Player Discussion Juraj Slafkovsky, the high offensive potential edition.

[Breakfast of Champs]

He missed a full season IMO. 1/2 to injury and 1/2 being a spectator trying to follow the speed of the game.

But let’s say, for argument sake, you are right and it’s only 1/2 a season. How many 18y old can you think of, that lost 1/2 a season and still fully reached or overachieved their potential?

Rantanen has a much higher ceiling the any player in Slaf draft, except maybe Cooley and Kemell. ( I think Kemell has Rantanen potential. )

Right from this team alone Dach played 18 games at age 19 and looks to be coming along fine , whether or not he reaches his potential is to be seen but he has progressed a ton since then , sooo where does that argument come into play for him? Would he be even better had he stayed healthy ? Maybe but he is still showing that you can in fact improve long after the age of 18-19

 

[JohnTheBaptist]

Key years are keys years. That is why players, almost always never, get better after 30 (depending of positions) . Forward key years are 18-25. Lose one and you have to play catch-up.

I don't believe that in Slafkovsky's case, his personality is too dynamic, he seems to love playing the game and everything about it. He's a physical specimen and has all the tools. He was already ahead of every player in his draft, I think he'll be just fine.

 

[ginomini]

He missed a full season IMO. 1/2 to injury and 1/2 being a spectator trying to follow the speed of the game.

But let’s say, for argument sake, you are right and it’s only 1/2 a season. How many 18y old can you think of, that lost 1/2 a season and still fully reached or overachieved their potential?

Rantanen has a much higher ceiling the any player in Slaf draft, except maybe Cooley and Kemell. ( I think Kemell has Rantanen potential. )

Connor McDavid hahaha okay thats an exception. Barkov played 54 games at 18. Jack Hughes played 61, 56, and 49 games at 18, 19, 20. Morgan Reilly played 18 games at 17. Kirby Dach missed significant time and is now showing that he might get to his potential. Bowen Byram missed so many games but is still a stud. etc. etc. etc. There are endless examples. Games are not the end all be all of skill and physical development.

As a matter of fact, all NCAA players play half the amount of games as NHLers any way. Slaf played 39 games, Cooley 46. Sure its better quality ice time, but its not as if Slaf doesn't keep training while injured.

 

[FF de Mars]

Key years are keys years. That is why players, almost always never, get better after 30 (depending of positions) . Forward key years are 18-25. Lose one and you have to play catch-up.

Sometimes you're stronger coming out of an injury because of how hard you trained. Playing games is all good but if Slafkovsky trained like Kobe that timeoff might have been good. We'll know next year. And he still played 40 games!

 

[Guess]

I'm sure this was posted a while ago here, for those who didn't see it, Hughes explains why they kept up Slaf in the NHL: Link

I don’t agree about having the focus on points in the AHL, there would also be an easier level of competition, a lower pace, and probably more ice time therefore more reps.

 

[NORiculous]

Right from this team alone Dach played 18 games at age 19 and looks to be coming along fine , whether or not he reaches his potential is to be seen but he has progressed a ton since then , sooo where does that argument come into play for him? Would he be even better had he stayed healthy ? Maybe but he is still showing that you can in fact improve long after the age of 18-19

Dach played 67 games…

I don't believe that in Slafkovsky's case, his personality is too dynamic, he seems to love playing the game and everything about it. He's a physical specimen and has all the tools. He was already ahead of every player in his draft, I think he'll be just fine.

Maybe. I don’t think it is his motivation that could cause problems though.

Connor McDavid hahaha okay thats an exception. Barkov played 54 games at 18. Jack Hughes played 61, 56, and 49 games at 18, 19, 20. Morgan Reilly played 18 games at 17. Kirby Dach missed significant time and is now showing that he might get to his potential. Bowen Byram missed so many games but is still a stud. etc. etc. etc. There are endless examples. Games are not the end all be all of skill and physical development.

As a matter of fact, all NCAA players play half the amount of games as NHLers any way. Slaf played 39 games, Cooley 46. Sure its better quality ice time, but its not as if Slaf doesn't keep training while injured.

All these guys had higher to much much higher ceilings then Slaf though. Specially a guy like Hughes who had a massively high ceiling.

Sometimes you're stronger coming out of an injury because of how hard you trained. Playing games is all good but if Slafkovsky trained like Kobe that timeoff might have been good. We'll know next year. And he still played 40 games!

