Player Discussion Juraj Slafkovsky Discussion

[Mrb1p]

Please, show me how you objectively assess hockey IQ.
How many Demidov's games you saw?

Hockey IQ is assessed by how a player sees the ice in front of him and anticipates the play. Understanding of the game.

Not every players has the same understanding and anticipation.

 

[Mrb1p]

Keep in mind it’s the same poster who spouted ad nauseam how Kotkaniemi was a guaranteed 80 pts C in waiting …

Damn grandpa, youre stuck on this one, right?

Do you want me to list some other bad takes Ive had so you can say anything else?

 

[Jaaanosik]

Hockey IQ is assessed by how a player sees the ice in front of him and anticipates the play. Understanding of the game.

Not every players has the same understanding and anticipation.

Really? That's all?
Wooow.
OK, now I know that you don't know.


Edit: How many Demidov's games you saw?

 

[Captain Mountain]

Keep in mind it’s the same poster who spouted ad nauseam how Kotkaniemi was a guaranteed 80 pts C in waiting …

I was very high on Kotkaniemi as a young NHLer and could see him becoming a big time NHLer player. He didn't and isn't as good as Slaf is right now. No one is right about every player. Being wrong about one top pick with size out of Liiga could also affect how one looks at other top picks out of Liiga as well.

There's a certain point when nitpicking or criticism or being a worrywart goes from reasonable to not. The same is true BTW for hyping guys up, but there will ALWAYS be more leeway for the latter among fans since we live in hope. We'll see what he becomes, but his recent play (regular season and the playoffs) and general growth leaves me more inclined to be optimistic than pessimistic.

 

[LaP]

I was very high on Kotkaniemi as a young NHLer and could see him becoming a big time NHLer player. He didn't and isn't as good as Slaf is right now. No one is right about every player. Being wrong about one top pick with size out of Liiga could also affect how one looks at other top picks out of Liiga as well.

There's a certain point when nitpicking or criticism or being a worrywart goes from reasonable to not. The same is true BTW for hyping guys up, but there will ALWAYS be more leeway for the latter among fans since we live in hope. We'll see what he becomes, but his recent play (regular season and the playoffs) and general growth leaves me more inclined to be optimistic than pessimistic.

Level-headed posts should be banned from this forum. It doesn't belong here.

 

[Mrb1p]

Level-headed posts should be banned from this forum. It doesn't belong here.

Surely is a lot less fun

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Forget about Demidov, just look at Slaf. Look at that zone entry, positioning and finish from Slaf. A fraction of players in the NHL could pull that off in a high stakes game. And this is a big man doing it in his 20 year old season. No passenger, he is a monster that every team in the NHL would want.

Nice dish with someone on him to keep the play alive as well.

 

[Naslundforever]

Hockey IQ is assessed by how a player sees the ice in front of him and anticipates the play. Understanding of the game.

Not every players has the same understanding and anticipation.

He’s great at reacting though; prototypical winger when he’s flying. Some passes in open lanes he’s made were sick.

Dunno if anticipation and nastiness come in a pill. XP and a good vet supporting cast still incoming.. He’s like Conan when he was first thrust in the arena Aaaarrrgggharrghghhraaarg. 3 more playoffs and he even grows a beard I bet.

 

[salbutera]

Damn grandpa, youre stuck on this one, right?

Do you want me to list some other bad takes Ive had so you can say anything else?

Young padwan - we ALL make mistakes I’ve made more than I can count, nothing in life is binary. Changing goalposts in an adamant manner to ensure “being right” isn't constructive.

Your adamant takes on KK, Matheson, Slaf reek of bias over pragmatism - you’re not the only one, all of us to varying degrees are also guilty, myself at head of the line….

 

[Erika]

I just don’t get saying he has low IQ. It’s being dishonest.

A player with low IQ is Newhook or Anderson. They kind of have one mode, fast north-south hockey. The need to carry the puck themselves because they can’t consistently make tape to tape passes.

Slaf not only makes tape to tape passes with relative ease and quickness, he’s also shown quite often that he can simply put a puck into an open space for a teammate because he has great anticipation. Also one-touch passes and then drive the net to give space to linemates. Or he knows when to battle for a puck enough to draw another defender in and get it to an open teammate or to hold it and wait for proper support before really tying to take it off a defender.

High IQ isn’t always just players like Suzuki who have the anticipation and get into passing lanes to intercept pucks. Just watch Anderson and Slafkovsky and you can tell the massive difference in IQ between two guys of the same size. It’s night and day.

Yeah, it's always the 2-3 same redundant posters that have no clue. To compare Zubrus to Slafkovsky is just pure hatred and dishonesty at this point. Zubrus can only dream of accomplishing what Slafkovsky already achieved in his 3rd season.

To say that Slafkovsky has low IQ is like saying Mikko Rantanen, Timo Meier or Marian Hossa have low IQ. Sure they are not at the level of Kucherov, McDavid and Malkin IQ wise... in fact very very few hockey players are... probably 0.5% of all hockey players... it doesn't mean that they have low IQ.

