F Juraj Slafkovsky - TPS, Finland U20 (2022 Draft)

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I mean it could be a direct hinderance to his development, especially if he becomes isolated to fulfilling specific roles. Furthermore, if his draft stock does continue to fall there is the monetary element that I’m sure his agent is talking to him about. Sure he could stick with TPS and play sporadically and in the bottom 6, but to me this is not the best way for him to develop as a player. To add to this, one of his problems in the past has been getting gassed in the third period because of conditioning. This set up right now would not work to improve that, instead it may work directly against it.
Am I saying he deserves top 6 role in TPS, no, he has not played well enough. But there is zero harm in exploring his options elsewhere. And I’m not even saying OHL, could look other places too. Slovaks in the CHL has been a mixed bag recently. And of course if his WJC isn’t great than…

I think that concentrating so much on his draft stock would be wrong. TPS is a very good team with a strong record of player development. It is true that he needs to play more at a higher level, but a temporary loan to Mestis would make more sense than trying to jump to the CHL, which is barely a higher level than the level he’s currently playing at.

 

[Antiillafire]

First time i heard about something like this. He Played 26 min. today. And i think hes having a good season so far. Look at Yurov, hes even in tougher spot. Miro, Lambert same. A lot of TOP forwards in this draft are struggling little bit. You dont have to panicking. Hes gonna be OK

Again, it’s in the Finnish u20 league. When was the last time a player was chosen in the first round that played more than 15 games in the U20 Sm Sarja in their draft year? I don’t think Miro is struggling at all, and Yurov has the track record of last u18 performance plus the MHL being a much better junior league than Finland’s u20 league and again KHL vs Liiga. Also important to remember that a guy like Miro has the next u18 tournament as well.

 

[Antiillafire]

I think that concentrating so much on his draft stock would be wrong. TPS is a very good team with a strong record of player development. It is true that he needs to play more at a higher level, but a temporary loan to Mestis would make more sense than trying to jump to the CHL, which is barely a higher level than the level he’s currently playing at.

OHL is significantly better than the Finnish u20 league. Sure TPS has a great track record but so far it didn’t work with Knazko and to an extent sisik and it remains to be seen how it will work with Slafkovsky. I agree a move to Mestis would make sense, but that’s still only a temporary solution.

 

[wings5]

OHL is significantly better than the Finnish u20 league. Sure TPS has a great track record but so far it didn’t work with Knazko and to an extent sisik and it remains to be seen how it will work with Slafkovsky. I agree a move to Mestis would make sense, but that’s still only a temporary solution.

Would help for him to be loaned to a team like Jukurit, a weaker Liiga team that Raty is thriving with so far

 

[Martinez89]

Agree with Pavel Buchnevich here. You should be more patient with Slafkovsky and I think TPS is doing good job with him. He´s improving it´s clearly visible and he has so many tools to be successful NHL player, even a star player. Yesterday I saw his performance in U20 league and he was a most dominant player on the ice by far. He showed signs of improved skating and mainly great stickhandling, had a beautiful assist a´la Kuznetsov from behind the net and played a great game until... until it came on his poor finishing (had 12 shot attempts). This is an area of his game that need to be significantly improved. He needs to learn how to beat a goalie and in that area the matches in U20 league are very useful for him. For me it´s easy if he is able to improve his finishing = better shot in TPS team. It must be deserved you must be an effective player when you want play in top 6 in men´s team. I think Slafkovsky is close just you need to be patient. Also player like Malkin scored only 3 goals in his draft season in KHL and everyone saw his potential how good he can be.

 

[wings5]

I think it would also be good for Slafkovsky to play in Slovak men’s league this year . The league is above the CHL , he would be at home and would get better ice time . Is there a Slovak team
that owns his rights?

