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

[LaP]

I’ve been saying that for months and was largely ridiculed for such heresy. To this observer, Fantilli outplayed Bedard at the U18 Championship. Fantilli’s superior size and speed projects better at the NHL level. Now let’s see if any team has the wisdom to go against the prevailing consensus as Montreal and two other teams did with respect to Wright at the last draft.

Fantalli is 9 months and a few days older than bedard and pretty much a year in front of Bedard development wise. It's Bedard 17 yo season while it's Fantalli 18 yo season. Bedard will be one of the youngest players available next draft. I would not take any u18 performance as a measuring stick when it comes to who i would draft.

As for Slafbustky i'd rather see him play under MSL than under Houle. So for me the choice is simple to do and it's keep him up.

 

[Egresch]

Little recap of his play against the Blues.

 

[the valiant effort]

^^ 0:46-0:56 is the best Habs rookie sequence in 40 years.

 

[Lshap]

Little recap of his play against the Blues.

Thanks for this clip. I missed the game so I appreciate being able to see Slafkovsky doing the little things well, using his strength, processing the speed of the game better. With growing confidence his game is emerging. As others stated above, as long as MSL is setting the right pace for the kid, the NHL experience is helping him. Realistically, a lot of kids hit a wall in their first season; I hope management is ready to send him to the AHL if he needs to catch his breath.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Thanks for this clip. I missed the game so I appreciate being able to see Slafkovsky doing the little things well, using his strength, processing the speed of the game better. With growing confidence his game is emerging. As others stated above, as long as MSL is setting the right pace for the kid, the NHL experience is helping him. Realistically, a lot of kids hit a wall in their first season; I hope management is ready to send him to the AHL if he needs to catch his breath.

You can see this kid’s on ice confidence and effectiveness growing incrementally each game. Watching him play its sometimes easy to forget we are watching an 18 year old playing against the best players in the world. Can he get better? Of course. They have to smooth out his skating style by adjusting his squat form which adjustment will increase his straight line speed particularly when he’s carrying the puck. Also Slafkovsky has to reduce his tendency of playing with one hand on the stick. With his great reach that may have worked against lesser opposition, but in the NHL, opposing players will just power their way through Slafkovsky’s efforts to contain them. He has to learn to keep moving his feet and use his size advantage to engage opposing players and win puck battles. If I was coaching him I would constantly remind him: No reaching, this is not ringette.

This kid is quickly adapting to the speed and intensity of the game at the NHL level. Slafkovsky has already proved he can compete and now score against the best competition in the world.. He will only get better as time goes on. This was a great draft choice.

 

[Scriptor]

Well, that's the thing, salaries will go up and Gallagher's salary will look fine even if he's in your bottom six.

It's not as simple as that, IMO. A 6.5M third line player or fourth line player will remain a blatant overpay, even of the Cap goes up to 90M in a hurry.

Even now, though, one bad contract à la Gallagher won't cripple a team's Cap situation, but it will always have an impact:

1) Every dollar wasted affects the ability to have genuine talented depth
2) Wasted dollars prevent you from extending contracts sooner and saving towards the Cap impact before pressure on salaries goes up as the cap goes up.
3) The assumption where Gallagher's contract can hurt you is if you assemble talent to the level where you can become a Cup contender. On a middle-of-the-pack team, Gallagher's Cap hit and production, even, are not a concern in the least bit.
4) If you're forced to bridge a youngster for lack of cap space, it will only come back to bite you in the arse and cost you more later over the long term.

 

[Scriptor]

Thanks for this clip. I missed the game so I appreciate being able to see Slafkovsky doing the little things well, using his strength, processing the speed of the game better. With growing confidence his game is emerging. As others stated above, as long as MSL is setting the right pace for the kid, the NHL experience is helping him. Realistically, a lot of kids hit a wall in their first season; I hope management is ready to send him to the AHL if he needs to catch his breath.

Thanks to this clip where we isolate Slafkovsky's shifts, I can now see why St-Louis considers this to have been Slafkovsky's best game so far this season.

