Player Discussion Juraj Slafkovsky Discussion

[Sasha Orlov]

He cried when he broke the Demidov story.

Shhhh

 

[River Meadow]

When feeling shame, people often mask it with anger. I didn't see tears but his voice certainly cracked. I think he will feel shame because of that. That shame is going to come out as anger. I expect Slaf to be unleashed tomorrow. I actually worry about him doing something stupid.

Also.....like my old buddy above.....I cry too. Everybody cries.........sometimes.......so hold on.........hold on

Now is the time, especially on home ice.

I hope he does something stupid... he's young, he can afford it right now.

 

[Miller Time]

Valid point.

Showing SO much emotion after the game and on the bench, but not so much on the ice, is getting a bit old.

Lay that sh*t all out on the ice.

Again, don't know what you're watching, but Slaf is one of the more expressive players on the ice as well.

So odd that you don't see things that are very visibly there...

 

[River Meadow]

It you do the same thing every day and apologize for it every day that's not accountability. It means that your apologies are meaningless.

Very true.

That is when credibility is lost.

 

[waitin425]

Now is the time, especially on home ice.

I hope he does something stupid... he's young, he can afford it right now.

Xhekaj will be coming out and throwing bombs all over the ice. The kid will be amped up. I think he gets the entire team fired up. Slaf may drop some gloves too. Same concept we saw in the first Canada-US game.

 

[River Meadow]

Again, don't know what you're watching, but Slaf is one of the more expressive players on the ice as well.

So odd that you don't see things that are very visibly there...

When you say he is expressive...

Do you mean his facial expressions, or his actual play?

I am talking about play style only.

I'm also not saying Slaf is our worst player BTW, but we need him to do more and be more implicated like we've already seen him do before.

 

[OldCraig71]

Hoping a player can channel emotion into motivation isnt a complaint nor a critique, if anything, it's an optimistic statement that, unless offered sarcastically, comes from a belief in the future potential...

Yeah, it is, and I say things like that all the time, and people comment on it. I read it as you saying, "it's fine to cry, but now turn that into something positive in the offseason". It's a thinly veiled shot at him in my opinion.

There is nothing wrong with what you said, nor are things wrong with the takes from other posters. I just find that there are people here who want to be the "good cop" at times, and it feels like being corrected by a teacher or something.

Fans are emotional and its okay to slip once in a while, being perfect gets tiring.

 

[LaP]

Who cares about the "No clear 1st overall". Their job is to find the best player.

They drafted him for a reason and he's not that. They drafted him to be a powerforward, well he's more Armia than he is Wilson. Thats coming straight from Hughes words, "if we wanted a skill guy we shouldve picked someone else". Well guess what.

That's exactly the point. There was no clear cut skill guy that year. It's why they did not draft a skill guy. If there would have been a guy with generational potential they would have never drafted Slaf 1st overall. They went with Slaf because he will not have to be as productive to be useful.

Cooley or Wright if they don't become top 15 center then they will either be 2nd line center or 1st line center of a not so good team. If Slaf develop as a 60+ points winger who is strong on the forecheck then every team will want him in their lineup. The path for success for Slaf is easier than the centers and in a draft without generational player they went with Slaf.

I highly doubt they drafted Slaf to become Wilson. Slaf never fought and never was dirty. Wilson was a goon for the first 5 seasons of his career (he was 24 years old the first time he reached 20 goals and 40 points). Then he re-invented himself. He is an anomalie more than anything else.

 

[Miller Time]

Yeah, it is, and I say things like that all the time, and people comment on it. I read it as you saying, "it's fine to cry, but now turn that into something positive in the offseason". It's a thinly veiled shot at him in my opinion.

It wasn't. Not in the least.

The ability to channel emotion towards motivation is a major aspect of elite athlete performance... At the risk of oversimplification, this is the main purpose of the massively expanded domain of sport & performance psychology.

While some rare athletes "figure it out" on their own at a very early age, it is absolutely an attribute that can be trained, refined, and improved over time.