 

[Antiillafire]

Agree with Pavel Buchnevich here. You should be more patient with Slafkovsky and I think TPS is doing good job with him. He´s improving it´s clearly visible and he has so many tools to be successful NHL player, even a star player. Yesterday I saw his performance in U20 league and he was a most dominant player on the ice by far. He showed signs of improved skating and mainly great stickhandling, had a beautiful assist a´la Kuznetsov from behind the net and played a great game until... until it came on his poor finishing (had 12 shot attempts). This is an area of his game that need to be significantly improved. He needs to learn how to beat a goalie and in that area the matches in U20 league are very useful for him. For me it´s easy if he is able to improve his finishing = better shot in TPS team. It must be deserved you must be an effective player when you want play in top 6 in men´s team. I think Slafkovsky is close just you need to be patient. Also player like Malkin scored only 3 goals in his draft season in KHL and everyone saw his potential how good he can be.

Yet still, remember it’s just Finnish u20 league. He should be dominant, if he wants to be a first round pick. Not a single forward from the first round produced in Finland has played more than 12 games in the U20 league in their draft season in the last 5 NHL drafts. Rasmus Kupari played 11 games but he also played several games in Mestis as well, and he was 20th overall. He must be challenged at a higher level. Eeli tolvanen played like 10 or so games in U20 in his D-3! You don’t refine your skills in this league. Wasn’t Malkin also playing on one of the lowest scoring teams in the league? And his production was actually quite good in relation to overall team production + ice time?

 

[Martinez89]

Yet still, remember it’s just Finnish u20 league. He should be dominant, if he wants to be a first round pick. Not a single forward from the first round produced in Finland has played more than 12 games in the U20 league in their draft season in the last 5 NHL drafts. Rasmus Kupari played 11 games but he also played several games in Mestis as well, and he was 20th overall. He must be challenged at a higher level. Eeli tolvanen played like 10 or so games in U20 in his D-3! You don’t refine your skills in this league. Wasn’t Malkin also playing on one of the lowest scoring teams in the league? And his production was actually quite good in relation to overall team production + ice time?

Slafkovsky played 23 games in men´s hockey in last three months and before he played World Championship + other preparation games with Slovakia. That´s competitive enough for 17-y.o. player in my opinion. Tell me which other 17-y.o. kid played more competitive games or more games among men from May? No one.

I definitely think so these occasional matches in Finnish u20 league don´t hurt his development/draft position for sure. By the way you mentioned Kupari, 20th overall pick in 2018. He had 7 points in that 11 games in FIN u20, Slafkovsky is almost 2 ppg player there and still has a problem being effective...

Don´t worry, Slafkovsky in Turku is alright and he will be a very high pick.

 

[Antiillafire]

Slafkovsky played 23 games in men´s hockey in last three months and before he played World Championship + other preparation games with Slovakia. That´s competitive enough for 17-y.o. player in my opinion. Tell me which other 17-y.o. kid played more competitive games or more games among men from May? No one.

I definitely think so these occasional matches in Finnish u20 league don´t hurt his development/draft position for sure. By the way you mentioned Kupari, 20th overall pick in 2018. He had 7 points in that 11 games in FIN u20, Slafkovsky is almost 2 ppg player there and still has a problem being effective...

Don´t worry, Slafkovsky in Turku is alright and he will be a very high pick.

I am challenging the credibility of the Finnish u20 league as being on par with other junior leagues.

There may be reason to worry about draft position and development Raty fell of a cliff because of his production in Liiga, he went from being a strong candidate at no.1 to 42nd. Slafkovsky has 18 points in 10 games in a Finnish u20 league that looks weaker overall this year than last. And his production isn’t actually dominant, if you actually takeaway his 6 pt game, he’s at like 12 pts in 9 games. Kakko was beating that pace for the same team in his D-1.

How about another player? Kapanen had 6 pts in 2 U20 games and was 22nd, and his Liiga production is better than what slafkovsky’s is on course for.

It’s mostly semantics as I doubt he will change teams, especially considering his overall mindset in the Finnish video posted here. However, to suggest that there is nothing to be concerned about with him potentially spending 30+ games in U20 sm sarja would be foolish. If he’s playing more in U20 than liiga in his draft year, he probably won’t go as high as we hoped.

 

[wings5]

I am challenging the credibility of the Finnish u20 league as being on par with other junior leagues.

