fine hes gonna be okay
Others say they don't know but he hasn't shown much
Others say he was always a bust

The first group lumps all the other groups together and calls them names
The last group lumps all the other groups together and calls them names

 

[Le Tricolore]

Some say he looked great and theres no issues
Some say he looked bad but its fine hes gonna be okay
Others say they don't know but he hasn't shown much
Others say he was always a bust

It's insane how accurate this post is

 

[River Meadow]

Some say he looked great and theres no issues
Some say he looked bad but its fine hes gonna be okay
Others say they don't know but he hasn't shown much
Others say he was always a bust

I'm camp #3

He hasn't shown much, expected more, but not worried.

 

[River Meadow]

Thanks to hurricane Fiona I haven't seen the kid play one single shift. Should I go back and read what posters are saying about him or should I just skip it?

Watch for yourself, IMO.

 

[OldCraig71]

Watch for yourself, IMO.

Thanks for the kind words lol, I missed this place.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

Thanks to hurricane Fiona I haven't seen the kid play one single shift. Should I go back and read what posters are saying about him or should I just skip it?

Uhhh... Depends how strong your constitution is for a little vitriol

 

[OldCraig71]

Uhhh... Depends how strong your constitution is for a little vitriol

I can't be a hypocrite, I have spewed my share of it over the years.

 

[417]

Thats very weird, its just normal for our expectations to be attached to the perceived value of a player.

That part of it is normal...

But you and others go a step beyond and you have to make your expectations about Slafkovsky parallel to other 1st overall picks.

As though every draft is the same.

Lets say youre in the market to replace your last car, bought 30k in 2010, If you pay 50k for a car, are you expecting a prius or a benz ? When you jump in the car and realize youve paid 50k for canvas seats and no center console would you feel disappointed? Of course, thats because your perceived value hasn't been met.

Then the market crashes a few years later and you replace you car for the same price and you get leather seats and a pano roof.

I'm not talking about buying a car. This analogy doesn't work.

 

[HostileCapSpace]

There is nothing to do at this point beyond placing all of our prospects in the positions most conducive to leveraging their skills and aiding them in their development. If a mistake was made in the selection of Slafkovsky, the organization can merely mitigate the damage by ensuring that his development is not hampered, as were our prior top picks.

He should be in the OHL at this point. My expectation was that he'd be a second-third-line tweener in the AHL through this season, with power play time, but if he can be placed in the juniors, it will benefit him immensely.

Agree with first paragraph, but I think the OHL is not a good option simply because he'll play there and use his body to dominate - too easy. I want him to learn to use his other skills to make a difference because his body alone won't be enough in the NHL. Players are bigger/stronger in the AHL

 

[417]

Two games is all we have (Well for people who don't watch players pre-draft.), surely its not that hard to grasp that some are disappointed and would like to see "something".

I don't care about people's disappointment...it has nothing to do with how the player is and will develop.

Yes, two games is all have and it's not nearly enough to start drawing the types of conclusions being tossed around here.

In your defense, not that you need it, I haven't felt that you've really said anything outlandish or out of pocket.

I just think you're in a rush to reach conclusions on the player.

If you permit me my analogy this time...

It's like you just bought a book you weren't sold on wanting but were convinced, you waited months to open it, you read the preface and you already decided what type of book it is.

I also just said I didn't really care what he looks like for the next two years, its not a me problem, its just a problem of Slaf being a raw prospect that would be picked in a top 5 generally and not first, picked first by a team that has had no luck at all offensively over the past 50 years. If we had the 4th overall last year and picked him up (assuming were in 2021, here.), no one would bat an eye at Slafkovsky, heck, he'd probably be in europe right now.

Like I said, I don't think you've been extreme in your views about Slafkovsky...just not sure why you're so eager to reach a conclusion.

Let HIM write his story.

Which doesn't preclude you from evaluating what you currently see. I think I also made a comment that I think he tends to do a lot of puck watching and it causes him to not move his feet, which makes his reactions slower.

