Player Discussion Juraj Slafkovsky Discussion

[EtLeBut2]

My criticisms of him have definitely not gone away but at least the way he ended the season he earned his place on the first line at least for the playoff road/until Demidov shows he's ready more.

Not sure he'll earn that contract but as a complimentary player he does have a unique skillset.

 

[Kennerback]

Aren't we all though? I mean, I love what Slaf can do, and frankly having either Cooley or Wright instead would not ease the annoyance that there were no Bedard, Fantilli or Celebrini to pick that year.

To me, 1OA in 2023 right now is Fantilli.

Cooley is basically a very poor man’s Demidov. But he’s a center? Demidov looked fantastic as center in the MHL playoffs. He’s not a Drouin playing center. He can really play center.

 

[Jaaanosik]

People are pulling a trigger on Slaf's production projection (60-80pts) too soon.
It would not surprise me one bit if Slaf turns out to be PPG+ player in the future.

 

[sbhatt]

The coaches need to hammer the consistency message into him. Consistent effort, consistent focus. First line / first powerplay players cannot take entire periods off.

 

[waitin425]

He's just dog whistling.

Making stuff completly up or just straight up slandering when Slaf has a "down" game and then comes back to say things like "I just said he needs to work more" when he shines, just to keep up appearences.

The worst type of person, not even strong enough to stand up in what he "believes".

Not sure....he is certainly strong in his opinions, but he did come around at end of last year with Slaf. I also agree with him on numerous other topics. Its just the strong negative opinions of Slaf that get to me.

 

[Tyson]

It will be interesting to see if Slaf can become a playoff beast in this series. He has the size, skill and has played in important games for his home country.

 

[le_sean]

Not sure....he is certainly strong in his opinions, but he did come around at end of last year with Slaf. I also agree with him on numerous other topics. Its just the strong negative opinions of Slaf that get to me.

I can only imagine who you’re talking about. The reason that poster "came around" last year is because he had no choice in order to save face after a breakout season as he got called out by everyone, rightfully so. But as soon as Slaf had a bad stretch this year, he came back yelling and screaming. He was only buying himself time before reverting back to being a hater.

That’s why the ignore list is a godsend.

 

[JustStopThePuck]

I think worst case scenario for Slaf is becoming an Andrei Svechnikov type player, and I'm 100% ok with that. But there's still that chance he can rise above that. Can't wait to see him in the PO.

 

[waitin425]

I think worst case scenario for Slaf is becoming an Andrei Svechnikov type player, and I'm 100% ok with that. But there's still that chance he can rise above that. Can't wait to see him in the PO.

Svech would be decent...but did you see Lane push him off the puck last night? wild stuff

 

[CzarDemidov]

He's just dog whistling.

Making stuff completly up or just straight up slandering when Slaf has a "down" game and then comes back to say things like "I just said he needs to work more" when he shines, just to keep up appearences.

The worst type of person, not even strong enough to stand up in what he "believes".

You couldn’t be more wrong. I stand by my analyis all the time, excessively so.

"Worst type of person" What gives you the right to insult someone like this on a freakin' hockey forum. Have some standards for yourself. You can't even use the term dog whistling without getting it wrong.

 

[JustStopThePuck]

Svech would be decent...but did you see Lane push him off the puck last night? wild stuff

Svech has had an awful year. Something just doesn't seem right with him.

 

[Miller Time]

Svech would be decent...but did you see Lane push him off the puck last night? wild stuff

And just wait till Slaf is in his full physical prime

 

[Jigger77]

Time for Slaf to reincarnate 1993 John Leclair.

 

[VirginiaMtlExpat]

To me, 1OA in 2023 right now is Fantilli.

Cooley is basically a very poor man’s Demidov. But he’s a center? Demidov looked fantastic as center in the MHL playoffs. He’s not a Drouin playing center. He can really play center.

Let's hope. I'd like to see them develop him this way. He needs a Matrix Upload of the Backcheck Neural Program though.

 

[DemidovSZN]

Aren't we all though? I mean, I love what Slaf can do, and frankly having either Cooley or Wright instead would not ease the annoyance that there were no Bedard, Fantilli or Celebrini to pick that year.

No, because we’ll have a Slaf to play with our Demidov.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

More points in less games, his +/- went up a lot into the positive, 10 less penalty minutes.

This was a successful season with good improvement. Let's see what kind of animal he is in the playoffs.

 

[le_sean]

I think worst case scenario for Slaf is becoming an Andrei Svechnikov type player, and I'm 100% ok with that. But there's still that chance he can rise above that. Can't wait to see him in the PO.

That’s a fair comparison. If Svechnikov was in the same draft, he’d have been the near consensus 1st overall pick. He had a lot of hype in 2018.

 

[DemidovSZN]

I think worst case scenario for Slaf is becoming an Andrei Svechnikov type player, and I'm 100% ok with that. But there's still that chance he can rise above that. Can't wait to see him in the PO.

I don’t think they’re similar. I feel Slaf is pretty unique player, hard to find comparable.

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

Aren't we all though? I mean, I love what Slaf can do, and frankly having either Cooley or Wright instead would not ease the annoyance that there were no Bedard, Fantilli or Celebrini to pick that year.

Slafkovsky > Bedard
Slafkovsky > Cooley
Slafkovsky > Wright
Slafkovsky ~ Fantilli
Celebrini > Slafkovsky

 

[Paddyjack]

Slafkovsky > Bedard
Slafkovsky > Cooley
Slafkovsky > Wright
Slafkovsky ~ Fantilli
Celebrini > Slafkovsky

You are reaching with Bedard

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

You are reaching with Bedard

Is Bedard even better than Caufield? He hasn't shown it yet. And they look the same size on the ice. I would keep Slafkovsky over Bedard.

 

[Paddyjack]

Is Bedard even better than Caufield? He hasn't shown it yet. And they look the same size on the ice.

Well ask yourself this: How would Caufield do if he was replacing Bedard on that team? IMO, not as good

 

[Doc5]

Slafkovsky > Bedard
Slafkovsky > Cooley
Slafkovsky > Wright
Slafkovsky ~ Fantilli
Celebrini > Slafkovsky

I would easily take Fantilli over Slaf though

 

[Jurivan Demidovsky]

Well ask yourself this: How would Caufield do if he was replacing Bedard on that team? IMO, not as good

I donno, I'm not high on small centers who are very regular at defending. Is he even a center? His plus minus is horrible and his point totals are nothing special. What he did in juniors doesn't seem like it's gonna translate.

 

[Paddyjack]

I donno, I'm not high on small centers who are very regular at defending. Is he even a center? His plus minus is horrible and his point totals are nothing special. What he did in juniors doesn't seem like it's gonna translate.

I know he got some criticism this year, and he probably deserves some of it. But he plays with a terrible team, so it is hard to judge really, especially the plus minus stat