Slaf is a highly emotive individual. Learning how to focus those emotions constructively and leverage them to drive greater focus and intensity in his offseason prep, will help him unlock his massive potential... I hope he's able to do that, because it quite probably will be the single greatest variable determining wether or not he can fully actualize his massive potential.

There is nothing wrong with what you said, nor are things wrong with the takes from other posters. I just find that there are people here who want to be the "good cop" at times, and it feels like being corrected by a teacher or something.

Fans are emotional and its okay to slip once in a while, being perfect gets tiring.

Sorry, but I don't subscribe to the notion that "all opinions are equal".

I often have opinions that prove to be very wrong... And I don't mean predictions that fail to materialize, I mean opinions that, upon further scrutiny, prove to have been poorly grounded (be it from bias, emotion, incomplete information et.).

While you may prefer not to have your oversights or bad takes called out, I much prefer the growth and learning that comes from having my mistakes pointed out... It's precisely in knowing that one isn't perfect that we should remain open and receptive to good faith critiques and/or ribbing (& as a French Canadian, being teased or "taquiner" is the price of admission for any fruitful communication).

But either way, a public message board is probably not a great place to be if one wants to avoid having their opinions scrutinized, no?

Oddly, the posters who seem to get most defensive about their takes (& I'm not referring to you, to be clear), are the very same posters who throw around all sorts of baseless and emotional quips about the team and players they are supposedly "fans" of... It's one thing to be clueless to the realities of elite performance and team sports, it's another to be an ignoramus about it and then play the victim when their stupid posts are rightfully called out.

 

[Mrb1p]

This thread is so tiresome. He just needs to be better stop jumping through hoops to make excuses.

Be better.

 

[River Meadow]

This thread is so tiresome. He just needs to be better stop jumping through hoops to make excuses.

Be better.

But, have you considered his age?

 

[Mrb1p]

But, have you considered his age?

He is young though, hes gonna get better.

Hes not magically going to grow a pair and become a physical player.

 

[Miller Time]

When you say he is expressive...

Do you mean his facial expressions, or his actual play?

I am talking about play style only.

I'm also not saying Slaf is our worst player BTW, but we need him to do more and be more implicated like we've already seen him do before.

I mean in his personality, which shows up both in his posture/facial expressions, and in his performance archetype.

A guy like Slaf quite likely needs to lower his emotional stimulation to reach his IPS (ideal performance state), whereas a guy like Dvorak needs to ramp up his emotional state to hit it.

Athletes learning to understand where their baseline state is and what direction on the emotionality pendulum they need to move to hit their IPS is a process... That's a big part of the emotional "maturity" that comes with experience & intentional practice.

It's also why early on it was quite evident that what some posters viewed as "low IQ" & "poor balance" in his first season, was instead moreso a player struggling to get into his IPS because of cognitive overload (one that was both by design and monitored closely by coach/GM/player... It was a very well executed integration even though many posters still cling to the idea that he was "rushed").

I'm also not saying Slaf is our worst player BTW, but we need him to do more and be more implicated like we've already seen him do before.

This is kind of the issue though... having to clarify that given Slaf has quite easily been one of our top 3-4 forwards most nights, and on occasion our best forward... And until Demidov arrived 2 weeks ago, he'd been the youngest player on the roster in every one of his 198 NHL games.

The idea that "we need him to do more" is I guess where the big perspective gap lies.

I think he's giving us a massive amount given the present context
- 2nd youngest player on Habs roster
- just turned 21
- 3rd in ice time & pts among fwds, 5th in goals for regular season
- 3rd in scoring, 1st in hits, 4th bkS, 5th TkA (all), 2nd in ice time (fwds), this season of '22 draft class... And he's 1st in all of those categories for total career (obviously more games)

So we're getting, have received, as much or more from Slaf than basically every other player his age currently in the NHL.

More of a good thing is always great, to be sure, but to frame it as a "need" doesn't really hold much water as a critique of the player.

21min toi/g in his first two playoff games...
More than Draisatl, Matthews, Kaprizov, Caufield, Stutzle among others.

