Prospect Info: 2022 - 1st OA] Juraj Slafkovsky (LW) Part 4

[ZUKI]

I took so much shit for daring to suggest that despite his size he is NOT some tough bruiser, in any sense. People here were talking like he was going to be some super tough power forward... there is nothing in his scouting report that says he is this kind of player. It was complete fantasyland nonsense.

As for comparing to Dach... I agree with your premise but Dach is 100x more skilled than Slaf will ever be.

Dach is 2 years older and has played on the smaller ice all his career. I prefer to wait before stating he's 100 x better than Slaf and i think that you should too

 

[ZUKI]

You do that all the time!
And NO! The point is that you are a grumpy choleric who only bring toxic negativity to this board.
Just stop it and say something positive for once for God sake!

try to say something positive about this fan for once
i know it's ...

NB ; Mods, i am joking here , nothing else

 

[Habs]

This might be controversial, but I'm starting to wonder if Slaf is actually legit stupid. That skating behind the net while not keeping his head up or paying attention yesterday was so dumb I'm actually starting to question his regular IQ and not just his hockey IQ.

if he was the size of Gallagher, his career would be over from concussions, he will figure it out one day... or not

 

[JoelWarlord]

How can you say this in the midst of the conversation where the topic is entirely about Slaf getting clobbered on the ice every few games?

I did say in the post you're replying to that if that trend continues I would probably want him sent to the AHL. I don't think 3 or 4 big hits in 20 games is enough that I would currently call it a glaring flaw that is preventing him from learning at the NHL level, but we'll see what happens. The reason I say it is because he is visibly playing an assertive game and using his skills and physical tools to make plays, take risks, and is progressing quickly. If he keeps getting himself into trouble then I'm fine with sending him down to learn to map small ice in a slower league but his overall play doesn't suggest he's being rushed to me.

For me it's as simple as he's performing well in an NHL role currently and is visibly developing at this level. Even just at the most basic raw points only view he's on pace for around 25-30 points which is basically the peak of what a player can feasibly do averaging 11 minutes of TOI on the fourth line. The next test will be if he can continue progression into a top six or middle-six role with more TOI and better matchups, and if he can protect himself better on the ice. Once again we'll see what happens, and hopefully Monahan is healthy as it'll be harder to evaluate if he's playing ~14 minutes but with Evans and Dadonov or something.

He has a ton of flaws and issues and only someone purposefully ignoring them would say otherwise. He is behind at some point of every play. He receives a big hit every few games that knocks him on his ass and can injure him. How is that not a technical flaw in your opinion?

I think this is a bit dramatic. By this standard, we only have four or five NHL forwards, and everyone else should be in the AHL. I'm not one of those who think he's been an amazing top 6 stud already and just needs more ice time, I just think he's been an overall solid bottom six NHL forward thus far, flaws and all. He has a lot of flaws off the puck, but he also has a lot of tools (esp boardplay) that other players lack and so far the positive is outweighing the negative, and there's been visible progression in his play.

What I mean by a technical flaw in this context is a single tool that is so far below NHL calibre it forces a player to adopt a hugely oversimplified game and abandon anything creative. Eg. when Mete was 19 and weighed 140 pounds so he couldn't engage physically whatsoever and had to throw the puck away and play an extremely risk-averse style.

Slafkovsky has tons of flaws in his game currently but they aren't preventing him from being assertive with the puck or playing creatively, and he is physically able to handle NHL play. Again if he keeps getting caught with his head down then I would say we're reaching a point where he should be sent to the AHL to figure out how to map the ice better, but otherwise, I don't see a player that's restricting his game and not developing just to stay afloat in the NHL the way rookie Mete was.

 

[waffledave]

Dach is 2 years older and has played on the smaller ice all his career. I prefer to wait before stating he's 100 x better than Slaf and i think that you should too

Skill wise? Dach is better, that isn't going to change. Slaf is not on that level.

 

[Andrei79]

This thread sucks again.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Keep calm guys. Hits on him don't scare me at all, he is strong man. Yeah he need to keep his head up, but he is going to improve that with coaching staff. Don't worry guys, Suzuki too in his rookie season got hitting on him and looks now...

Keep calm and relax!

Lindros was a pretty strong man too. He ended up completely destroyed from cutting through middle ice with his head down.

Juraj better learn quick or there’s no telling who is going to catch him, but somebody will.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Lindros was a pretty strong man too. He ended up completely destroyed from cutting through middle ice with his head down.

Juraj better learn quick or there’s no telling who is going to catch him, but somebody will.

Thankfully, the league isn't as predatorial as in Lindros' time, but yeah, it is starting to get concerning.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

You’re nothing but a troll. All your posts are either shitting on MSL/Slaf/Dach/Anderson/Gallagher or praising Armia LOL
You must be that poster who used to be around here, TannedBum

Good guess.

 

[BenchBrawl]

They should make him skate and practice with something like this until the reflex is completely out of his system.

I'm only half-joking. I wonder why they don't do something like this for players who have problems keeping their head up.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I agree with what you’re saying. I said in a previous post to the people thinking things will change in this regard if he’s sent to a place like the AHL that it likely won’t. I think it’s making decisions not only at NHL speed but the speed in general on a smaller ice surface in NA with less space. If he doesn’t fix the core problem, it won’t matter if it’s NHL, AHL, or CHL, they’ll still clean his clock. And the guys in the AHL are still grown men who will be looking to level him if his heads down.

