Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Miller Time]

I don't think even they don't know what's the focus.
Supposedly they drafated some uncut diamond and they decide to mold and cut him slowly for some 5,6,7, years until it starts to shine.

Couldn't disagree more with that.

Player, coaches, GM, hockey ops have all been very consistent and clear about the focus. One thing to disagree with it, quite another to be oblivious to it. It's not exactly hidden or that complicated

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Could end up a very good draft. What was weak were the scouting reports due to Covid 19.

Hutson will be the best.

 

[NotProkofievian]

That, and the narrow focus on points as the metric to evaluate "get the most out of".

If today points are the priority, then 100% he should've been in Laval last year and probably still this year.

I don't think that their focus, that's the part that seems to be frustrating to so many... Which is fair.

But the conclusion that this frustration means Slaf's development path is therefore wrong, is quite premature.

It could end up being the right thing to do to keep him in the NHL, who am I to say? But I will say that it just doesn't make sense to me.

My view of him at draft time was that he had a lot of potential, but a very incomplete game. I felt there was trouble brewing when Bobrov said that he had ''learned all that Finland had to teach.'' In reality, he would alternate from looking lost to looking awesome to looking lost again. Right now he looks lost again. It seems like we're hoping that he all of the sudden starts doing new things, instead of hoping that he does more of the good stuff he already does and less of the bad stuff, if that makes sense. I don't know that the NHL is the right place for that to happen.

 

[Yasuo]

The Michkov non-pick could look really bad as well in a few years. Don't care if Arizona and probably San Jose (Will Smith is good) ****ed up to. Sucking for a whole and not drafting well after that is really bad

 

[Jaynki]

This was a bad pick straight up. We aren't going to be arguing if Slaf is the best player after five years, we're going to argue is he the fifth best player we drafted in 2022.

Its a possibility. But its too early to arrive at such conclusion.

Its a massive red flag to not improve between D+1 and D+2 and thats supported by many jurisprudence.

There is still 72 games to see improvement.

Lets all take a deep breath.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Just curious.

Is there anyone in here who would NOT trade Slafkowsky for Cooley right now?

I wouldn’t at this stage.

 

[Seb]

Slafkovsky's play and processing of the game is concerning but I don't mind him spending time up with MSL. I trust them to do the right thing with him.

We all want him to succeed right away but we have to lower our expectations. He's definitely not ready and might take a lot of time to be.

I won't throw the towel before he reaches 27 yo.

 

[cave troll]

Couldn't disagree more with that.

Player, coaches, GM, hockey ops have all been very consistent and clear about the focus. One thing to disagree with it, quite another to be oblivious to it. It's not exactly hidden or that complicated

Let's see what the demagogue Hughes says about that.
Why did Canadiens' Slafkovsky stay in NHL? Kent Hughes gave some insight.
Hughes said they’re working with Slafkovsky “to help him understand how he can be most successful in North America,” and explained that it was a step-by-step process to alter his muscle memory. He said that, over this first step, there’s been zero emphasis placed on the player’s production as a measure of his success.

So basically we're now in the process of rewritng Slaf's muscle memory.
It's like when somebody get hit by a stroke then needs to learn to walk again.
Or when somebody walks on two legs and needs to start to learn to walk with jumping with two legs.


But question is, why draft 1OA and then start with him from scratch...erasing his muscle memory????

 

[417]

You can force your coach to do what you want. If Slaf is on the fourth line, its a phone call away. "Jean-Francois, you're playing Slaf 20 minutes a game in all-situation, now."

"Yes boss"

Lets not act like AHL coaches have actual power over this, realistically.

Yet we’ve continuously been perplexed over how they use certain players in the AHL.

I don't like Houle much, either, but its pretty simple. Also, Im not sure if you can use the "if thats what his usage was going to be like" cop out here, what else are they going to do ? Feed him minutes like he's playing well ?

There's no cop out because you'll find I had that take going back to last year.

This isn't new.

I said it last year before he graduated to the NHL, I said it during last year, I said it after he got injured, I said it all offseason and against at the start of this season.

If he's not going to play a meaningful role, then he needs to be in Laval where he can.

I've been consistent and would be happy to source any such post for your reading pleasure if required.

 

[26Mats]

Slafkovsky's play and processing of the game is concerning but I don't mind him spending time up with MSL. I trust them to do the right thing with him.

We all want him to succeed right away but we have to lower our expectations. He's definitely not ready and might take a lot of time to be.

I'll won't throw the towel before he reaches 27 yo.

People need to chill on Slaf. He will be who he'll be. I dont' know what that is. Maybe John Leclair?

The key will be playing him with a good center, as Leclair exploded when he played with Lindros. Dach, Monahan, and Suzuki would all help. Not sure what MSL is thinking having him play with Newhook as his c, who's looking more like a complimentary winger himself.

 

[Habbietat]

the most amazing thing looking back is at the rhetoric, "gonna take time to develop", "be patient", "looking for the player whos going to be the best in 5 years not today". Like Slaf was the only one to start in the NHL yet they even projected him to need time to develop, it doesnt make sense

 

[themilosh]

People need to chill on Slaf. He will be who he'll be. I dont' know what that is. Maybe John Leclair?

