Is Slafkovsky the worst #1 pick ever ?

[Jabba11]

Man, this kid is a beauty. So freaking dominant at only 19 years old in all 3 zones. The way he impacts the game is really hard to find another similar player. Really happy of his progression and relieved of his development after such a difficult start to the season.

 

[Tim Wallach]

This thread is so hilarious. Filled with people who so desperately want him to fail that they’re working overtime to create that narrative and a few Hab fans who can’t ignore trolls.

Fact of the matter is the majority of Habs fans who pay no attention to this nonsense and just watch the games are thrilled with the pick these days. That’s all.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

Played a big part in 3 habs goals vs Dallas.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

This thread brings me joy every time it pops up.

 

[waitin425]

Did any of the detractors in this thread, want to share their thoughts on last nights performance? How did he look out there guys?

 

[Fledgemyhedge]

damn I said I was open and hoping he’d make me look stupid but not this fast

 

[BenchBrawl]

Slafkovsky is a beauty. Impossible to know what he'll become, such a unique player. He's already playing like an all-around 1st liner lately. He brings almost everything to the table already. Very rare for a 19 years old.

 

[Paddyjack]

Did any of the detractors in this thread, want to share their thoughts on last nights performance? How did he look out there guys?

They don't watch the games, they watch hockeydb

 

[fredligh]

For what its worth, he still have the most points in his draft year

 

[GrandBison]

What's funny is that this thread would still have been created if the Habs had drafted any other player 1OA. It's not about Slaf.

And if the Habs had drafted Cooley and Slaf would play like he's playing right now, but with Hughes, people would call it obvious that Slaf should have been picked 1st.

 

[vlady]

13 pts in the last 27GP
12 pts in the last 22 GP
7 pts in the last 8 GP

He is trending in the right direction even if you only look at the stats. If you watch him play, then this should not surprise you.

He has played the last ~15 games on the top line. He had to earn this position and the trust of MSL with his play. Now he is trusted to defend one goal leads late in the game. This wasn't the case last year and it wasn't the case at the beginning of this season.

This may not impress the stat watchers, but his defensive play has also improved significantly. He is very good at backchecking (as evidenced last night on Montreal's 3rd goal) and also good at puck retrievals, breakouts and transition. His board play has improved leaps and bounds. He is developing into a complete 200-foot player similar to his compatriot Marian Hossa.

He is hard working and coachable, unlike someone like Yakupov who was lazy and arrogant.

Write him off at your own peril.

 

[Andy]

Honestly, he's been fantastic.

Slafkovsky would have even more points this season if Josh Anderson wasn't the most snake bitten hockey player in history. That was an insane stretch of like 10 games.

His defensive zone play and back checking have been incredible too.

 

[MNRube]

So he has 1 assist and 1 shot against Dallas and is still nowhere close to 0.5 PPG and Habs fans want everyone to eat crow? Way too early for that. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile and even below average players have good games.

 

[waitin425]

To everyone who think stats mean everything.....what do you think of this play?

https://x.com/HabsHappy/status/1742379557531877864?s=20

Many of us Habs fans who have been watching his progress, have talked about his skating improving, and using his reach and size to impact the game.

 

[waitin425]

So he has 1 assist and 1 shot against Dallas and is still nowhere close to 0.5 PPG and Habs fans want everyone to eat crow? Way too early for that. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile and even below average players have good games.

Laugh all you want. He is doing things like this consistently every game that directly leads to goals or scoring opportunities. The points will come.

 

[Not The One]

So he has 1 assist and 1 shot against Dallas and is still nowhere close to 0.5 PPG and Habs fans want everyone to eat crow? Way too early for that. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile and even below average players have good games.

He has seven points in his last eight games and playing very well.

The state of the team he plays on also has to be taken into account when assessing his points total. He's fifth on the Habs compared for example to Cooley who is 9th on the Coyotes. There are lots of reasons to be cautiously optimistic.

 

[Lshap]

So he has 1 assist and 1 shot against Dallas and is still nowhere close to 0.5 PPG and Habs fans want everyone to eat crow? Way too early for that. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile and even below average players have good games.

Slafkovsky is .5 PPG since early November. He's over .5 PPG the last month. He's .7 PPG the last 10 games.

Nobody cares about PPG from earlier in his development.

 

[Saxon]

Slafkovsky is .5 PPG since early November. He's over .5 PPG the last month. He's .7 PPG the last 10 games.

Nobody cares about PPG from earlier in his development.

He’s PPG this year!

 

[RickyLafleur]

Slafkovsky is .5 PPG since early November. He's over .5 PPG the last month. He's .7 PPG the last 10 games.

Nobody cares about PPG from earlier in his development.

Well, that settles it. We only determine how good a player is by his best stretch of the season.

 

[Lshap]

Well, that settles it. We only determine how good a player is by his best stretch of the season.

So his first month is a better indicator of how he might develop, versus his last two months... when he's actually developing?

 

[RickyLafleur]

So his first month is a better indicator of how he might develop, versus his last two months... when he's actually developing?

I was being sarcastic. You judge a player based on the entire season of play, rather than cherry-picking hot and cold streaks. Should be fairly obvious for someone with over 25000 comments on this site.

 

[Lshap]

The thing is, you judge a player based on the entire season of play, rather than cherry-picking hot and cold streaks.

We're discussing a 19 year old at the very beginning of his development curve, so no, you absolutely DON'T judge him based on his first NHL games. You must realize that makes no sense at all. You can't look at development as "Hot and cold streaks".

 

[Maitz]

Honestly, he had that switch on the last 15 games or so, he seems like he understand how to play the games with his qualities, he is nowhere close the same player he was at the start of the season. I don't see him as a 70-80 pts player but def a top 6 powerforward and a puck retrieving machine. We had hard times as a Habs fan the last few years it's really nice to see him right now, def the most positive thing right now

 

[Guess]

So he has 1 assist and 1 shot against Dallas and is still nowhere close to 0.5 PPG and Habs fans want everyone to eat crow? Way too early for that. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in awhile and even below average players have good games.

You're right in a way, he has a great shot but he doesn't use it enough, he needs to clock up his shot count by quite a bit. Apparently his release is too slow and so he needs to work on that. Once he's more confident in his shot he will probably stop looking to defer all the time.

And I would say he doesn't have a ton of assists because he is still not showcasing much offensive ability, although I'm not sure that was part of the package when he was drafted, he is a pretty good stick handler and has some neat tricks in his arsenal but I don't know if he will ever be an elite playmaker/scorer vs a skilled power forward.

In my books you don't have to eat crow just yet I think the crow is for those who think that he's not a good player or not playing well, and bashing the pick when we all know how weak the draft was.

 

[My3Sons]

It's a good thing he's started to turn it around. He was quickly getting to the end of the runway. He's what, 19? He's practically on the back 9 of his career. I mean how many games do you want to give a teenager before we can throw dirt on his grave?