EveryDay
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- Jun 13, 2009
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Next year he's going to hit close to 70 points imo.
My guess is 27 goals + 41 assists
My guess is 27 goals + 41 assists
Player Discussion Juraj Slafkovsky Discussion
- Thread starter MarkovsKnee
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Captain Mountain
Formerly Captain Wolverine
- Jun 6, 2010
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I'm at the point where I don't really care about the points as much as I care about how he plays.
He was one of the more productive 5v5 players in the NHL this year and he didn't have a key role on the PP. If he can be more consistently engaged in the play (and get his shot off more) and find a more involved role on an improved PP, then the points will naturally follow and he'll be one of the premier wingers in the league.
LaP
Registered User
He finished tied 76th among forwards for EVP. This is not great but that's within the parameters for a 1st line player (i.e. saying he doesn't deserve the TOI is a false argument). Four more points would make him top 60 in EVP points. To his defense he played less than many guys in front of him like Raymond who have 1 more EVP than him but played significantly more minutes.
He has to improve his net precense on the PP but at the same time our defense is made of pea shooters. It would help our PP a lot to have at least one guy able to fire lazers from the blue line. I miss Weber/Subban for that man when they fired those missiles the defense (and Gallagher) could only close their eyes and hope for the best. Liked that bomb from Mailloux in the last Rocket game.
Captain Mountain
Formerly Captain Wolverine
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He produced at ES at the same rate as guys like Knies, Hertl and Johnston. If you focus 5v5 (which I generally would considering how much other game states can skew what you're trying to see), he's even better. At this point any increased production will come from improved engagement (which tends to happen more as players get more experience, people seem to forget Suzuki was less engaged when he was establishing himself in his early 20s, and Caufield only really started to figure that out last season).
I don't really care about Montreal having a rocket from the point, one of the reason Montreal's PP was awful for years is that they over-relied on it. It would be nice to have it as an option, but Even getting pucks through from the point more (Hutson has to get more comfortable shooting) would dramatically improve the PP.
Mrb1p
PRICERSTOPDAPUCK
Points dont matter to me. Hes produced this year but his play was just not good enough. He was better in the PO though.
I don't doubt that he'll take further strides over the next 12 months...
But are you really suggesting that at 22, a player's career future is determined?
Cue the long list of players that made big jumps in performance and impact at 23, 24, 25... Starting with our own Nick Suzuki.
dackelljuneaubulis02
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- Oct 13, 2012
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I’m interested in how much skill he’ll incorporate into his game. He has hands.
Getting more explosive will be half the battle for him I believe. I think that will give him more confidence. Using his insane frame to protect the puck.
I’m confident he still has a lot of room to improve. Just how much is the question. I’ve said it plenty but I think he can be elite.
dackelljuneaubulis02
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Yeah I don’t think Caufield is done improving. Hell even Nick could turn it up another half notch. He’s definitely at the very onset of his prime.
Not unreasonable to expect a pretty big leap from Slaf though.
Deebs
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- Feb 5, 2014
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And that's why I said "pretty much". Just like Suzy, the foundation of his game will be solidified and then the refinement comes into play.
Gaylord Q Tinkledink
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- Apr 29, 2018
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Going to be hard when he's lackadaisical for half the season, or more.
Second year in a row he says he wants to start off well in October, so let's see it.
dackelljuneaubulis02
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Honestly his second season he started out not bad. Pretty marked improvement over the first season (sure low bar but I was pretty heartened quite quickly by his game) and just kept getting better and better as the season went on.
But the point is well taken. Just flat out needs a better offseason.
Fair enough.
With Suzuki, there were a lot of poster very confident that he would never be a "#1C" right up until this season...
Yup.
What all three appear to have in common is a strong belief in themselves and the work ethic to go make it happen.
I suspect Slaf, like CC & Suzuki, will make several positive steps forward through his early 20's.
Slafkofield
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- May 1, 2022
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After playing the Caps, Slaf will go through that Michael Jordan transformation, where he bulked up to outmuscle the Pistons.
JianYang
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Regardless of what the numbers say, I think there's also the tendency to treat all draft classes as equal.
The 2021 class was not super exciting at the top. You had Shane Wright anointed as the guy, but his stock dropped to the point where there was no consensus #1.
