I don’t Nico has any singular skill that is significantly better than average. But he’s also not significantly worse than average at anything. Put it all together and it equals a terrific player. Average NHL players aren’t average at everything.
CHL stats were pretty similar in their respective draft years. Nico may have been in a more offensive league, but Wright is on a more stacked offensive team.
Pronman’s grading system is very peculiar but if you read him for awhile, it starts to make sense. He’s grading players against the entirety of NHL history, basically. It’s not curved for that specific draft. It’s important to realize that Slafkovsky’s ceiling is closer to a 60 point power winger than a 100-point hall of fame two way forward, and i think his grades are there to manage expectations.
Yeah i guess that would have made more sense, but i stand by what i said. I should have emphasized the “closer to.” Meaning IMO Slaf is more likely a 60-80 point winger than an 80-100 point winger.
Another Slaf article, this is from the Montreal beat writer:
Juraj Slafkovsky's unique skill could make him potential top pick for Canadiens
Every NHL team is looking for the skill set Juraj Slafkovsky brings, but is that enough for the Canadiens to take him over Shane Wright?theathletic.com
He feels Slaf is more boom/bust, but also goes on to say, Slaf has improved throughout the season. It seems, for every negative, there is a counter argument. If he makes a bad decision one shift, he makes a spectacular one the next. His production was “meh” with TPS but was outstanding internationally. His skating was so-so but it has improved. Sometimes he attacks the middle/ defenders, sometimes he takes the puck down the boards. It seems a lot of scouts, would rather drop him to 5-7 range than be forced to give a projection. I think the high grades on Kakko and Pool Party make media scouts nervous to predict Slaf’s upside.
I think Kakko has en edge about his game as well, you just dont see it often because I think hes just coming out of the 'acclimating' process, which can be very rough for a quieter Euro moving to the big City.
No, because Slafkovsky and Wright are both players I would rank a bit higher. Drysdale is an exceptional young talent though, no slight on him.
I think Sanderson would have been the pick of Anaheim at #6 if Ottawa passed him at #5, which would have left Drysdale to the Devils.
Might be crazy but Id consider doing #2 for Sanderson, if Fitzgerald and co liked him enough. Wish he was RH'd but Luke can play the right maybe?
I think he mixed up the words "ceiling" and "floor".
The Kakko comparison for Slafkovsky is lazy, at best. Sure, they're both big wings who play an interior game and spent their draft-eligible seasons in Liiga. But I'd say everything else is different.
The top tier was Lafreniere and Byfield at one point too recently and there are MANY players that translated better.
And Stutzle. The top 3 was pretty much set going into the 2020 draft. But the jury is still out there. Lafreniere or Byfield or Stutzle could all still wind up being the best player from the 2020 class, as could Sanderson, who has yet to play an NHL game.
It wouldn't be surprising if the best player in this draft is someone else than Wright or Slafkovsky. But the same thing can be said about Cooley too - there are many players that could translate better than him.
You know you are old when it's been years since you've allowed yourself to eat Funions.
Not even saying what he’s saying is right but that is just wrong.
These are all fair points, but maybe Wright also wouldn’t care if the team is successful and if he can help the team.