There may be reason to worry about draft position and development Raty fell of a cliff because of his production in Liiga, he went from being a strong candidate at no.1 to 42nd. Slafkovsky has 18 points in 10 games in a Finnish u20 league that looks weaker overall this year than last. And his production isn’t actually dominant, if you actually takeaway his 6 pt game, he’s at like 12 pts in 9 games. Kakko was beating that pace for the same team in his D-1.

How about another player? Kapanen had 6 pts in 2 U20 games and was 22nd, and his Liiga production is better than what slafkovsky’s is on course for.

It’s mostly semantics as I doubt he will change teams, especially considering his overall mindset in the Finnish video posted here. However, to suggest that there is nothing to be concerned about with him potentially spending 30+ games in U20 sm sarja would be foolish. If he’s playing more in U20 than liiga in his draft year, he probably won’t go as high as we hoped.

2 games for Kapanen is hardly a big enough sample size to draw any conclusions....Draft position is irrelevant . I hope he does succeed but if Slafkovsky doesn't develop properly it won't be because he spent most of his draft season in Finland u20 league

 

[Martinez89]

I am challenging the credibility of the Finnish u20 league as being on par with other junior leagues.

There may be reason to worry about draft position and development Raty fell of a cliff because of his production in Liiga, he went from being a strong candidate at no.1 to 42nd. Slafkovsky has 18 points in 10 games in a Finnish u20 league that looks weaker overall this year than last. And his production isn’t actually dominant, if you actually takeaway his 6 pt game, he’s at like 12 pts in 9 games. Kakko was beating that pace for the same team in his D-1.

How about another player? Kapanen had 6 pts in 2 U20 games and was 22nd, and his Liiga production is better than what slafkovsky’s is on course for.

It’s mostly semantics as I doubt he will change teams, especially considering his overall mindset in the Finnish video posted here. However, to suggest that there is nothing to be concerned about with him potentially spending 30+ games in U20 sm sarja would be foolish. If he’s playing more in U20 than liiga in his draft year, he probably won’t go as high as we hoped.

First of all, Raty never was ppg player in that "weak" Finnish u20 league and now he seems legit. Kapanen played that games what you mentioned in his draft year in Finnish u18 league actually.

Slafkovsky is an absolutely different player than these two and judge him right now only by his points scoring is wrong. Similar prospect like him because of his very rare size+stickhandling combo was Malkin and he also played men´s hockey and also had problems scoring goals among men as a 17, 18 y.o. According to your logic Malkin could never be 2nd overall pick.

I don´t say Slafkovsky is next Malkin but if you think he could be a 2nd rounder for example then you´re completely wrong. By the way I never seen 17 y.o. player with such strong legs than Slafkovsky in my life what I´m watching young players. Of course, he still has many weaknesses but his upside is tremendous which is evident for me, no matter if he has couple 6pt games in u20 league or not.

 

[OKR]

Slafkovsky is an absolutely different player than these two and judge him right now only by his points scoring is wrong. Similar prospect like him because of his very rare size+stickhandling combo was Malkin and he also played men´s hockey and also had problems scoring goals among men as a 17, 18 y.o. According to your logic Malkin could never be 2nd overall pick.

Malkin scored 12 points in 34 games against men, in Russian league. That’s far more impressive than scoring in U20 Sm-Liiga that tbf is quite a weak league.

 

[Antiillafire]

First of all, Raty never was ppg player in that "weak" Finnish u20 league and now he seems legit. Kapanen played that games what you mentioned in his draft year in Finnish u18 league actually.

Slafkovsky is an absolutely different player than these two and judge him right now only by his points scoring is wrong. Similar prospect like him because of his very rare size+stickhandling combo was Malkin and he also played men´s hockey and also had problems scoring goals among men as a 17, 18 y.o. According to your logic Malkin could never be 2nd overall pick.

I don´t say Slafkovsky is next Malkin but if you think he could be a 2nd rounder for example then you´re completely wrong. By the way I never seen 17 y.o. player with such strong legs than Slafkovsky in my life what I´m watching young players. Of course, he still has many weaknesses but his upside is tremendous which is evident for me, no matter if he has couple 6pt games in u20 league or not.