Now, that doesn't mean I don't see slaf being a good player in this league. But the point is that not every class is going to spring out a phenom, and the expectations should be adjusted accordingly.
Yes, this is true, but I also feel that my grid shows exactly that.
In the comparison, you have a mixed bag of 1OAs. You elite players like Thornton and MacKinnon, 1b/2nd line centres in Hischier and RNH, and then low end 1OA like Laf.
What the graph shows is that regardless of the quality of the 1OA, Slaf's progression is step with a variety of player types. So the idea that his career is written at a couple of months into his 21st year of age is just silly.
I guess the issue is his 1OA label, but there are so many players who breakout in years 4-5: Huberdeau (3OA), Dylan Strome (3OA). Sam Reinhart (2OA) are some recent examples.
Hell, I look at a guy like Patrick Marleau (2OA), so much crticism about him until Thornton arrived. He was a 45-55 point player for 7 seasons before he broke out into a top line player.
JianYang
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If you were to back to 1997 when the bruins drafted Thornton and samsonov #1 and #7ish respectively.... both guys who made the team out of camp.... the same guys slamming slafkovksky right now are the ones that would have said samsonov is the better player than thornton at the end of year three in Boston.
Exactly!
Back-to-back 50 point seasons in D+2 and D+3 for a player who just turned 21 is something to be excited about, not shit on. There are so many examples of players that aren't generational and taken at the top end of the draft to take 3-5 years before breaking out.
Look at Byfield (2OA), he's d+5 producing at Slaf's pace.
So the idea that Slaf will plateau at 21 is unlikely. Also, the fact that Slaf produced 50+ and flirted with 20g in a year he was "ill prepared for" and "started off badly" indicates there is a lot more room to grow.
You just don't 50 points by fluke or by playing with Nick and Cole. If that was the case, Newhook and Dach would have been able to keep up the same pace as Slaf did when they were paired with them at various points in the season. But they didn't.
I'd also argue that it is not coincidence that Caufield went from a 50 point to 70 point winger, and Nick from a 60 point to 80 point centre with Slaf joining their wing. He does so much work for that line to generate offense.
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Other players breaking out in D+4 and D+5 years: Spezza, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin.
Mason McTavish (3OA) who this board loves matched Slaf's D+2 and D+3 paces in his D+3 and D+4 year.
So basically up until now we have Slaf producing similar D+2 and D+3 years to other high end picks like: Thornton, RHN, Hischier, Marleau, Sedins, Spezza, Byfield, Strome, Huberdeau, Mackinnon, Reinhart, McTavish.
Yet, we want to pretend like things are catastrophic and that his development has plateaued. It's almost like....gasp.....not all players come into the league at their top potential.
Mason McTavish (3OA) who this board loves matched Slaf's D+2 and D+3 paces in his D+3 and D+4 year.
So basically up until now we have Slaf producing similar D+2 and D+3 years to other high end picks like: Thornton, RHN, Hischier, Marleau, Sedins, Spezza, Byfield, Strome, Huberdeau, Mackinnon, Reinhart, McTavish.
Yet, we want to pretend like things are catastrophic and that his development has plateaued. It's almost like....gasp.....not all players come into the league at their top potential.
If he gets to 68 points and leads us in hits again.....that will be a very very good season.
I'm okay with 20g and 60-65 points.
There is only one puck, and he plays on a line with two players who like to posses it a lot. Also, he doesn't play a role on the powerplay that allows him to get many puck touches. That alone will limit the amount of points he could get.
If Slaf develops into a consistent 20-25g to 60-65pt winger ala Landeskog, I am happy.
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LaP
Registered User
What i want to see from Slaf is incremental improvements.
- 1st year he sucked
- 2nd year he progressed offensively
- 3rd year he did not progress offensively but did progress defensively a lot while kepping the same offensive production
- 4th year if he can do 25 goals and 60 points while playing well defensively i'll be more than happy personally.
Very true. I was thinking about this and how our top end talents shares goals.
Presumably teams have an upper range on how much they can actually score in a season. Take the top producing teams for example.
If a team scores ~300 goals (Tampa led last year with 291), not every player can be 100 point guys.
We may see Slaf score ~60-65 based on touches and opportunities alone, where as if he played on a different team he could be an 80 point guy.
With Demi, Suzuki, Caufield, Hutson presumed to be our top 4....60-65 for Slaf is likely.
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