Slafkovsky was like a pesky gnat on the puck carrier and used his body well in the game VS the Blues. still needs to refine his game, but he seems to have understood what he needs to do to win battles, coming out ahead on most occasions.

Don't forget that St-Louis is a big, heavy team with talent.

You can see this kid’s on ice confidence and effectiveness growing incrementally each game. Watching him play its sometimes easy to forget we are watching an 18 year old playing against the best players in the world. Can he get better? Of course. They have to smooth out his skating style by adjusting his squat style form which adjustment will increase his straight line speed particularly when he’s carrying the puck. Also Slafkovsky has to reduce his tendency of playing with one hand on the stick. With his great reach that may have worked against lesser opposition, but in the NHL, opposing players will just power their way through Slafkovsky’s efforts to contain them. He has to learn to keep moving his feet and use his size advantage to engage opposing players and win puck battles. If I was coaching him I would constantly remind him: No reaching, this is not ringette.

This kid is quickly adapting to the speed and intensity of the game at the NHL level. Slafkovsky has already proved he can compete and now score against the best competition in the world.. He will only get better as time goes on. This was a great draft choice.

Patience is the key. The kid is showing good things so far and it appears that patience will pay off.

 

[Paddyjack]

It's not as simple as that, IMO. A 6.5M third line player or fourth line player will remain a blatant overpay, even of the Cap goes up to 90M in a hurry.

Even now, though, one bad contract à la Gallagher won't cripple a team's Cap situation, but it will always have an impact:

1) Every dollar wasted affects the ability to have genuine talented depth
2) Wasted dollars prevent you from extending contracts sooner and saving towards the Cap impact before pressure on salaries goes up as the cap goes up.
3) The assumption where Gallagher's contract can hurt you is if you assemble talent to the level where you can become a Cup contender. On a middle-of-the-pack team, Gallagher's Cap hit and production, even, are not a concern in the least bit.
4) If you're forced to bridge a youngster for lack of cap space, it will only come back to bite you in the arse and cost you more later over the long term.

Agreed with this. And I find this highly unfortunate. I don't mind Gallagher on the team, even in his lessened state, he is an example of heart and determination for the youngsters. But his contract makes him hated by the fans and it's sad.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Well, that's the thing, salaries will go up and Gallagher's salary will look fine even if he's in your bottom six.

It will never look "fine" unless Gallagher can score 20 per year, in which case the overpayment might only be around $1M.

However to be fair, almost every team probably has SOME bad contracts. Eventually they get out of them by some method, either by running them out, buying them out, incentivizing someone to take them, or LTIR "blessing".

If Gallagher is our only remaining bad contract in three years or less, there will be plenty of cap space to take on new players, give pay raises to DESERVING young veterans or weaponize space like we did with Monahan or the original Armia deal.

The biggest mistake to avoid is to commit big money and term to a core player who is not as good as youj thought he was, while the biggest temptation to resist is overpaying support players.

The Habs if managed properly could be in a positon to contend for quite a while, starting in 2024-25, if they evaluate well and manage their cap well, all the while maintaining a strong flow of new prospects, properly supported and developed. I've shown the basics of such a management plan elsewhere.

 

[Egresch]

You can see this kid’s on ice confidence and effectiveness growing incrementally each game. Watching him play its sometimes easy to forget we are watching an 18 year old playing against the best players in the world. Can he get better? Of course. They have to smooth out his skating style by adjusting his squat style form which adjustment will increase his straight line speed particularly when he’s carrying the puck. Also Slafkovsky has to reduce his tendency of playing with one hand on the stick. With his great reach that may have worked against lesser opposition, but in the NHL, opposing players will just power their way through Slafkovsky’s efforts to contain them. He has to learn to keep moving his feet and use his size advantage to engage opposing players and win puck battles. If I was coaching him I would constantly remind him: No reaching, this is not ringette.

This kid is quickly adapting to the speed and intensity of the game at the NHL level. Slafkovsky has already proved he can compete and now score against the best competition in the world.. He will only get better as time goes on. This was a great draft choice.

