Is Slafkovsky the worst #1 pick ever ?

[ReHabs]

Which is why they got him out of the NHL. Almost like forcing someone into the NHL before they are ready hurts their development.

The current vibe around the Habs -- even from prospect watchers -- seems to be that development happens no matter what and the division in which a player plays after getting drafted is more-or-less irrelevant to their eventual outcome as a developed player. If Byfield can 'make it' so will Slafkovsky. It's not something one can refute so we can just shrug and hope for the best.

 

[Gliff]

The current vibe around the Habs -- even from prospect watchers -- seems to be that development happens no matter what and the division in which a player plays after getting drafted is more-or-less irrelevant to their eventual outcome as a developed player. If Byfield can 'make it' so will Slafkovsky. It's not something one can refute so we can just shrug and hope for the best.

Burry your head in the sand.

 

[ReHabs]

Burry your head in the sand.

You're preaching to the choir. They hate me and tag me to troll me every time Slafkovsky farts and doesn't fall on his ass. Standards and expectations for him are laughably low. With that said, he does look more confident and present on the ice so that is the silver lining. Otherwise I feel like rushing him ensures he never sufficiently develops the playmaking ability that he already lacks.

 

[Gliff]

You're preaching to the choir. They hate me and tag me to troll me every time Slafkovsky farts and doesn't fall on his ass. Standards and expectations for him are laughably low. With that said, he does look more confident and present on the ice so that is the silver lining. Otherwise I feel like rushing him ensures he never sufficiently develops the playmaking ability that he already lacks.

I just couldn't imagine being happy my team was handling the 1st overall pick like this. 17 points in his first 67 games and no desire to send him to the AHL as a 19 year old. Crazy.

If Carlsson was scoring at that pace I'm pretty sure Ducks fans would be calling for him to get sent back to the SHL.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

You're preaching to the choir. They hate me and tag me to troll me every time Slafkovsky farts and doesn't fall on his ass. Standards and expectations for him are laughably low. With that said, he does look more confident and present on the ice so that is the silver lining. Otherwise I feel like rushing him ensures he never sufficiently develops the playmaking ability that he already lacks.

Can confirm

Our GDTs are full of guys celebrating that Slaf made a “tape to tape pass”
Says more about how deprived of high end skill the Habs have been more than anything

 

[Jeune Poulet]

I really do think a fanbase' impressions can be colored by its history. Montreal Canadiens fans have had extremely high standards for goaltending for decades, because we've been so blessed in that department that we demand game-changing goaltending, but we're in an almost 30-year drought of star forwards that's making anyone who can stickhandle a little stand out from the mediocre bunch.

The rumors that Slafkovsky is our best players are greatly exagerrated. He is barely holding his own in the NHL and some fans are calling him "dominant" on an almost daily basis now. You wouldn't read clownih statements like that from Lightning or Pens fans because they actually know what an elite player looks like, but we now have several generations of Habs fan who have grown without ever seeing a great forward on a consistent basis.

I was OK with the selection of Slaf in what looked like a lackluster draft but they've since totally mishandled his development by rushing him to the NHL and sticking to this stupid plan that's obviously not working. We're also burdening our best forwards right now, asking them to babysit a guy who would be better off growing his skillset and offense in the AHL.

This teaam is not going in the right direction right now, unfortunately.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

Sounds like the Juraj's still out

 

[Rorschach]

OP is 100% correct. We of the generous Los Angeles Kings will help you, poor Montreal with your hat in your hand, out with a 2nd round pick for him. You're welcome.

 

[Koivu11]

He’s starting to look really good.

This thread might have been premature.

 

[Nicko999]

I knew the thread would be bumped.

It's nice he is finally rewarded with goals/pts for his great play. On pace for 30 pts now.

 

[Plastic Joseph]

back to back multi pt games, he's getting to the net front and forechecking really well.

Since the move to the top line he's been really good. I would say there's very little chance he becomes a bust. Probably a 30-30 guy who can forecheck and retain possession really well. My comparison is and has always been Nichushkin

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Still only 19 years old. He has turned the corner the past 2 months and improving at a rapid rate. Becoming a force out there. Hockey sense is there. Playing great

This thread deserved bumping!