Yeah. The way I saw him play, I don’t think he really played those games. He was just trying to follow the flow. Every thing points, in my eyes anyway, at being rushed. So I could argue that these games actually hurt him some.

But it doesn’t matter. He could build on that and train like Kobe. But the odds are not in his favour right now.

So he gets injured. Goes back home and finishes school. Super. All the people saying he would not have the proper help in the AHL (bs argument to say he was better to stay in the NHL) where is his supporting cast now?

Do you really think he is training like Kobe? I have serious doubts.

 

[ginomini]

All these guys had higher to much much higher ceilings then Slaf though. Specially a guy like Hughes who had a massively high ceiling.

So, ceiling mitigates the effect of injury and/or missed games? This is pure speculation, biased by your evaluation of one singular player. There certainly is no evidence for this. The fact remains that there is an undening number of players who suffered injuries in their early years but still ended up being effective NHLers.

Injuries are evidently bad. But there is no "get injured at 18 knocks down your ceiling of two points" thing. This is just weird.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

Dach played 67 games…

Maybe. I don’t think it is his motivation that could cause problems though.

All these guys had higher to much much higher ceilings then Slaf though. Specially a guy like Hughes who had a massively high ceiling.

Yeah. The way I saw him play, I don’t think he really played those games. He was just trying to follow the flow. Every thing points, in my eyes anyway, at being rushed. So I could argue that these games actually hurt him some.

But it doesn’t matter. He could build on that and train like Kobe. But the odds are not in his favour right now.

So he gets injured. Goes back home and finishes school. Super. All the people saying he would not have the proper help in the AHL (bs argument to say he was better to stay in the NHL) where is his supporting cast now?

Do you really think he is training like Kobe? I have serious doubts.

Dach played 18 games the next year when he was 19

 

[FF de Mars]

Dach played 67 games…

Maybe. I don’t think it is his motivation that could cause problems though.

All these guys had higher to much much higher ceilings then Slaf though. Specially a guy like Hughes who had a massively high ceiling.

Yeah. The way I saw him play, I don’t think he really played those games. He was just trying to follow the flow. Every thing points, in my eyes anyway, at being rushed. So I could argue that these games actually hurt him some.

But it doesn’t matter. He could build on that and train like Kobe. But the odds are not in his favour right now.

So he gets injured. Goes back home and finishes school. Super. All the people saying he would not have the proper help in the AHL (bs argument to say he was better to stay in the NHL) where is his supporting cast now?

Do you really think he is training like Kobe? I have serious doubts.

I think you have to deconstruct that holy word on HF: rushing. It depends on the player. There is an argument that could be made that he might learn better in the lion's den, like Daniel! I think there's a chance he trains like Kobe too, you take all that negative energy and you put it to use; maybe his stint on the bike and the videos of him training hard last summer were just a publicity stunt ala Galchenyuk? At the draft his main credential was great character, which sounds like training hard. Also he doesn't look like your typical spoiled top prospect, coming from Slovakia. Those reasons and more give me a good feeling about him, that's just a feeling, sure, but at least I gave you a couple reasons; and remember hopeless posters are just feeling their feelings too, which are probably influenced by seeing the shit hit the fan too often, which is in no way the absolute truth about Slaf's future.

 

[JoelWarlord]

The Dach example makes the ongoing broken record arguments in this thread really tedious to me. We just watched a big forward blossom as a D+4 player after a disappointing first three seasons in the NHL, including a bad injury that cut an important development season short for his 19y/o D+2 season where he only played 18 games.

Somehow Dach's season hasn't impacted the level of confidence in applying the "rushed" label to Slafkovsky on this board. I know the counterargument is always that Dach had the better pedigree or something, but I don't really find it convincing that Dach's 73P in 62 WHL games during his draft year is some sparkling mega-elite performance that means he's in a completely different category to Slafkovsky as a prospect.

 

[le_sean]

The Dach example makes the ongoing broken record arguments in this thread really tedious to me. We just watched a big forward blossom as a D+4 player after a disappointing first three seasons in the NHL, including a bad injury that cut an important development season short for his 19y/o D+2 season where he only played 18 games.

Somehow Dach's season hasn't impacted the level of confidence in applying the "rushed" label to Slafkovsky on this board. I know the counterargument is always that Dach had the better pedigree or something, but I don't really find it convincing that Dach's 73P in 62 WHL games during his draft year is some sparkling mega-elite performance that means he's in a completely different category to Slafkovsky as a prospect.

