Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[LesCanadiens]

well... at least someone thinks Slaf is doing well... lol

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/10/29/martin-st-louis-comprend-juraj-slafkovsky-on-sassure-de-laider

Great read. MSL sees it like some of us do. He's actually been decent for most of the games. Just think how bad guys like Anderson and RHP have been. Suzuki was struggling badly too. I realize we have a weak bunch up-front so it's not saying a ton. But Slaf has been progressing just fine. Glad to see that MSL agrees.

 

[le_sean]

well... at least someone thinks Slaf is doing well... lol

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/10/29/martin-st-louis-comprend-juraj-slafkovsky-on-sassure-de-laider

Then put him on PP1 instead of Anderson.

 

[austin316]

It seems like he’s getting more puck touches and is more visible on the ice, improved from last year. The lack of points is concerning, but his linemates Anderson and Newhook aren’t exactly lighting it up either. The entire group of forwards minus CC, Suzuki, and Monahan are all lacking points.

Just need to keep working on his confidence and the points will come if he keeps getting puck touches. I’d love to see him start shooting the puck more, think that’s half his battle.

 

[Nedved]

Great read. MSL sees it like some of us do. He's actually been decent for most of the games. Just think how bad guys like Anderson and RHP have been. Suzuki was struggling badly too. I realize we have a weak bunch up-front so it's not saying a ton. But Slaf has been progressing just fine. Glad to see that MSL agrees.

didn't MSL just bench him in the third?

 

[No More Subban]

maybe slaf needs monahan on his line. i'd try a slaf-monahan-andy line. not sold on newhook as a center.

 

[LesCanadiens]

didn't MSL just bench him in the third?

Yep. He was having a rough game. But he shortened his bench entirely, though. Either way, he may be lying to the reporter and send him down anyway. I'll take his word for it though because I see many positives mixed in with the negatives. Not unusual for such a young kid. I think MSL is very aware and maybe this is a case of no pain, no gain. And he's banking on the gain part coming through.

 

[Hins77]

I Think Slaf could benefit to play with Monahan. Monahan is more like a cerebral player, and make his linemate better. Newhook ans Anderson are playing a kind dump and chase and are skating at 110% of their capacity speed. I won’t blame his teammates, because Slaf has his own problem. But, I would prefer Monahan with Slaf instead.

 

[SlafySZN]

It sounds good in theory to play Slafkovsky with the best players on the team, but in reality every player and coach has their own motivations when they’re playing and having a kid whose currently a boat anchor offensively on their line isn’t going to make anyone happy. They’re waiting for Slaf to show more but he hasn’t.

Dach didn’t seems mad having this ‘’boat anchor offensively’’ on his line, in fact, they were connecting pretty well.

If a guy like Monahan who’s supposed to be here to help the younger players for the time he’s on this rebuilding team isn’t interested in giving some stability to a kid like Slaf i’d question his utility here.

 

[the valiant effort]

The fact that MSL didn’t immediately staple Slaf to Monahan after the Dach injury is a massive indictment on his quality as a head coach.

 

[ReHabs]

well... at least someone thinks Slaf is doing well... lol

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2023/10/29/martin-st-louis-comprend-juraj-slafkovsky-on-sassure-de-laider

Either he’s self-deluding or we have the horse whisperer as a coach

 

[ReHabs]

I’d like to add something: he has shown skills. He’s not just a warm body.

When Victor Mete was in the NHL with the Habs, we didn’t see a single moment of skill. That guy was just holding on to an NHL position. Same applies to Ryan Poehling. They managed to stick around (more or less) by working very hard to execute exactly what their coach asked.

Slafkovsky is different. He has the reach and stride that his quick-enough stick allows him to produce some moments of action. The issue with Slaf is
(1) he’s been told he’s guaranteed a spot, which could be why (unlike Poehling and Mete) he’s not fighting for his spot and keeping it simple/focused
(2) he’s RAW, he hasn’t put his game together ever and he’s been asked to do it in the NHL of all places
(3) he’s never been a smart player and MSL’s open schemes requires reading plays and knowing what to do

It’s a shame we had to pick this guy with the 1OA — the odds of him putting it together are slim even in the best case — and the Habs are making it harder for him with their decisions and delusions.

I’ve never seen a player this incapable of thinking. This scared of making decisions. It’s like a not so slow trainwreck.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Ahl plz

That's legit even worse than Drouin defensively

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Y'all are crazy goof.

Jonathan Bernier just had an article on LaPresse stating improvement from last year based on numbers from SportLogiq. Slafkovsky is even 1st in some offensive categories. (Chance created in the offensive cycle.) If he had like 2-3 points more the perception would be totally different even if he played at his current levels. He had himself breakaways, 2on1 and he positioned himself for good shot but he passed it. I mean we are all eager to see him produce and we all see the turnovers and the brain fart but the team is 5-2-1 and he has been way more of a positive contributor than the opposite. He is not improving at the pace we would like and he is disapointing for a 1st overall right now, sure, but lets pump the brake a bit. The framework for a very good player is still intact.

The team is 5-2-1 because of Allen lastest performances and Caufield Suzuki Monahan carrying the entire team offensively in an easy schedule. You are not playing the right way if your only goal that u scored in like 35 games was a wide open net. Advanced stats are probably the worst indicative to look at. If his ''advanced stats are so good '' then tell me why hes literally the worst player on ice every games.

Seattle are taking their time with Wright , they let him cook instead of rushing him.
Jiricek had a great season last year in the AHL and now after that season , he looks much much better than he did in like the 5 games he played this season.
Cooley had the same approach as Jiricek. Let him cook another season now he's doing pretty good for a 19 year olds in Arizona a dumpster team.
Nemec also been not ready so he's still playing in the AHL. They are giving him a good 2 years to process playing pro hockeys.