So that's something he can work on...but then again, I was well aware that he needed stuff to work on.

So none of this is a surprise to me, so if I barely followed this player pre-draft and many here have...how can it be a surprise to them?

It comes with the territory for people, its just normal.

Nah...it's not normal.

We, Habs fans, love propping up our players as much as we love tearing them down...often, if both can happen to the same player, even better.

 

[417]

Some say he looked great and theres no issues
Some say he looked bad but its fine hes gonna be okay
Others say they don't know but he hasn't shown much
Others say he was always a bust

The first group lumps all the other groups together and calls them names
The last group lumps all the other groups together and calls them names

No one said this lol

Jack Hughes (b.2001) Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Statistics of Jack Hughes, a hockey player from Orlando, FL born May 14 2001 who was active from 2016 to 2025.

www.hockeydb.com

Would we have the patience required to see this kind of development curve out?

 

[River Meadow]

I can't be a hypocrite, I have spewed my share of it over the years.

In that case...

He's looked very average.... nothing really standing out to make you go, WOW... however, Mesar has that those moments...

 

[SnapVirus]

Hugues on tsn a couple minutes ago « Slafkovsky has been underwhelming in his first two games ».

Meanwhile, some here : hes been great!

 

[Twisted Sinister]

I can't be a hypocrite, I have spewed my share of it over the years.

He sucks! Suckbustky is his name from now on, or some variation thereof. Future Zubrus for sure.

Now that that's settled, for me, his issues at the NHL level are exactly what I thought they'd be. The game is too fast for him and his IQ isn't up to snuff. More worrying is that he doesn't seem to be trying some of the things that actually did bring him to the dance.

But we'll see. The night is young as they say.

 

[SlafySZN]

Delete

 

[Whitesnake]

People say that he has to show something...I,m the only who has seen him win his battles more often than not and more importantly his great vision with some crisp tape to tape passes to players who couldn't handle how hard his passes were and just fumbled them? Juraj really showed NOTHING? Geez...

 

[FF de Mars]

Hugues on tsn a couple minutes ago « Slafkovsky has been underwhelming in his first two games ».

Meanwhile, some here : hes been great!

Snap, what a strawman. Nobody said he's been great, actually!

 

[River Meadow]

He sucks! Suckbustky is his name from now on, or some variation thereof. Future Zubrus for sure.

Now that that's settled, for me, his issues at the NHL level are exactly what I thought they'd be. The game is too fast for him and his IQ isn't up to snuff. More worrying is that he doesn't seem to be trying some of the things that actually did bring him to the dance.

But we'll see. The night is young as they say.

Zubrus showed tons of flashes. Let's not promote Slaf that quickly....

 

[Twisted Sinister]

Zubrus showed tons of flashes. Let's not promote Slaf that quickly....

I just didn't want to do the usual lazy Armia comparison

 

[River Meadow]

I just didn't want to do the usual lazy Armia comparison

tbf, Armia when he's ON (like in the playoffs) is something of a beast, uses his size, and he has a terrific accurate shot.

If Slaf can be Armia with more consistency it wouldn't be the worst thing ever.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

tbf, Armia when he's ON (like in the playoffs) is something of a beast, uses his size, and he has a terrific accurate shot.

If Slaf can be Armia with more consistency it wouldn't be the worst thing ever.

Armia is consistent. Consistently bad.

The times when he's good are the aberration.

 

[Canadienna]

Hugues on tsn a couple minutes ago « Slafkovsky has been underwhelming in his first two games ».

Meanwhile, some here : hes been great!

Huh. I feel like ragging him in the media may not be best right now.

I wonder, is there more to that quote?

 

[River Meadow]

Huh. I feel like ragging him in the media may not be best right now.

I wonder, is there more to that quote?

It's not ragging....

That's what a lot of people here don't seem to get.

It's just honesty / reality.

Armia is consistent. Consistently bad.

The times when he's good are the aberration.

But when he's good tho...

*chefs kiss*