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

[Osakahaus]

Dang, he’s a big kid too…6’3” at 17 is no joke. NHL big man frame already.

and he's got a nice shot as well. he'll still need time to develop, so i would say it's wise he stays in Liiga the year after he's drafted

 

[LOFIN]

 

[Osakahaus]

the best part about how Slaf played is that he orchestrated as well. Lots of good energy from this kid. That is something I like to see from someone.

 

[Omar]

Hes far better than those hacks Pronman and Wheeler.

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with his rankings, but I trust him more than those two clowns.

I unfollowed him a long time ago. I still follow those 2.

 

[DJB]

I unfollowed him a long time ago. I still follow those 2.

I suggest you go check out their previous final draft rankings and decide if you still want to follow them.

Their rankings are horrendous

 

[Martinez89]

Brutal tournament, must be MVP and I´m so proud of him. 7 goals for 17 y.o. player will be impossible to outperform for years, many many years maybe never? Also because of help of NHL factor in this Olympics.

Slaf has been in my top 3 already before the Olympics. I wrote here many times sky is the limit for this kid and he can´t be still snakebitten as hell like he was in 2021. I also really like what I´ve seen from Wright this last month so I expected nice fight for 1st overall spot between these two.

 

[bert]

He might just be getting better and figuring it out before our eyes, as young stars tend to do. It's not how good he is now, it's his trajectory that teams focus on.

If his numbers skyrickot in the second half of the season...well that would be a huge difference between him and Kakko. The RATE of improvement is what matters most.

Exactly!!! It's what he projects to be. Not his total points in a man's league at 17 years old. He is clearly transitioning. All I had to do was watch him play a few periods at the WJC to see the raw ability. Big players take longer to develop and he is already showing so much.

A European LW after one good tournament, be it at a high level? No.

lol. His raw tools are obviously better its not even a question. He has a better motor, he is bigger and a better skater. Dumbing it down to 'one good tournament' couldn't be a lazier take.

 

[bert]

Grant has no relevance to me

He isn't wrong though....

 

[Osakahaus]

Brutal tournament, must be MVP and I´m so proud of him. 7 goals for 17 y.o. player will be impossible to outperform for years, many many years maybe never? Also because of help of NHL factor in this Olympics.

Slaf has been in my top 3 already before the Olympics. I wrote here many times sky is the limit for this kid and he can´t be still snakebitten as hell like he was in 2021. I also really like what I´ve seen from Wright this last month so I expected nice fight for 1st overall spot between these two.

lol I rarely hear someone say Brutal as a positive. 7 goals in general, and a bronze medal is easily MVP tier stuff.

sky is absolutely the limit, and if he becomes that projected Rantanen type, it's a very good pick and player.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

I think he'll be making a case to be a top-three pick.

 

[KevSkillz4]

I would be happy if Habs draft him.

Slafkovsky - Suzuki - Caufield.

Not bad at all!

 

[Hale The Villain]

I would be happy if Habs draft him.

Slafkovsky - Suzuki - Caufield.

Not bad at all!

Nice looking 2nd line.

 

[Mr Buckles]

Nice looking 2nd line.

Ouch.

 

[Eggtimer]

Will be a hard choice what to do if he happens to be there when the Devils pick. We need Jiricek in a massive way (or another RHD ) but it woild ne very hard to pass on a like this.

 

[PeterCheater]

And it's not MVP pushed by some narrative, he really was among best players of the games. Crazy.

 

[Osakahaus]

And it's not MVP pushed by some narrative, he really was among best players of the games. Crazy.

that's insane.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Be careful not to get too excited from a single tournament.

Until then Nemec had always been better than Slafkovsky during an international tournament (Hlinka-Gretzky, WJC, WC). Dvorsky had outclassed Slafkovsky at the last HG.

Moments of glory, Wright knew some, Savoie knew some, Kemell knew some.

Slafkovsky scored a lot of points during this tournament but you have to observe the phenomenon over a long period.

Casting errors are often caused by choices made from a small sample.

Other than this tournament, Slafkovsky has never demonstrated anything equivalent to a 1OA. This is the case but it requires confirmation (an excellent end to the season in Liiga and domination during the U18 tournament).

 

[Albatros]

Be careful not to get too excited from a single tournament.