I disagree here. He has less time and space here in the NHL. This is not debatable imo. In the AHL he would have more time to adapt and learn to keep his head up. It might on being a fraction of a second, but at this level it makes all the difference in the world.

 

[OnTheRun]

How can you say this in the midst of the conversation where the topic is entirely about Slaf getting clobbered on the ice every few games?


He has a ton of flaws and issues and only someone purposefully ignoring them would say otherwise. He is behind at some point of every play. He receives a big hit every few games that knocks him on his ass and can injure him. How is that not a technical flaw in your opinion?

Simple. It's a processing flaw, not a technical flaw.

He doesn't process the game at the speed required at the NHL level just yet and this is the root cause of the issues you see, and this isn't a concern for a guy with 20 something games of experience under his belt.

 

[Jaaanosik]

...

As for comparing to Dach... I agree with your premise but Dach is 100x more skilled than Slaf will ever be.

What a BS statement.
Why not 101x?

 

[Zilo44]

Skill wise? Dach is better, that isn't going to change. Slaf is not on that level.

True but Slaf has a much better shot

 

[waffledave]

What a BS statement.
Why not 101x?

I'll accept 101x too.

True but Slaf has a much better shot

I could see Slaf have a few 30 goal seasons whereas Dach will top out in the high 20s. But points wise Dach will eclipse him.

 

[WinterLion]

flopping? what lol
He isn't allowed a moment to regain himself after getting hit hard?

Of course but I get the feeling there is more going on than that... with him staying down and then checking his jaw etc... maybe I'm wrong. In any case he just needs to learn to protect himself better, I'm sure we can agree on that.

 

[Jaaanosik]

I'll accept 101x too.


I could see Slaf have a few 30 goal seasons whereas Dach will top out in the high 20s. But points wise Dach will eclipse him.

Which witch gave you her crystal ball?

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Sure he would not play in most of NHL team, but that is the principle of draft. The worst team takes best prospect. Other franchise would treat him differently, but this is probably the best place for his development of all available options.
I agree he will never be "the smart guy" on the ice, in some cases you just need more experience. I remember scouting many guys who looked so smart in their juniors, but never made big pro career. Slaf is the opposite, I said if they can develop him into proper 2nd liner in cup contender team, it will be a success story.

He’s in the wrong league. His lack of awareness is putting his entire career at risk. There’s nothing MSL can do to fix a rattled brain.

He needs to go down before we squander another high pick. He shouldn’t have been here in the first place. His offense is meh and his play without the puck is the worst on the team. He looks completely lost most shifts. He’s not ready for this.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

You do that all the time!
And NO! The point is that you are a grumpy choleric who only bring toxic negativity to this board.
Just stop it and say something positive for once for God sake!

Agree with me or else you’re toxic. I’ll pass, thanks.

 

[Retired]

Word is he got a bigger helmet

 

[Schooner Guy]

Dach is 2 years older and has played on the smaller ice all his career. I prefer to wait before stating he's 100 x better than Slaf and i think that you should too

Dach's actually more than 3 years older than Slaf. The irony is the same naysaying experts were up in arms all summer that we traded a mid-1st for Dach!

 

[ottawa]

3 points in his last 4 games, needs to shoot more though.

 

[Egresch]

Just a little recap of this forum.

Optimists:
- he should be playing more TOI, let him play top 6 minutes
- he is much better than the crap we have in all our vets excl. Mony
- his potential is 100 points per season

Realists:
- he is doing fine for 18y old rookie
- keeps improving
- needs time to adapt however his awareness starts to be concern

Pesimists:
- he is totally lost without the puck
- the dumbest player on and off the ice
- skillwise Slafkovsky= Dach / 101

 

[stenlis]

<deleted>

 

[BaseballCoach]

Dach's actually more than 3 years older than Slaf. The irony is the same naysaying experts were up in arms all summer that we traded a mid-1st for Dach!

If we look around the league, it is very clear that a boatload of players drafted 3-4-5-6 years ago have significantly improved results last year and/or this year.

I understand that our last two guys drafted at #3 became disappointments (though Galchenyuk actually did progress from his June 2012 draft date until December 2016 when he got hurt), so maybe we can't imagine a player who will get better to the point of having a big impact on the team.

However, from even the exhibition games where he started slowly, I was very, very confident that Juraj Slafkovsky has the tools and the work ethic to not only improve this year but to really shine for us soon. We're not used to it, but we have a real talent here. I'm not stressing over a p/60 that is already 2.0!!

Right now, he doesn't need Laval, he doesn't need Europe, he doesn't need Junior, he doesn't need a WJC, he doesn't need to rebuild any shattered confidence, he doesn't need to go play against weaker guys or on a bigger surface in order to learn how not to get killed by NHL defenders. Above all, he does not have to go ANYWHERE else to get better coaching and guidance.

Slafkovsky just needs to do what most high picks have done, which is continually adjust to the NHL game over time, and figure out how his tools will make him impactful.