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

[Kennerback]

I don’t know if Arizona still see Guenther as an NHL regular or not. But why send Guenther to the WJC and not Mason Mctavish or the dozens’ of eligible regular who did no better than Guenther? It speaks more to the fact Arizona is a disfunctional organization that‘s doing a deliberate tank job.

 

[BaseballCoach]

I don't know...we take a player out of the NHL where despite not meeting the point totals fans need to see to feel secure, and pluck him into a tournament with guys he hasn't played with and just expect him to kill it?

Doesn't always work out that way.

Nailed it.

 

[417]

Scoring pts isn't the main reason why Slaf should go there. He should go there to play a big role, get a ton of ice time, and gain confidence.

Yes, I understand the concept of why folks want him to go there.

Just not convinced it's translatable to the NHL.

 

[417]

You can list any and every team’s busts. But Arizona has been better at developing attacking players than the Habs. So I wouldn’t point to them and laugh.

I didn't laugh, I just said they're not the standard the Montreal Canadiens should follow.

If they're sending Guenther to the WJC, good for them.

On the WJC topic I am agnostic and ambivalent. You make a good point that there is uncertainty but if you drop eg Suzuki into any team you’d figure he can get cooking. That’s what good players do, they cook. If Slaf is too raw to get going against a bunch of junior players then it’ll reflect poorly on Slaf. Maybe it’s better to keep him insulated and isolated and avoid that sort of exposure.

Nick Suzuki certainly didn't cook for Team Canada when he went.

But looking back, there isn't a single player on that team that i'd take before Suzuki today.

His point totals are one thing but his general playmaking is and has always been the concern. Hopefully he has adjusted to NHL speeds and can be force fed big minutes.

Otherwise, it is exhausting to see the Habs make the same mistake three prospects in a row. And it certainly doesn’t look like Gorton knows how to draft and develop wingers.

I've generally thought his playmaking has looked better than his goal scoring or willingness to shoot so far.

 

[Retired]

I’m fine with the 10 mins a game with Evans on the road, 12 on home ice with Dvorak or whatever the plan is for now until he learns to better protect himself. He also really needs to learn to support both offense and the break out when habs have possession but he does not have the puck. His line ends up chasing a lot with him reaching all over the place. He seems to overvalue positionning without the puck and is too passive for every nhl opponent.

His evaluation isn’t blurred by lots of nice assists to Caufield.

Opposing RHD still seem to have no problem keeping possession against him in hab D zone especially I find. I believe all of this has to be learned against mature, strong players. I’m not sure ripping the puck from 175 pound juniors bouncing off him fixes any of it. I still figure world juniors are something any teenager might want to experience at the very least though. It’s short and won’t come around again.

Eventually I feel learning the calm possession game from Monahan would be great for him, he already shows glimpses sometimes (Not panicking with the puck).

 

[417]

The 18 year old playing 10 min a night on the 4th line?

He doesn't play like a player whose lacking confidence.

 

[417]

I’m fine with the 10 mins a game with Evans on the road, 12 on home ice with Dvorak or whatever the plan is for now until he learns to better protect himself. He also really needs to learn to support both offense and the break out when habs have possession but he does not have the puck. His line ends up chasing a lot with him reaching all over the place. He seems to overvalue positionning without the puck and is too passive for every nhl opponent.

His evaluation isn’t blurred by lots of nice assists to Caufield.

Opposing RHD still seem to have no problem keeping possession against him in hab D zone especially I find. I believe all of this has to be learned against mature, strong players. I’m not sure ripping the puck from 175 pound juniors bouncing off him fixes any of it. I still figure world juniors are something any teenager might want to experience at the very least though. It’s short and won’t come around again.

Eventually I feel learning the calm possession game from Monahan would be great for him, he already shows glimpses sometimes (Not panicking with the puck).

He's already played in a WJC.

 

[Retired]

He's already played in a WJC.

He was like 3 years old though. 5’6” 145 lb toddler.

 

[schwang26]

Nailed it.

And then if he gets hurt in said tournament, guess who gets ripped for letting him go?

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

He doesn't play like a player whose lacking confidence.

He can grow his confidence a ton more than what it currently is. His confidence level now is already noticeably bigger than what it was at the beginning of the season but is nowhere near what we want it to eventually be.

