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

[RationalExpectations]

on the + side even if he never makes gains in "hockey IQ" he has his reach which allows him to slow down his game a bit. That should allow his IQ to catch up to play.

There are a lot of All-Star players that have a unique skill which they use as a crutch for their less polished skills. So its not entirely bad.

This is what is fascinating with Slaf whom I have seen in Liiga quite some times last year and that‘s why I had him lower than most in the draft : when he has the puck in the offensive zone, he has good vision and ability to drive the play BUT when he does not have the puck he does not seem to be able to read the play and get to the proper place at the right time. I just hope the Habs manage to work on that with him at whatever level they see fit

 

[BaseballCoach]

People shouldn't beat up on fans who wanted him to start start somewhere else or eventually play somewhere else. I think MOST of us didn't expect the Habs to be as good as they have been. Instead expecting them to be still trying to win their 1st game right now.

Based on who liked your post, it appears that might have been the reason some posters wanted Slaf sent down. However, in my opinion, management was never sending him down if he was top-12, just because they expected not to win much.

 

[BaseballCoach]

If he doesn't score next game ship him back to Finland. Enough is enough.

Unless he is guaranteed 22 minutes a game in Finland, send him back to his Slovakian club or Trois-Rivieres. If neither of those teams will guarantee 22 minutes, have him renounce his pro status, tear up his contract and apply to be reinstated as an amateur in Slovakia.

Do all this by next week if he does not score two more with the Habs.

 

[Xirik]

Based on who liked your post, it appears that might have been the reason some posters wanted Slaf sent down. However, in my opinion, management was never sending him down if he was top-12, just because they expected not to win much.

I mean constant losing isn't great for any developing rookie. If you are always failing its hard to see any of the good they things they are learning as rookies.

Also when everyone saw the defense that the Habs were going with I think it was easy to assume that they wouldn't be able to cover for any "rookie mistakes".

Anytime a rookie gets severely down on themselves it causes they development to stall.

 

[BaseballCoach]

I mean constant losing isn't great for any developing rookie. If you are always failing its hard to see any of the good they things they are learning as rookies.

I don't think that is necessarily a problem. Constant losing often happens when good players start as rookies after being drafted by a bad team. Tavares, Stamkos, Ekblad and many others played through losing seasons and improved anyway. Even Crosby and Mario Lemeiux were on bottom two teams their first year.

Also when everyone saw the defense that the Habs were going with I think it was easy to assume that they wouldn't be able to cover for any "rookie mistakes".

Anytime a rookie gets severely down on themselves it causes they development to stall.

And if that happens and they fall out of the top-12 active F or top-6 active D, then they are demoted. No pro team will demote in advance a meritorious player who did well in camp and EARNED his spot, just because they are afraid the team may lose a lot and this good player may later stall.

 

[BaseballCoach]

He did forecheck well and when he lost the puck he recovered it. This is him adapting to the NHL and gaining confidence (not over thinking).

But his hockey IQ does need to improve so he doesn’t give the puck away constantly. Is it better to figure it out in the NHL or elsewhere? Not sure! It’s worth discussing but it seems there is no interest in that discussion.

The stat sheets do not show Slaf's giveaway ratio to be higher than normal, nor is it causing a lot of opposition scoring chances. He should only get better, too.

So here is where I listen to the coach. St-Louis said yesterday that "la progression de Slavkofsky est superbe".

No wishy-washy-ness there!

 

[BenchBrawl]

Slaf is staying. He's never going to the AHL.

It's over.

Wright was the wrong call. Even I got fooled by this cult, albeit not as badly as many others. Time to move on regardless.

 

[RationalExpectations]

Slaf is staying. He's never going to the AHL.

It's over.

Wright was the wrong call. Even I got fooled by this cult, albeit not as badly as many others. Time to move on regardless.

I was in the Nemec cult, we were not many followers.

we won‘t know who was right before some years BUT the main thing we need to trust is the ability of MTL to juge character better than we do. Apparently Wright may have some ego stuff going on while Nemec is quite introvert and may have crumbled under pressure in this market.

 

[BenchBrawl]

I was in the Nemec cult, we were not many followers.

we won‘t know who was right before some years BUT the main thing we need to trust is the ability of MTL to juge character better than we do. Apparently Wright may have some ego stuff going on while Nemec is quite introvert and may have crumbled under pressure in this market.

Nemec was never gonna get picked 1st overall. The brass themselves told us who were their Top 3, and Nemec wasn't in it. When I said I chose Wright, I mean on Draft Day in the threads, my "final decision" was to pick Wright, although I wasn't strongly convinced.

Agreed otherwise.