It took Sean Couturier until his 7th season to finally breakout. It’s a lot different for these big guys.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Well, I hope he becomes a 40 pt player. And then we'll see where he goes from there. 40+ points or 0.5ppg is an important milestone for a player, IMO.

Sure, but we're talking about the end product. If Slaf is a 40 pt player in his prime, that would be horrible.

 

[bcv]

I have a feeling reasonnable people are gonna be satisfied with his progression by the end of next year.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Sure, but we're talking about the end product. If Slaf is a 40 pt player in his prime, that would be horrible.

It might be horrible, but it could happen. I hope people have more realistic expectations about Slaf than what we were forced to endure leading up to the draft, because there were some doozies lol.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Looking at all the success Nemec is having in the AHL right now I just wonder what would have been so goddamn bad if we had taken that route with Slaf instead.

 

[Deebs]

I have a feeling reasonnable people are gonna be satisfied with his progression by the end of next year.

As long as he's progressing I think most should be fine with it. I don't expect a finished product for another 3-4 years.

He still should've been in Laval this past year though....imo of course and pending the roster construction next season, he should/could be there next season.

 

[rahad]

Instant result for a 18yo old in the NHL is a lot to ask.
Never been a fan of Juraj.....but breath a little.

Freaking Jack Hughes got 21 points in 61 games in his 1st year at 18.....and Slafkovsky is no Jack Hugues but still produce 0.26pts per game versus 0,34pts per game for Hughes at 18yo in the NHL.

Yes, we all see the kid wasn't really ready for the NHL and could have used some time in a lower league, but it's entirely normal for any 18 freaking years old. Doesn't mean his future is screwed and it was a mistake to start him in the NHL.......they were saying the same thing in NJ....and now the kid put up 99 point this year.

The difference is Jack Hugues played in NA small arena. He has also a small forward.
Juraj come from Europe with out any experience in playing in a small arena. He also barely played any major minute in Europe. He needed to play 20 mins+ in the AHl....

 

[RC51]

all I want to hear from JS this summer is he is spending a ton of time putting hard muscles on the big frame AND I hope the team spends some time teaching him HOW TO WIN FIGHTS, because you know a few yahooos will want to attack him just to win nhl points.

 

[ginomini]

The Dach example makes the ongoing broken record arguments in this thread really tedious to me. We just watched a big forward blossom as a D+4 player after a disappointing first three seasons in the NHL, including a bad injury that cut an important development season short for his 19y/o D+2 season where he only played 18 games.

Somehow Dach's season hasn't impacted the level of confidence in applying the "rushed" label to Slafkovsky on this board. I know the counterargument is always that Dach had the better pedigree or something, but I don't really find it convincing that Dach's 73P in 62 WHL games during his draft year is some sparkling mega-elite performance that means he's in a completely different category to Slafkovsky as a prospect.

May I also add KK who had a good season and seems maybe primed for a solid hike in production for next year.

 

[JuJu Mobb]

I have a feeling reasonnable people are gonna be satisfied with his progression by the end of next year.

Reasonable people are not exactly a majority around these parts.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

It might be horrible, but it could happen. I hope people have more realistic expectations about Slaf than what we were forced to endure leading up to the draft, because there were some doozies lol.

He should pretty easily become better than a 40 pt player. Drouin and Hoffman were producing at that rate this year...

 

[Gillings]

Looking at all the success Nemec is having in the AHL right now I just wonder what would have been so goddamn bad if we had taken that route with Slaf instead.

PLaying D in the AHL is different than forward. Keeping SLAF with the big boys who are also still young was the right call in building a core.

Had NEMEC played NHL this year it wouldn't be in a big role which took time away from his development. Jersey was in make playoffs mode, HABS were in development mode.

 

[NotProkofievian]

PLaying D in the AHL is different than forward. Keeping SLAF with the big boys who are also still young was the right call in building a core.

I don't think it is. I think there would be a lot less to explain if Slaf were in Nemec's shoes right now. The argument would just be ''look at how well Slaf is doing.'' See how easy that is?

It doesn't have to be this way.

 

[Gillings]

I don't think it is. I think there would be a lot less to explain if Slaf were in Nemec's shoes right now. The argument would just be ''look at how well Slaf is doing.'' See how easy that is?

It doesn't have to be this way.

I agree that the reps would have been nice but I don't think POINTS were the goal here with slafs development. The points will come.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I agree that the reps would have been nice but I don't think POINTS were the goal here with slafs development. The points will come.

Maybe, maybe not.