All those players also went to the WJC in december , while Slaf was kept for 0 reason.

The management of Slaf is alot to be blamed for this. The 4 others are doing better or progressing better.

KK was also a god tier mistake and look what happened.

Atleast with Reinbacher they seems to have learned not because u draft top 5 u gotta put the kid in the NHL and put him on the front line .

 

[Habssince89]

So many posts here are hilarious and confounding to read. Like yeah slaf isn't playing well, and he might be best off in the AHL, but he's had good moments and they're mostly him making good passes and offensive awareness (despite the oft-repeated lie that he lacks hockey IQ; ridiculous).

As usual we write off players well before there's any need to do so.

 

[ReHabs]

So many posts here are hilarious and confounding to read. Like yeah slaf isn't playing well, and he might be best off in the AHL, but he's had good moments and they're mostly him making good passes and offensive awareness (despite the oft-repeated lie that he lacks hockey IQ; ridiculous).

As usual we write off players well before there's any need to do so.

It's a ridiculous lie that he exhibited a lack of Hockey IQ?

 

[Jeune Poulet]

So many posts here are hilarious and confounding to read.

What's hilarious is that 47% of the posters here (it topped 50% earlier) thought this man-child belonged in the NHL when it was obvious that he didn't.

You say people are writing him off, but what I'm seeing is that a minority here who knows about development is advocating for Slaf to play against an adequate level of competition for him, precisely because we don't want to reach the point where it will be too late and we might have to write him off.

Gorton, Hughes and St-Louis need to do a 180 degree here, admit they were wrong, send him to the AHL and hope that it's not too late to salvage this project. The casual fans will probably be confused by the change of course and might show impatience but it's the right thing to do for the long term.

 

[Habssince89]

It's a ridiculous lie that he exhibited a lack of Hockey IQ?

correct. Making the wrong decision or being indecisive doesn't have hockey smarts. He sees the ice really well, and makes great passes. But he's a work in progress and being impatient doesn't make sense. I agree he isn't playing well, but that's what development includes.

 

[Bushero]

This is a terrible post. Worst game by an NHL player? Come on man…

He mispronounced it. Worst game by a player at the NHL level ever.

Might be true from a player who played more than 12 minutes in a game.

 

[Kennedys]

correct. Making the wrong decision or being indecisive doesn't have hockey smarts. He sees the ice really well, and makes great passes. But he's a work in progress and being impatient doesn't make sense. I agree he isn't playing well, but that's what development includes.

Development should be done in a development league like the AHL.

 

[Habssince89]

What's hilarious is that 47% of the posters here (it topped 50% earlier) thought this man-child belonged in the NHL when it was obvious that he didn't.

You say people are writing him off, but what I'm seeing is that a minority here who knows about development is advocating for Slaf to play against an adequate level of competition for him, precisely because we don't want to reach the point where it will be too late and we might have to write him off.

Gorton, Hughes and St-Louis need to do a 180 degree here, admit they were wrong, send him to the AHL and hope that it's not too late to salvage this project. The casual fans will probably be confused by the change of course and might show impatience but it's the right thing to do for the long term.

I'm not against sending him to the AHL, as I posted (but left out of your post). The people who want him there are not the same people who are calling him a bust, piling on, exaggerating every mistake, etc. It's just a runaway train of nonsense. Now, as for what league he belongs in, that's something of substance, but to hear the way some posters are describing slaf its like they've never seen him play.

And while I'm on my soapbox, anyone denying he's struggling is also in need of a reality check. Ultimately, I think the habs are risking similar mistakes to KK, except as a W Slaf might be able to be better insulated (probably would be if Dach were available) and from what I've seen I think the team has treated him with kid gloves, very differently than KK, who I think they pushed to be ready quickly. Here they (perhaps wrongly) have him in the NHL, but at least his body is much better suited for the NHL at his age than KK.

I think slaf has the personality where while he might not be the best natural talent, he's determined to get better in general, and those kinds of players become stars anyway. I get the impression that MSL wants to be with slaf day-to-day and that's why he set those 'internal goals'. They're taking it real patient with slaf. It's undeniable that he's improved using his body and protecting himself, although he has a long way to go. If he went to the AHL, I wouldn't mind one bit.

Development should be done in a development league like the AHL.

Not arguing against that....

 

[RationalExpectations]

correct. Making the wrong decision or being indecisive doesn't have hockey smarts. He sees the ice really well, and makes great passes. But he's a work in progress and being impatient doesn't make sense. I agree he isn't playing well, but that's what development includes.

What is hockey IQ if not vision x decision making ? He has vision but often not the processing capability to make the right decision.

 

[ReHabs]

correct. Making the wrong decision or being indecisive doesn't have hockey smarts. He sees the ice really well, and makes great passes. But he's a work in progress and being impatient doesn't make sense. I agree he isn't playing well, but that's what development includes.

This is the kind of ice-seeing, great passing I expect to see. Thanks for edifying, I now understand.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

correct. Making the wrong decision or being indecisive doesn't have hockey smarts. He sees the ice really well, and makes great passes. But he's a work in progress and being impatient doesn't make sense. I agree he isn't playing well, but that's what development includes.

He doesn't see the ice really well. Come on now, remove the rose-colored glasses. If he saw the ice clearly, he wouldn't have so much hesitation in his play.

 

[HuGort]

Slaf wasn't my pick at draft. But Hughes must have seen something in him.

 

[RationalExpectations]

Slaf wasn't my pick at draft. But Hughes must have seen something in him.

I think Bobrov must be doing hypnosis. only explanation as to why you would listen to a guy who drafted Lias Anderson and Kravstov top 10