Maybe Nemec ends up the best player in the draft, or Brad Lambert or someone else, but they weren't Draft Day contenders for the #1 spot so it doesn't matter.

 

[KevSkillz4]

I'm 100% ok if he play bottom 6//4th line minute at this moment, just if he have the #2PP unit.

So far it's a encouraging debut, 2 great goals in 6 games with bottom 6//4th line minute.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I'm 100% ok if he play bottom 6//4th line minute at this moment, just if he have the #2PP unit.

So far it's a encouraging debut, 2 great goals in 6 games with bottom 6//4th line minute.

This says it all. The operative word is: encouraging.

 

[Egresch]

Yeah, but he played about 60 games and a big part of it was in a small country. Not saying last year was a piece of cake, but playing in the NHL is something else. It's not just the travel and the amount of games, it's the actual pace of the game.

He played around 90 games last year, not 60. Plus, he played them in Finland, Slovakia, Canada, China, etc. I have been saying that all he needs is stability and we will see great progress. Even such primitive thing like taping his stick can improve his play in the end.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Slaf is staying. He's never going to the AHL.

It's over.

Wright was the wrong call. Even I got fooled by this cult, albeit not as badly as many others. Time to move on regardless.

This is a most interesting post.

The pre-draft support for Wright as the presumptive 1 OA (that continues even until today) is aptly called a cult. It is the cult of the consensus. Why is it a cult? Because like all cults, it limits and restricts critical thought. The cult of the consensus is a powerful one. It compels its adherents to make excuses when the imperial evidence contradicts the accepted or universal consensus. It's powers even ensnared this writer with respect to Wright.

I had seen Wright as a 15/16 year old player and I readily ascribed to the consensus that he was the next franchise player. He was a step faster and more dynamic than most of the players of his age group. Then came the U18 championships. Wright's play was at best underwhelming. Despite his lofty statistics he was not a driving force for Team Canada. There was no dynamic snap to his game. I mentioned my observations on this forum and suggested that perhaps Wright was injured which injury limited his play. The draw of the cult of consensus is ever present as there must be a reason or explanation for any factor that serves to undermine or challenge the accepted consensus. My observations were met with derision by my fellow cultists. This cult denies any questioning of the pre-ordained consensus. Wright's performance last year during the OHL season, his tepid performance at the prospects game and his invisibility at the truncated WJC convinced me that this kid was not a first overall draft choice. Not even close. This opinion was met with more derision by my former cultists and when I suggested that if Montreal didn't draft Wright number 1 he would fall out of the top 5, many here denounced me as a heretic.

When I suggested similar concerns about Bedard's performance at the recent U18, the enraged cultists of the now Bedard consensus are again branding me a heretic. How dare I challenge the prevailing consensus and suggest that Fantilli may be a better NHL prospect. Unthinkable. To some.

Critical thought. It's a good thing. Everyone should try it. Sometimes, just sometimes, the emperor truly isn't wearing any clothes.

 

[Kennerback]

This is a most interesting post.

The pre-draft support for Wright as the presumptive 1 OA (that continues even until today) is aptly called a cult. It is the cult of the consensus. Why is it a cult? Because like all cults, it limits and restricts critical thought. The cult of the consensus is a powerful one. It compels its adherents to make excuses when the imperial evidence contradicts the accepted or universal consensus. It's powers even ensnared this writer with respect to Wright.

I had seen Wright as a 15/16 year old player and I readily ascribed to the consensus that he was the next franchise player. He was a step faster and more dynamic than most of the players of his age group. Then came the U18 championships. Wright's play was at best underwhelming. Despite his lofty statistics he was not a driving force for Team Canada. There was no dynamic snap to his game. I mentioned my observations on this forum and suggested that perhaps Wright was injured which injury limited his play. The draw of the cult of consensus is ever present as there must be a reason or explanation for any factor that serves to undermine or challenge the accepted consensus. My observations were met with derision by my fellow cultists. This cult denies any questioning of the pre-ordained consensus. Wright's performance last year during the OHL season, his tepid performance at the prospects game and his invisibility at the truncated WJC convinced me that this kid was not a first overall draft choice. Not even close. This opinion was met with more derision by my former cultists and when I suggested that if Montreal didn't draft Wright number 1 he would fall out of the top 5, many here denounced me as a heretic.

When I suggested similar concerns about Bedard's performance at the recent U18, the enraged cultists of the now Bedard consensus are again branding me a heretic. How dare I challenge the prevailing consensus and suggest that Fantilli may be a better NHL prospect. Unthinkable. To some.