Until then Nemec had always been better than Slafkovsky during an international tournament (Hlinka-Gretzky, WJC, WC). Dvorsky had outclassed Slafkovsky at the last HG.

Moments of glory, Wright knew some, Savoie knew some, Kemell knew some.

Slafkovsky scored a lot of points during this tournament but you have to observe the phenomenon over a long period.

Casting errors are often caused by choices made from a small sample.

Other than this tournament, Slafkovsky has never demonstrated anything equivalent to a 1OA. This is the case but it requires confirmation (an excellent end to the season in Liiga and domination during the U18 tournament).

Though he was projected to go early in the 1st round already before, and even this small of a sample is something a bit more tangible than just having a projectable frame to set him apart from the competition. Having him between 2nd and 5th overall now would seem like a level-headed prediction.

 

[Osakahaus]

Be careful not to get too excited from a single tournament.

Until then Nemec had always been better than Slafkovsky during an international tournament (Hlinka-Gretzky, WJC, WC). Dvorsky had outclassed Slafkovsky at the last HG.

Moments of glory, Wright knew some, Savoie knew some, Kemell knew some.

Slafkovsky scored a lot of points during this tournament but you have to observe the phenomenon over a long period.

Casting errors are often caused by choices made from a small sample.

Other than this tournament, Slafkovsky has never demonstrated anything equivalent to a 1OA. This is the case but it requires confirmation (an excellent end to the season in Liiga and domination during the U18 tournament).

but he's proven that he can absolutely be someone who will challenge for the spot Cooley is at.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Though he was projected to go early in the 1st round already before, and even this small of a sample is something a bit more tangible than just having a projectable frame to set him apart from the competition. Having him between 2nd and 5th overall now would seem like a level-headed prediction.

Beware of hot reactions. I ask to see with 5 months back. People live in the culture of the moment.

 

[llwyd]

Be careful not to get too excited from a single tournament.

But still, that age, that team, that competition - it's bloody impressive. I have hard time believing that he wouldn't have a great NHL career in any case even if not all the hype will come true. But yeah, so shoot me, he does remind me of Jagr

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

Beware of hot reactions. I ask to see with 5 months back. People live in the culture of the moment.

Or another. Draft standings don't mean anything. It's a personal interpretation.

Yes a team can prefer Slafkovsky to Cooley.

As a Montreal fan, I stick with the idea that a center like Cooley should be ranked ahead of Slafkovsky.

The other idea is that I haven't forgotten the previous international tournaments. It helps to moderate an opinion on a player.

This will also be the case for the player who will stand out the most at the next U18 tournament.

 

[Dirtyf1ghter]

But still, that age, that team, that competition - it's bloody impressive. I have hard time believing that he wouldn't have a great NHL career in any case even if not all the hype will come true. But yeah, so shoot me, he does remind me of Jagr

He has never been very impressive in international tournaments so far.

What he did will weigh heavily in his legacy.

But jumping to conclusions because he's racked up goals in one and only tournament when he's never shown anything like it before is the best way to screw up when picking a player.

Kemell had an impressive streak as a 17-year-old in Liiga, even Wisdom last year had an impressive streak in AHL as an 18-year-old.

It was his glory week. To score 7 goals in an Olympic tournament, you need talent but also a lot of success.

No hasty conclusion. He is the MVP of the tournament but he is not the best player in the tournament. He is not, at 17, at the level of a Krejci, Shipashev or Power.

Before this tournament, Slafkovsky had scored just one goal in 14 caps for 2 points.

At the WJC, in 7 games played, he has 0 points.

At Hlinka-Gretzky, Dvorsky was above him.

This tournament was his but it is an isolated performance among others.

Jagr had shown much more at his age. 1 Olympic week is not enough to present him as a Jagr like. This is nonsense.

 

[llwyd]

1 Olympic week is not enough to present him as a Jagr like.

And obviously I wouldn't - I was merely saying that he reminds me of young Jagr, and he does. That size and that performance, very impressive, but naturally way too early to tell. What I would do is to bet a considerable sum of money that barring serious injuries this guy will have a very good career in the NHL.

 

[Kaako Kappo]

It's interesting how he can't score in Liiga but produced so well in the Olympics, even though Liiga is like the worst professional league in the world