Honestly, I am watching this kid for two years and I cannot understand. Month-by-month he is just improving and believe me I was pretty skeptic about him. Yet, you still see many aspects he could work on, so nobody can really project where his ceiling is.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I don’t think it’s a huge mistake or anything. Maybe this is the right path to take. I’ve just seen this so many times in the past.

The big difference is MSL. I have faith in him. So, maybe this is the way to go. Personally I’d have put him in the minors but he seems to be gaining confidence so they could be ritght in doing things this way… I guess we’ll see.

The limitations in Slafkovsky's game ( a truncated squat skating style and a propensity to play with one hand on his stick) will not be lessened playing against lesser opposition. Why not? Its muscle memory. His level of play is already good enough to excel in the AHL. He won't be pushed in game situations and will revert and continue with his 'proven' style of play. If he's challenged against better opposition, the need and chances of his adopting a more efficient skating style and better use of his physical assets will improve exponentially. Sending Slafkovsky down, after he has clearly demonstrated that he can compete at the NHL level, would be a regressive step.

Honestly, I am watching this kid for two years and I cannot understand. Month-by-month he is just improving and believe me I was pretty skeptic about him. Yet, you still see many aspects he could work on, so nobody can really project where his ceiling is.

Well said. No one knows. It's that uncertainty that makes watching sport so compelling.

 

[Kennerback]

Honestly, I am watching this kid for two years and I cannot understand. Month-by-month he is just improving and believe me I was pretty skeptic about him. Yet, you still see many aspects he could work on, so nobody can really project where his ceiling is.

He’s a monster. I do shift to shift reviews of Top-5 picks of the past 5 years and he’s in a league of his own. Everyone has a lot of “off” shifts. He’s always “on”, creating opportunities, hustling hard.

 

[LaP]

It will never look "fine" unless Gallagher can score 20 per year, in which case the overpayment might only be around $1M.

However to be fair, almost every team probably has SOME bad contracts. Eventually they get out of them by some method, either by running them out, buying them out, incentivizing someone to take them, or LTIR "blessing".

If Gallagher is our only remaining bad contract in three years or less, there will be plenty of cap space to take on new players, give pay raises to DESERVING young veterans or weaponize space like we did with Monahan or the original Armia deal.

The biggest mistake to avoid is to commit big money and term to a core player who is not as good as youj thought he was, while the biggest temptation to resist is overpaying support players.

The Habs if managed properly could be in a positon to contend for quite a while, starting in 2024-25, if they evaluate well and manage their cap well, all the while maintaining a strong flow of new prospects, properly supported and developed. I've shown the basics of such a management plan elsewhere.

If you try to build a cup contending team Gallagher will always be a problem. The question is can we try to build a cup contending team before his contract is over? I hope so personally so KH should look at opportunities to move him. We are not in a hurry but once the ELC of our current young players will end we might be ...

 

[Twisted Sinister]

Little recap of his play against the Blues.

I'm noticing our boy seems to be making more conservative higher-percentage plays rather than trying to skate or pass through 4 guys. Good stuff

 

[beowulf]

Still leaning that he be sent to Laval after his 9 games. I mean he has not been bad at all and his 2 goals in 6 games is ok but at times looks not totally ready for the NHL and I wonder if some AHL time would help his overall development with tons of ice time etc. Basically don't make the mistake as with Kotkaniemi and Galchenyuk, keeping him in the NHL playiing a small role with less ice time.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

Still leaning that he be sent to Laval after his 9 games. I mean he has not been bad at all and his 2 goals in 6 games is ok but at times looks not totally ready for the NHL and I wonder if some AHL time would help his overall development with tons of ice time etc. Basically don't make the mistake as with Kotkaniemi and Galchenyuk, keeping him in the NHL playiing a small role with less ice time.

I agree with your conclusion that he should probably be sent down but the difference between the Slaf situation and the Galchenyuk/Kotkaniemi situation are the coaches...obviously. The latter two had coaches that wanted to suppress their offence for a more NHL centric stable game while the former has a coach that allows his players to make mistakes and engage in offensive creativity

 

[Cournoyer12]

The kid has shown he can skate at the NHL level. He is a physical presence on the ice. He’s getting scoring chances. He’s getting an opportunity to play on the power play. He’s scoring . He’s part of a growing young core of players on an ascending team. His respected coach says he is improving each game. He seems to be a popular player among his teammates. I can’t see the logic in sending him to Laval so he can play two more shifts a period against inferior opposition.