The key will be playing him with a good center, as Leclair exploded when he played with Lindros. Dach, Monahan, and Suzuki would all help. Not sure what MSL is thinking having him play with Newhook as his c, who's looking more like a complimentary winger himself.

Newhook is a winger no doubt... it just shows how sorely lacking we are at Centre, which was one of the reasons we should have gone after PLD. but assuming Dach can come back to form, I place him as a 3C with PP upside. we need 1 more Consistent 2C to strengthen all of our wingers, on every line.

 

[Andy]

the most amazing thing looking back is at the rhetoric, "gonna take time to develop", "be patient", "looking for the player whos going to be the best in 5 years not today". Like Slaf was the only one to start in the NHL yet they even projected him to need time to develop, it doesnt make sense

None of what you said is contradictory.

You can still believe a player is a long term project and think the best place of development is the nhl.

As an unrelated note: for me it's all about progression. Slaf was progressing very nicely in pre-season and the first 6 games as compared to last year. The last 3-4 games he's not only stagnated, but he's regressing a little. This is where a decision needs to be made in my opinion. Is it a string of bad games, or is it a trend and a signal of major flaws in his game?

Development curve is the most important thing with prospects. I think Slaf has made huge strides in his game, but now seems to have hit a wall. You don't want young players in that position for too long.

 

[Miller Time]

It could end up being the right thing to do to keep him in the NHL, who am I to say? But I will say that it just doesn't make sense to me.

My view of him at draft time was that he had a lot of potential, but a very incomplete game. I felt there was trouble brewing when Bobrov said that he had ''learned all that Finland had to teach.'' In reality, he would alternate from looking lost to looking awesome to looking lost again. Right now he looks lost again. It seems like we're hoping that he all of the sudden starts doing new things, instead of hoping that he does more of the good stuff he already does and less of the bad stuff, if that makes sense. I don't know that the NHL is the right place for that to happen.

i think it's fair to say that none of us "know" where the right place for him to develop is.

what i think is unfair are those who look only at the stat line to declare it a foregone conclusion that the path they are taking is "wrong" or a "mistake". THat's only true IF short-term point production is the metric to measure that.

I don't know that I agree he looks "lost". I see his play as being more intentional than his linemate Anderson... and on most shifts, he's making more quality decisions than that much older, established vet. Now, this may be a low bar, to be sure, but i think it does situate the critique a bit more... That we all may WANT for Slaf to be far more assertive and effective at this point is fair... expectations are inevitably tied to the draft position.

but the draft position is ultimately irrelevant to what path is best for the player to reach his potential. Slaf is not going to be a dominant point producer at the NHL level for at least a few seasons more, quite likely regardless of where he was last year or this year.

The question is what environment is best for him to put in the work and learning required to evolve his game and develop into the best overall hockey player he can with the tools he has. I'm not convinced that the current situation is not the best for that to happen... would be different with a different coaching/hockey ops group, with a different team situation (ie. playoff focused roster versus development focused roster) and with a different person (Slaf's internal confidence, personality and buy-in to the process are his own, and different player with different mental/emotional makeup might well be overwhelmed or struggling in this same environment).

bottom line, it will be years before we know how Slaf turns out.

Much like JKO in year 2-3, plenty of fans are quick to write off a player or view them as permanently limited because of small sample size /early career trajectories... in reality, it was evident with JKO that despite the struggles, if he kept his mind right and kept putting in the work, top line impact player was CLEARLY still very possible... and only this year is he starting to show it on the scoresheet. That so many couldn't see it a few years ago and were confident in their assessments then speaks to how little experience many have with athlete development pathways and with the nuanced assessments required to more accurately gauge potential.

Slaf is showing all the signs of a player that will need more time to "put it all together", and his game and attributes aren't as conducive to immediate point production as someone like Cooley... that doesn't mean his ceiling is lower, or that it's a mistake to have one in the NHL just because the other is putting up a lot of PP points

time will tell. Right now, i feel bad for those fans who can't see the tremendous potential very easily observable in Slaf, and the positive progression in his game that, despite the point production frustration, could and should provide excitement for what's to come.

 

[Miller Time]

Let's see what the demagogue Hughes says about that.
Why did Canadiens' Slafkovsky stay in NHL? Kent Hughes gave some insight.
Hughes said they’re working with Slafkovsky “to help him understand how he can be most successful in North America,” and explained that it was a step-by-step process to alter his muscle memory. He said that, over this first step, there’s been zero emphasis placed on the player’s production as a measure of his success.

So basically we're now in the process of rewritng Slaf's muscle memory.
It's like when somebody get hit by a stroke then needs to learn to walk again.
Or when somebody walks on two legs and needs to start to learn to walk with jumping with two legs.