You can't have low IQ and perform on one of the best line in the NHL. That's just not possible. If you think otherwise, you probably never played competitively in any team sport.

 

[Mrb1p]

He’s great at reacting though; prototypical winger when he’s flying. Some passes in open lanes he’s made were sick.

Dunno if anticipation and nastiness come in a pill. XP and a good vet supporting cast still incoming.. He’s like Conan when he was first thrust in the arena Aaaarrrgggharrghghhraaarg. 3 more playoffs and he even grows a beard I bet.

Hes a good passer on set plays though, but Im not sure how much I can attribute this to IQ.

 

[Mrb1p]

Young padwan - we ALL make mistakes I’ve made more than I can count, nothing in life is binary. Changing goalposts in an adamant manner to ensure “being right” isn't constructive.

Your adamant takes on KK, Matheson, Slaf reek of bias over pragmatism - you’re not the only one, all of us to varying degrees are also guilty, myself at head of the line….

Ive literally never done this I stand by my takes no matter what.

 

[Naslundforever]

Hes a good passer on set plays though, but Im not sure how much I can attribute this to IQ.

Different types of intelligence for me also.. IQ is efficiency of reasoning (like having a mental map of everyone on the ice in movement) vs having a really efficient nervous system which is more reflexes, speed of decision.. He can anticipate enough to play in the nhl but I find his strength is reacting to what is ahead of him (all that matters is what’s in front if you’re flying and hitting anyway like a big winger).

 

[vlady]

Ive literally never done this I stand by my takes no matter what.

so you stand by these, that's good to know:

 

[Mrb1p]

Different types of intelligence for me also.. IQ is efficiency of reasoning (like having a mental map of everyone on the ice in movement) vs having a really efficient nervous system which is more reflexes, speed of decision.. He can anticipate enough to play in the nhl but I find his strength is reacting to what is ahead of him (all that matters is what’s in front if you’re flying and hitting anyway like a big winger).

Precisely what I allude to. Thats why he can thread a needle for a pass but rarely gets a scheme beating pass.

Also to me, the IQ thing is probably why hes not a powerwinger. Its either he plays a Anderson game and mostly rely on luck for production or he thinks a bit more but doesnt have the processing power to also be a wrecking ball.

 

[Mrb1p]

so you stand by these, that's good to know:
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View attachment 1026656

Pretty much yes. He was sold to us (and to be fair I also saw this while scouting him) as a power winger with skills. Heck some even used the names Jagr and Hossa to describe him.

Hes a 2nd line/1st line tweener with a heavy but not agressive or mean game that has yet to show a knack for scoring long distance goals.

 

[cave troll]

I hoped he would explode in this playoff but it didn't happen.
Somehow predictable.

 

[Kojo]

I expected 60+ points -5 and miss the playoffs.

Instead he had 51 points +4 and made the playoffs.

I think it's good enough. That guy is a beast.

 

[billy piton]

So
What did you mean by this :



You know the poster replied that Slaf had as great of a hockey IQ as Hutson, Suzuki and Demidov, right?

The reality is Slafs IQ will always hold him back and we have ample evidence to conclude this. And like you said, and like Ive been saying, he still is a useful player and can even be a great player despite that.

Sadly our roster isnt filled with Crosbys, so the players are going to have some form of weakness in their attributes, Caufieldis 5'6, Slaf has lower IQ, Suzuki is a bit sluggish, Hutson is 5'10. Its just reality.

how many teams are filled with multiple crosbys? and even those that are usually have huge depth issues due to their high cost. teambuilding i about right mix, not just megastars.

 

[billy piton]

I hoped he would explode in this playoff but it didn't happen.
Somehow predictable.

on the other hand cooley and michkov are destroying everything in this playoffs. oh, wait...

 

[Favster]

I thought he played well these playoffs.

 

[billy piton]

We’ll see about Czar Demidov but Hutson definitely puts to shame those who insist Slaf is a high IQ player. There are many of them. Hutson as a undersized rookie makes plays that Slaf simply can’t make three years into the NHL.

hutson makes plays that any other nhl player cant make.

 

[MM425]

It’s just about consistency with Slaf. He still has big swings in the quality of his shifts, periods, and games.

Sometimes it takes time. Look at Dylan Strome’s career trajectory. It took longer than expected, especially compared to his peers in his draft class but he got there eventually.

 

[cave troll]

on the other hand cooley and michkov are destroying everything in this playoffs. oh, wait...

Michkov is a rookie. We all enjoyed Slaf leading us to playoffs in his rookie season. Oh, wait...

 

[cave troll]

It’s just about consistency with Slaf. He still has big swings in the quality of his shifts, periods, and games.

Sometimes it takes time. Look at Dylan Strome’s career trajectory. It took longer than expected, especially compared to his peers in his draft class but he got there eventually.

If Slaf takes Strome's trajectory it will take 3 clubs for him to reach his full potential.