He will likely be more confident after having played a big role for Slovakia in 7 wjc games than he would if he stayed in the nhl and played 7 games on the 4th line.

 

[Wats]

He doesn't play like a player whose lacking confidence.

Perhaps, but I don't even think we can say he plays like a player deserving of being in NHL either. For all intents and purposes, Beck looked better in camp/preseason. IMO only reason Slafkovsky is in the NHL is simply his draft position, nothing has proven otherwise so far.

 

[417]

Perhaps, but I don't even think we can say he plays like a player deserving of being in NHL either. For all intents and purposes, Beck looked better in camp/preseason. IMO only reason Slafkovsky is in the NHL is simply his draft position, nothing has proven otherwise so far.

I find this extremely harsh.

He's arguably been our most consistent LWer other than Cole Caufield.

Not sure if that says more about the players he's competing with.

But to say he's playing like a guy who doesn't deserve of being in the NHL is like I said, very harsh.

 

[Redux91]

He's already played in a WJC.

He's played in more WC's than WJC's lol..

Really really curious what they do

 

[Jaaanosik]

Perhaps, but I don't even think we can say he plays like a player deserving of being in NHL either. For all intents and purposes, Beck looked better in camp/preseason. IMO only reason Slafkovsky is in the NHL is simply his draft position, nothing has proven otherwise so far.

If Slaf does not deserve to be in the NHL and we would be stricked and fair eliminating all the MTL forwards not deserving to be in the NHL then I am not sure how many forwards Montreal would be left with.

 

[Jaaanosik]

I find this extremely harsh.

He's arguably been our most consistent LWer other than Cole Caufield.

Not sure if that says more about the players he's competing with.

But to say he's playing like a guy who doesn't deserve of being in the NHL is like I said, very harsh.

The statement is not harsh, it lacks a substance, the statement is not anchored in the reality.

 

[Beer and Chips]

Does he want to go?

 

[Retired]

And then if he gets hurt in said tournament, guess who gets ripped for letting him go?

Well it’s an exec call so Gorton would either fire himself, wave it, or do the naked walk of shame down the middle Bell Center Isle, all the way to the deep reds while we all throw beer at him probably.

 

[ReHabs]

I have seen Slaf setting up his teammates with beautiful passes...
What exactly do you have in mind about his playmaking abilities?

He’s a god damned 1OA, beautiful passes are expected! But passes that don’t translate to goals are ultimately irrelevant. We don’t track beautiful passes — we track assists and goals; we track production. Even if not generational, he’s meant to be a highly skilled and valuable player-asset today and in the future because he’s meant to produce.

The object right now is to enable him to unlock his potential future production. Maybe bit by bit and he needs even more reps to catch up to NHL speed and stamina, or maybe some other way, but he should be developing his ability to be relied on to score and make goals.

Every single player in the NHL can make beautiful passes. Not every single player can make passes that translate to goals for. He’s meant to be one of those players and the Habs are meant to do everything possible to put him in a position to grow into that role. If his current linemates aren’t capable of helping him translate his beautiful passes (and they’re not) then they need to be changed.

 

[SlafySZN]

Me everytime i come into this thread and it's the same comments over and over for the last 6 months.

 

[rve24]

You can list any and every team’s busts. But Arizona has been better at developing attacking players than the Habs. So I wouldn’t point to them and laugh.

On the WJC topic I am agnostic and ambivalent. You make a good point that there is uncertainty but if you drop eg Suzuki into any team you’d figure he can get cooking. That’s what good players do, they cook. If Slaf is too raw to get going against a bunch of junior players then it’ll reflect poorly on Slaf. Maybe it’s better to keep him insulated and isolated and avoid that sort of exposure.

His point totals are one thing but his general playmaking is and has always been the concern. Hopefully he has adjusted to NHL speeds and can be force fed big minutes.

Otherwise, it is exhausting to see the Habs make the same mistake three prospects in a row. And it certainly doesn’t look like Gorton knows how to draft and develop wingers.

Honestly I think Zona had a little more raw talent to work with ( better players n better picks)
You brought up Suzuki....not sure I'd say he got cooking in the WJC in spite of his talent ( yes I get he wasn't in the NHL yet)
I get KK n Haly didn't develop but also were probly poor picks in hindsight with other issues.
Caulfield, Zuk, Danualt, Leks all developed just fine in Montreal, no?

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I find this extremely harsh.