Obviously it's only 2 games and we went to OT in the first, but I think it is relevant contextualization in talking "need".

That our team, to be more competitive, "needs" more is less about him and more about our roster...

The only other younger forwards playing anywhere close to Slaf's minutes are Johnston (playing Dallas's loaded fwd group) and Knies (playing with Toronto's loaded fwd group).

I get "wanting" more, I don't get "expecting" more, and I do think the distinction is an important one insofar as it frames the assessment.

Criticizing a player who just turned 21, who is providing what Slaf is providing in our team context, for not being more consistent is like criticizing water for being wet... Comes with the expected territory

 

[Miller Time]

He is young though, hes gonna get better.

Hes not magically going to grow a pair and become a physical player.

And here, again, example of a baseless and silly critique.

Literally led the Habs in hits this season, in his 20 year old season, yet you're complaining that he isn't a physical player.

Terrible take.

Be better

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

We should merge this thread with the MSL and Jackeye one. Call it the crybaby thread

 

[CharleyHorse]

What I'm realizing so far:
- Slaf will be hated until he becomes a superstar
- Slaf will be hated forever because his ceiling is just a really really really good player

I think Slaf's going to keep getting criticized until people feel like he's really working to help the team win. What that looks like is different for different people. For me, it's throwing hits, screening the goalie with net presence, and creating time and space for his linemates. He doesn’t need to score every night, but for a boy of his size, this gliding and peripheral play is hard to take when he is not engaged. These PO games are important for him, hopefully they provide a baseline for what is expected of him when he grows up.

 

[Mrb1p]

And here, again, example of a baseless and silly critique.

Literally led the Habs in hits this season, in his 20 year old season, yet you're complaining that he isn't a physical player.

Terrible take.

Be better

He lead the Habs in hits? He had less hits/60 than Heineman, Xhekaj, Pezzeta, Struble, Anderson and Beck. But more importantly, how many were strong hits?

Andrei Kostitsyn also led the Habs in hits, he was super useful and underrated. Would you say he was a powerforward?

Top it all off, hes tied with Laine right now in the POs for hits. Laine.

 

[Kojo]

He lead the Habs in hits? He had less hits/60 than Heineman, Xhekaj, Pezzeta, Struble, Anderson and Beck. But more importantly, how many were strong hits?

Andrei Kostitsyn also led the Habs in hits, he was super useful and underrated. Would you say he was a powerforward?

Top it all off, hes tied with Laine right now in the POs for hits. Laine.

The same Laine who at 27 years old has 40 more hits than 21 years old Slaf in his whole career?

I like Heineman though and Struble and of course Andy. But the other guys aren't worth a mention.

 

[Mrb1p]

The same Laine who at 27 years old has 40 more hits than 21 years old Slaf in his whole career?

I like Heineman though and Struble and of course Andy. But the other guys aren't worth a mention.

Yes? So its pretty pathetic from Slaf.

 

[Jaaanosik]

Yes? So its pretty pathetic from Slaf.

???

 

[River Meadow]

Slafkovsky after game 2:

"No, it's exactly what I expected. I've just got to play more physical myself, and just gotta be better" (when asked if the play is more physical than he was expecting the playoffs to be)

Is he wrong to say he needs to be more physical and be better? Is Slafkovsky hating on himself?

 

[BoNeS42]

It was just you. I don't care about half of those players, Mete? What? Poehling? Kotkaniemi? Higgins? Nope. I think it's just you. I had some hope for Galchenyuk but what can you do. Kostityn the same.

Yep just him... *hides his Higgins and perezhogin sweaters*

 

[River Meadow]

Yep just him... *hides his Higgins and perezhogin sweaters*

Jozef Balej was going to be a STAR!

 

[BoNeS42]

Yep just him... *hides his Higgins and perezhogin sweaters*

Took me 15years to find confidence into a young player, i think im safe with suzuki this time

 

[Mrb1p]

???
View attachment 1021864

Slaf having 2 hits in 2 games isnt pathetic ? Has he been physical ?

He. needs. to. be. better.