 

[Svart]

Seems to have no particular talent, no skill, no speed, big with no big man qualities, doesn’t produce points, his shot is bad, his passing is average… Is he the worst first pick ever ?

 

[Colezuki]

lol this website in general is summed up in this thread

 

[eojsmada]

You can really see him finding the confidence to be able to make plays and be in front of the net, while still maintaining a 200 foot game. Strong forechecker, good in his own zone, and is able to maneuver well in tight around the goal. Could easily be a 30-40 goal scorer in the league. And has room for improvement with his passing and offensive "selection", as he looks like he overthinks some plays when he's on the half-wall. But at 19, he's quite impressive.

 

[JustAHabFan]

I don't know about the worst 1st overall pick but Skavkovsky outplayed Bedard in tonight's game. Best player on the ice tonight.

 

[Colezuki]

He’s

You can really see him finding the confidence to be able to make plays and be in front of the net, while still maintaining a 200 foot game. Strong forechecker, good in his own zone, and is able to maneuver well in tight around the goal. Could easily be a 30-40 goal scorer in the league. And has room for improvement with his passing and offensive "selection", as he looks like he overthinks some plays when he's on the half-wall. But at 19, he's quite impressive.

No no no he’s trash didn’t you read the previous thirty pages

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

For the non-Habs fans who are wondering what changed, 3 things happened:

1) They have finally realized he is a RW. They wasted so much time playing on LW (which was the case all of last season and at least 10 games this season). Like several European wingers, he is much better on his off-wing. He processes the game much faster on RW.

2) They finally stopped fooling around and put him with Suzuki and also put him on the 1st PP unit. They empowered him and he seemingly has taken off.

3) Slafkovsky has started playing like a big man over the last 3 weeks or so.

I would tone down the 30-40 goal predictions though. There are still major questions about his shot and release, you need to be able to beat goalies clean to score around 1 goal every 2 games in this league. Everything else has improved dramatically though.

 

[River Meadow]

The worst 1st OA pick ever looked better than Bedard tonight.

Bedard must be playing injured........

 

[ole ole]

Seems to have no particular talent, no skill, no speed, big with no big man qualities, doesn’t produce points, his shot is bad, his passing is average… Is he the worst first pick ever ?

What was that again?

 

[Zalos]

He's doing better while playing with our best forwards. Let's not get too excited yet. Don't want the reverse jinx!

 

[majormajor]

Tonight's goal shows the interesting contrast with Slafkovsky at this point in his development.

He makes an awful pass about 10 feet away from Suzuki's stick. Then Slaf goes to the net, the puck becomes loose in the crease and while he doesn't immediately find the rebound, the other club can't physically move him, so Slaf has time to put it in.

Useful player but also really bad in some ways! I would rather he be developing in Laval to become more well rounded.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Tonight's goal shows the interesting contrast with Slafkovsky at this point in his development.

He makes an awful pass about 10 feet away from Suzuki's stick. Then Slaf goes to the net, the puck becomes loose in the crease and while he doesn't immediately find the rebound, the other club can't physically move him, so Slaf has time to put it in.

Useful player but also really bad in some ways! I would rather he be developing in Laval to become more well rounded.

Tonight's assist shows the kind of game breaker Slaf can be. Wins a puck battle against 2 x Hawks, then dishes to Caufield for a wide open chance that leads to a goal. He was creating chances all night for his linemates.

Slaf made play after play in all 3 x zones tonight on a consistent manner. He was physical. He was a beast.

 

[JustAHabFan]

Tonight's assist shows the kind of game breaker Slaf can be. Wins a puck battle against 2 x Hawks, then dishes to Caufield for a wide open chance that leads to a goal. He was creating chances all night for his linemates.

Slaf made play after play in all 3 x zones tonight on a consistent manner. He was physical. He was a beast.

What is more impressive is that he always the 1st forward to get back to the defensive zone. He covered a lot of ice with his skating.

 

[bighab]

Slaf rocks. Big men take time & I don't think it's much longer before his talent / ability are undeniable. Don't expect him to get much (any) love on the main board though.

As a matter of fact, I kinda hope everyone - outside of us Habs fans - continues to under rate him. I don't know why we seem to crave validation from other fan bases anyways