He's arguably been our most consistent LWer other than Cole Caufield.

Not sure if that says more about the players he's competing with.

But to say he's playing like a guy who doesn't deserve of being in the NHL is like I said, very harsh.

He has been one of the least effective forwards on the team.

If we put Armia's name on his jersey everyone here would be calling him garbage. Overall he has improved but is still making way too many bad decisions as he still has severe tunnel vision and doesn't reassess situations as they evolve, he just tries to force the play that he first envisioned. Sometimes it works because the kid has skills and a strong passing tool but too often it is just a terrible forced pass for a turn over. It is plain silly listening to his sycophants gush over partial plays that he can't complete when they would absolutely lambaste Armia, Drouin, Hoffman, Dadonov and Gallagher for not being able to execute.

I am still ok with him being in the NHL but I think that Laval would potentially be a better option. It is just getting ridiculous listening to people blame Evans when it is Slaf bringing Evans down and not vice versa.

To be clear, I love the kid but I am being objective and don't need to try and look through pom poms to evaluate his performance.

I am not referring to you as one of his sycophants, but we all know who they are.

 

[Jaaanosik]

He’s a god damned 1OA, beautiful passes are expected! But passes that don’t translate to goals are ultimately irrelevant. We don’t track beautiful passes — we track assists and goals; we track production. Even if not generational, he’s meant to be a highly skilled and valuable player-asset today and in the future because he’s meant to produce.

The object right now is to enable him to unlock his potential future production. Maybe bit by bit and he needs even more reps to catch up to NHL speed and stamina, or maybe some other way, but he should be developing his ability to be relied on to score and make goals.

Every single player in the NHL can make beautiful passes. Not every single player can make passes that translate to goals for. He’s meant to be one of those players and the Habs are meant to do everything possible to put him in a position to grow into that role. If his current linemates aren’t capable of helping him translate his beautiful passes (and they’re not) then they need to be changed.

Stats, stats and more stats.
There are many input factors to the good stats...
... and you are proving the point his linemates are not up to the task.

 

[Jaaanosik]

...

I am still ok with him being in the NHL but I think that Laval would potentially be a better option. It is just getting ridiculous listening to people blame Evans when it is Slaf bringing Evans down and not vice versa.
....

This is a bizarre statement.
What kind of units of measure do you use?
Do you have a proof?

 

[sandviper]

If it’s true that we have to be worried about sending a player like Slaf down to the AHL, then we have a much bigger problem to worry.

I believe we do. Laval needs to get it‘s house cleaned also. Our future pipeline is running through there and its a gong show right now.

 

[ReHabs]

Honestly I think Zona had a little more raw talent to work with ( better players n better picks)
You brought up Suzuki....not sure I'd say he got cooking in the WJC in spite of his talent ( yes I get he wasn't in the NHL yet)
I get KK n Haly didn't develop but also were probly poor picks in hindsight with other issues.
Caulfield, Zuk, Danualt, Leks all developed just fine in Montreal, no?

I meant Suzuki 2022 edition would smoke the WJCs if he was dropped in. Since he's a total package right now he would cook. Suzuki of 2018 would be fine but not nearly as capable. Not sure why I mentioned it, it's a pretty stupid concept -- my bad.

Slaf, being the reigning 1OA, should conceivably not have much trouble in the WJCs. But it's all a diversion any way, a thought exercise. Whether he goes to the WJCs or not is ultimately irrelevant to his development and trajectory.

Caufield barely developed in Montreal, he did his NCAA tour and then was on his way to bustville had Ducharme and Bergevin and Timmins remained in control of his destiny. Thank god for MSL. Suzuki played 0 games for our AHL team, in fact it was his OHL lap that really thrust his development into high gear -- why didn't the Habs send Slafkovsky to the OHL? I dunno. Danault and Lehk are not prominent attacking players, I don't particularly think they're impressive examples of development either.

If after 10 years we have Caufield (but not really), Suzuki (kinda), Danault, and Lehkonen are successful examples of attacker development... I'd say we were in bad bad shape.

Stats, stats and more stats.
There are many input factors to the good stats...
... and you are proving the point his linemates are not up to the task.

I want him to play with better linemates as much as anybody else here. If MSL thinks Slaf is incapable of playing with better linemates (whether by lack of merit or lack of stamina/athleticism) that's a problem that has no answer. AHL does not seem to be an option.