But above all, professional sports is entertainment. Most fans want to see Slafkovsky play. If he’s sent down who takes his place Dadonov? Pez? Some other call up?

Totally agree, he seems to bring a certain spark to the club. I also feel the same for X!!!

 

[Habs]

Still leaning that he be sent to Laval after his 9 games. I mean he has not been bad at all and his 2 goals in 6 games is ok but at times looks not totally ready for the NHL and I wonder if some AHL time would help his overall development with tons of ice time etc. Basically don't make the mistake as with Kotkaniemi and Galchenyuk, keeping him in the NHL playiing a small role with less ice time.

i don't trust the coaches in laval

 

[BLONG7]

He’s a monster. I do shift to shift reviews of Top-5 picks of the past 5 years and he’s in a league of his own. Everyone has a lot of “off” shifts. He’s always “on”, creating opportunities, hustling hard.

Very interesting !!
Great to hear.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I'm noticing our boy seems to be making more conservative higher-percentage plays rather than trying to skate or pass through 4 guys. Good stuff

This is likely part of the development coaching going on behind the scenes. Message is if you want to stay in the NHL, do the little things right first and take advantage of the opportunities on offense when they come.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

Still leaning that he be sent to Laval after his 9 games. I mean he has not been bad at all and his 2 goals in 6 games is ok but at times looks not totally ready for the NHL and I wonder if some AHL time would help his overall development with tons of ice time etc. Basically don't make the mistake as with Kotkaniemi and Galchenyuk, keeping him in the NHL playiing a small role with less ice time.

My concern is that he appears to be getting clobbered and knocked over a lot. I don't know if that would happen less in the AHL unfortunately

 

[Habs Halifax]

i don't trust the coaches in laval

It's deeper than the coaches in Laval though. Talent needs to play with talent so what center is a good fit for Slaf in the AHL? Last thing we need is Slaf trying to be a puck possession winger in the AHL cause he lacks confidence in who he is playing with.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Still leaning that he be sent to Laval after his 9 games. I mean he has not been bad at all and his 2 goals in 6 games is ok but at times looks not totally ready for the NHL and I wonder if some AHL time would help his overall development with tons of ice time etc. Basically don't make the mistake as with Kotkaniemi and Galchenyuk, keeping him in the NHL playiing a small role with less ice time.

Galchenyuk had enough ice time to do well, and he did do well, improving until he was ppg for 46 games, and then his knee injury.

The fans were frustrated because they wanted a center, and the DumbassGM told everyone that we could not get any by trade, cuz this isn't Playstation. So we hoped he was the one, even though his whole life he was used as a LW more than a C.

Nothing to do with sending him to the AHL (which we were not allowed to do) or to continue in Junior at 2 ppg.

Galch's ice time:
12.31 minutes his rookie year
14.40 minutes his 2nd year
16 minutes or more after that.
Never healthy scratched.

This wasn't Shane Wright usage, or Victor Mete sheltering.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

^^ 0:46-0:56 is the best Habs rookie sequence in 40 years.

yeah I was thinking when the last time even a Hab forward could do something like that. let alone a rookie. dude can really become a possession monster.

My worries are slowly disappearing. We might just finally have one of those kids where it doesn't matter where you put him, he's gonna be a beauty. Some players are just fool proof. NHL/AHL likely won't matter. I thought he'd struggle more and I would've been fine with that. He could just be a lot more plug in play than a lot of us thought (me included) even though he's still mighty raw.

Season's still early and like someone else mentioned, kids can hit a wall. But very promising start. The flashes to me are much more dynamic than Galch's and KK's at the same age.

 

[BaseballCoach]

If you try to build a cup contending team Gallagher will always be a problem. The question is can we try to build a cup contending team before his contract is over? I hope so personally so KH should look at opportunities to move him. We are not in a hurry but once the ELC of our current young players will end we might be ...

Sure, but not an insurmountable problem if his is the only significant overpayment.