Once again, malkin was playing against men in Russia and was playing for a team that didn’t really score much. His production was actually quite good for his ice time and his role within a low scoring team.
I never said Slafkovsky will be a second rounder, I think he can be a high first rounder as evident by Scott wheelers points on his talks with nhl scouts. However, if he spends his entire season playing in the U20 Sm sarja and than sporadically in 4th line of men’s team, he won’t be. Also, look at his size, that helps him greatly in junior league. The quality of U20 sm sarja is closer to the Czech u20 league than MHL

 

[Martinez89]

Malkin scored 12 points in 34 games against men, in Russian league. That’s far more impressive than scoring in U20 Sm-Liiga that tbf is quite a weak league.

But scored only 3 goals in 34 games and had a similar playing style that was my point.

Malkin just was a similar prospect but a little bit better and later had an excellent development path. But as I wrote I´m not saying Slafkovsky is next Malkin. But still has much better chance to be a great player in NHL than Kupari ever had.

To Antii:
Slafkovsky played in 14 from 21 Liiga games for TPS. And how many times he was in 4th line? Once.
If he had a similar situation than Yurov in KHL then I say OK I´m concerned with his ice-time etc etc. I will repeat Slafkovsky in Turku is alright.
If you expected him playing 70 Liiga games this year with 20+ minutes all night in every situations then I understand you´re disappointed. But the reality still is Slafkovsky´s playing the most and the most difficult matchups from all 17 y.o. prospects in the world, so what´s wrong?

 

[SlovenSimon]

highlights from october

 

[Goodman68]

Slafkovsky played 23 games in men´s hockey in last three months and before he played World Championship + other preparation games with Slovakia. That´s competitive enough for 17-y.o. player in my opinion. Tell me which other 17-y.o. kid played more competitive games or more games among men from May? No one.

I definitely think so these occasional matches in Finnish u20 league don´t hurt his development/draft position for sure. By the way you mentioned Kupari, 20th overall pick in 2018. He had 7 points in that 11 games in FIN u20, Slafkovsky is almost 2 ppg player there and still has a problem being effective...

Don´t worry, Slafkovsky in Turku is alright and he will be a very high pick.

Jiříček. And maybe more
But it doesn't matter that way.

 

[Martinez89]

Finally, Juraj! Scored his first Liiga goal and is the best player on the ice today so far.

 

[peto10]

Finally, Juraj! Scored his first Liiga goal and is the best player on the ice today so far.

Finally!

 

[NotProkofievian]

He made an identical cut into the slot in the previous shift as well. He played a great game tonight, much more aggressive, more more purposeful than I've seen him in Liiga so far. He had eleven shots on net. Eleven.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Who does this kid's game remind remind you guys of? Who are his NHL comparables?

 

[stastny12]

Who does this kid's game remind remind you guys of? Who are his NHL comparables?

When I say Mikko Rantanen am I too off?

 

[Stewie Griffin]

When I say Mikko Rantanen am I too off?

No I think that's the closest current player that he looks like. Maybe a little more physical.

 

[Chara-3]

Who does this kid's game remind remind you guys of? Who are his NHL comparables?

Jaromir Jagr

Of course he is not as good, and never will be, but the way he moves and protects the puck, uses his body etc.

He is strong as bull, 17 yo but already 10lbs more than Rantanen.

 

[karhukissa]

He is strong as bull, 17 yo but already 10lbs more than Rantanen.

There's something they do differently in Turku, in regards of strenght training. Rantanen and Ristolainen are very strong, also Kakko is really strong even though he's not a mass monster. And Mikko Koivu, who was at his peak probably one of the strongest NHL players if you look at the weights he lifted at the gym.

Slafkovsky definetly reminds me of young Rantanen.

 

[NotProkofievian]

There's something they do differently in Turku, in regards of strenght training. Rantanen and Ristolainen are very strong, also Kakko is really strong even though he's not a mass monster. And Mikko Koivu, who was at his peak probably one of the strongest NHL players if you look at the weights he lifted at the gym.

Slafkovsky definetly reminds me of young Rantanen.

IIRC, there's some strength training guru in Turku named Hannu Rautala that trains a bunch of hockey players, including Rantanen.