Critical thought. It's a good thing. Everyone should try it. Sometimes, just sometimes, the emperor truly isn't wearing any clothes.

At this point in time Bedard hasn’t shown most of the knocks on Wright. My reservations are that you’re getting less of a Crosby and more of a Caufield. He’ll score a ton of goals but I’m sceptical he’ll always going to be given access to the high slot during zone entries by NHL Ds. However, I don’t know if that’s enough to drop him from 1OA.

 

[Tyson]

At this point in time Bedard hasn’t shown most of the knocks on Wright. My reservations are that you’re getting less of a Crosby and more of a Caufield. He’ll score a ton of goals but I’m sceptical he’ll always going to be given access to the high slot during zone entries by NHL Ds. However, I don’t know if that’s enough to drop him from 1OA.

Don't be surprised if Adam Fantilli becomes the top pick.

 

[Kennerback]

He played around 90 games last year, not 60. Plus, he played them in Finland, Slovakia, Canada, China, etc. I have been saying that all he needs is stability and we will see great progress. Even such primitive thing like taping his stick can improve his play in the end.

The taping of the stick incident shows he’s open-minded and trainable. Hockey players are notoriously anal about their sticks... He’s a better person than me. I would have told anyone trying to tell me how to tape my stick to f*** off. I suspect most other hockey players would do too.

 

[Apfel Struble]

He did forecheck well and when he lost the puck he recovered it. This is him adapting to the NHL and gaining confidence (not over thinking).

But his hockey IQ does need to improve so he doesn’t give the puck away constantly. Is it better to figure it out in the NHL or elsewhere? Not sure! It’s worth discussing but it seems there is no interest in that discussion.

A hockey game goes way too fast to really think about what you're going to do, "instinct" dictates what the player does. But what is this instinct really? It's a bank of knowledge that a player knows on such a fundamental level that he can makes a decision instantly. That is IMO a part of what is called hockey IQ: 1) the ability to perceive the game in an instant, 2) predicting what is going to happen in the seconds following, and 3) assessing the best play for that situation

That bank of knowledge is not static and can grow or deteriorate. It is based on the player's opinion of what works and what doesn't. What the coaching staff can provide is a teaching environment to expand and/or correct that bank so the right fundamentals are ingrained in the player. The perception and prediction parts can both be trained. Photographers generally never think about their pictures since the perfect moment happens in an instant (well except landscape ones and even then, perfect light is ephemeral). They do improve their "photopher IQ" with practice

The concept line of thought of MSL is interesting because it seems to be much more applicable to hockey IQ than the system. The concept can be key aspect of the game that the players practice so much that it becomes ingrained in their brain

Regarding the best place to improve his hockey IQ, it's a tough question honestly. I would say the constant improvement we are witnessing about his decision making is indicative that he is improving it. Would someplace else be better? Maybe, but the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" saying does apply here IMO. Too much tinkering can ruin a good thing. One other aspect is the amount of support staff he has access to with the Habs compared to Laval or Erie. As much as we make fun of MacKinnon for his rigid stance on food, it does matter an awful lot. I don't know if the Habs have a chef with them, but the players eating tasty healthy food should be a priority. I don't know what they eat when they travel but if it's restaurant food, then yeah...

 

[ChesterNimitz]

At this point in time Bedard hasn’t shown most of the knocks on Wright. My reservations are that you’re getting less of a Crosby and more of a Caufield. He’ll score a ton of goals but I’m sceptical he’ll always going to be given access to the high slot during zone entries by NHL Ds. However, I don’t know if that’s enough to drop him from 1OA.

A well considered view point. Proving that you are not a slave to the consensus. No one knows at this point if Bedard has dropped from 1 OA. But the fact that you can contemplate that 1OA should not just be handed to Bedard is, in my view , the correct approach. If Fantilli or Yager, or some other top prospect clearly overshadows Bedard at the upcoming WJC, then the doubts and concerns that you expressed may well become a chorus.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

This is a most interesting post.

The pre-draft support for Wright as the presumptive 1 OA (that continues even until today) is aptly called a cult. It is the cult of the consensus. Why is it a cult? Because like all cults, it limits and restricts critical thought. The cult of the consensus is a powerful one. It compels its adherents to make excuses when the imperial evidence contradicts the accepted or universal consensus. It's powers even ensnared this writer with respect to Wright.

I had seen Wright as a 15/16 year old player and I readily ascribed to the consensus that he was the next franchise player. He was a step faster and more dynamic than most of the players of his age group. Then came the U18 championships. Wright's play was at best underwhelming. Despite his lofty statistics he was not a driving force for Team Canada. There was no dynamic snap to his game. I mentioned my observations on this forum and suggested that perhaps Wright was injured which injury limited his play. The draw of the cult of consensus is ever present as there must be a reason or explanation for any factor that serves to undermine or challenge the accepted consensus. My observations were met with derision by my fellow cultists. This cult denies any questioning of the pre-ordained consensus. Wright's performance last year during the OHL season, his tepid performance at the prospects game and his invisibility at the truncated WJC convinced me that this kid was not a first overall draft choice. Not even close. This opinion was met with more derision by my former cultists and when I suggested that if Montreal didn't draft Wright number 1 he would fall out of the top 5, many here denounced me as a heretic.

When I suggested similar concerns about Bedard's performance at the recent U18, the enraged cultists of the now Bedard consensus are again branding me a heretic. How dare I challenge the prevailing consensus and suggest that Fantilli may be a better NHL prospect. Unthinkable. To some.

Critical thought. It's a good thing. Everyone should try it. Sometimes, just sometimes, the emperor truly isn't wearing any clothes.

Fantilli is almost a year older than Bedard. I'm not sure how many 17 year olds light up the WJC, but OK. There's also such a thing as over scouting and over expecting on a potential number one pick.

I'm also guessing 29 points in 15 games in the WHL is not good enough for the Moar Bigger crowd either. I'm not quite sure what you people want. The kid is dominant. At 17.

The implication that you're somehow the genius of critical thinking and that people that didn't agree with you are part of some cult is a little arrogant. We were all watching the players and a lot of us made our decisions based on what we saw. Scouts and people here look for different things, and I am yet to be fully convinced Slaf can overcome his hockey IQ shortcomings. He's currently getting obliterated with hits because he doesn't pay attention to what's going on around him, which can be dangerous for his career.

Considering many of us knew Slaf would be more NHL ready in the short term due to his size, it's a little early to be throwing out the I told you so's, don't you think?

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Fantilli is almost a year older than Bedard. I'm not sure how many 17 year olds light up the WJC, but OK. There's also such a thing as over scouting and over expecting on a potential number one pick.

I'm also guessing 29 points in 15 games in the WHL is not good enough for the Moar Bigger crowd either. I'm not quite sure what you people want. The kid is dominant. At 17.

The implication that you're somehow the genius of critical thinking and that people that didn't agree with you are part of some cult is a little arrogant. We were all watching the players and a lot of us made our decisions based on what we saw. Scouts and people here look for different things, and I am yet to be fully convinced Slaf can overcome his hockey IQ shortcomings. He's currently getting obliterated with hits because he doesn't pay attention to what's going on around him, which can be dangerous for his career.

Considering many of us knew Slaf would be more NHL ready in the short term due to his size, it's a little early to be throwing out the I told you so's, don't you think?

Frankly, it had nothing to do with Slafkovsky. I think there was at least 10 players I would have taken before Wright in the last draft. I suspect by this time next year that list may grow to twenty or more.

 

[admiralcadillac]

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

The opposite was true against the Blues

 

[Paddy17]

It's clear they have a plan for him aside from "he needs to be a better human being" or "he's got to learn to play a 200-foot game" kind of mentality.

It's a process that requires patience. His ice time and opportunities will increase as he goes through each milestone set in his plan. As long as he keeps progressing, that plan will move forward.

Patience means waiting a lot longer than just 9 games (or 6 in his case). Trust the process until the evidence tells you otherwise.

 

[Garbageyuk]

Love this kid, love the pick. He’s doing well, despite all the histrionics on here about his usage.

He was the correct choice at 1st overall. His personality and work ethic is the best part about him, and that’s saying a lot considering his rare physical attributes.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

Frankly, it had nothing to do with Slafkovsky. I think there was at least 10 players I would have taken before Wright in the last draft. I suspect by this time next year that list may grow to twenty or more.

That's fair. It wasn't as if it was a slam dunk on either side. Similarly, I had 4 guys I wanted before Slaf because of the hockey sense issues. We'll see how things pan out in 3-4 years. I'll be extremely happy to be wrong.

The opposite was true against the Blues

I saw him get some shellackings against the Blues too, though he did use his body better. My concern is that he doesn't pay sufficient attention to his surroundings, which is why it happens in the first place.

 

[Kennerback]

Frankly, it had nothing to do with Slafkovsky. I think there was at least 10 players I would have taken before Wright in the last draft. I suspect by this time next year that list may grow to twenty or more.

We all knew Wright bombed the NHL Combine team interviews. Now, according to Elliot Friedman the specific question that turned off many teams was his answer to the question: “Why didn’t you go play in Europe last season?”. Not sure what he answered but they didn’t like his response.