But question is, why draft 1OA and then start with him from scratch...erasing his muscle memory????

the answer is that they felt confident he has the internal make-up to be willing to do the work necessary to unlock the tremendous potential his unique frame/skill set represents... and that this potential was greater and/or more unique (ie harder to find elsewhere/replicate) than the other players available in that draft.

this approach requires a dip, one that the player has to have the mental toughness to work through without getting depressed/disengaged. I see no sign from Slaf of those negative traits and I suspect that his resilience despite the tremendous external pressure and his own internal desire to succeed, are the main reasons he is still in the NHL. a more fragile athlete would have been demoted far sooner by this group i suspect.

Sticking with the process through the expected dip is the part that general fans and media pundits get so frustrated with and can't seem to grasp... we live in a "want it now" culture that biases people's perspectives and shuts down their ability to see the big picture. To je to.

 

[TT1]

simply put he has no confidence right now and he's scared of having the puck

he needs to get a lot of ice time in to build his confidence up, he's the type of player who's used to dominating so when he can't do that he loses confidence in himself, giving a lot of ice time in Laval is the best path for his development

 

[26Mats]

Newhook is a winger no doubt... it just shows how sorely lacking we are at Centre, which was one of the reasons we should have gone after PLD. but assuming Dach can come back to form, I place him as a 3C with PP upside. we need 1 more Consistent 2C to strengthen all of our wingers, on every line.

I think we're ok with Suzuki - Dach - Monahan - Evans down the middle with Dvo and Newhook as injury replacements. The problem is we have Dach out and the backup C, Dvo, is also out. So Newhook is a double injury replacement. If we get another injury before Dvo comes back, I would bring Belzile back!

But I would have liked to have paid a price similar to what LA paid for Dubois. We have a lot of quantity. It would be good to bundle it for a top six forward with size.

 

[Miller Time]

I think we're ok with Suzuki - Dach - Monahan - Evans down the middle with Dvo and Newhook as injury replacements. The problem is we have Dach out and the backup C, Dvo, is also out. So Newhook is a double injury replacement. If we get another injury before Dvo comes back, I would bring Belzile back!

But I would have liked to have paid a price similar to what LA paid for Dubois. We have a lot of quantity. It would be good to bundle it for a top six forward with size.

eesh... not sure about that last comment. the Dubois trade may well go down as quite lopsided unless Dubois can actually translate his potential into a more consistent elite level of impact. Vilardi/Iaffalo are underrated imo.

then again, all it takes is one great playoff run and Dubois certainly has the potential to put together a dominant 20-30 game stretch that could equate to a smythe worthy performance.

in the end, the timing for that wasn't right and we really didn't have an adequate alternative to Vilardi/Iaffalo in terms of immediate top-6 roster players to send back to the Jets in the deal (they needed to get some immediate help, the futures heavy return we likely offered wouldn't have provided that)

 

[rahad]

The yotes ;-)

I think it fair to assume that so far Cooley is emerging as the best player from this draft.

Nobody intellectually honest would take Slaf right now.

Its an evolving situation and it may change. It may even change on a dime. Thats the thing with young player. They can absolutely pop out of nowhere.

Also, Cooley appeared very small and as good as he is, we would have a very homogenic small team with him.

But yes, in a vacuum, Cooley AINEC.

I'm not 100% sure Cooley will end up the best player of this draft. Pavel Mintyukov is very good and is only one point behind him. Pavel could end up being the best player of 2022 draft.

The yotes ;-)

I think it fair to assume that so far Cooley is emerging as the best player from this draft.

Nobody intellectually honest would take Slaf right now.

Its an evolving situation and it may change. It may even change on a dime. Thats the thing with young player. They can absolutely pop out of nowhere.

Also, Cooley appeared very small and as good as he is, we would have a very homogenic small team with him.

But yes, in a vacuum, Cooley AINEC.

I'm not 100% sure Cooley will end up the best player of this draft. Pavel Mintyukov is very good and is only one point behind him. Pavel could end up being the best player of 2022 draft.

 

[Habs4Life]

he is so raw, slow, doesn't win battles along the board which he should considering his size.. I really don't know about this guy. He does not shine in any area. That is very concerning.

 

[26Mats]

I'm not 100% sure Cooley will end up the best player of this draft. Pavel Mintyukov is very good and is only one point behind him. Pavel could end up being the best player of 2022 draft.



I'm not 100% sure Cooley will end up the best player of this draft. Pavel Mintyukov is very good and is only one point behind him. Pavel could end up being the best player of 2022 draft.

Jiricek or Nemec also.

 

[Miller Time]

he is so raw, slow, doesn't win battles along the board which he should considering his size.. I really don't know about this guy. He does not shine in any area. That is very concerning.

these are exactly the types of comments and assessments people made about JKO right up until he left (and in his start with the Canes)... to the point of "bamby" being a nickname that stuck.

there are ample glimpses in every game i've watched this year of Slaf doing some very impressive things, the issue is that they aren't consistent. So the question is really more of wether or not he will become more consistent and assertive in leveraging his abilities to impact the game to his full potential, or not...

that consistency will take time (in years, not weeks or months) to fully mature. Rare are the athletes who achieve that early on, and some players have traits that allow for far more impact early on (ie CC and his shooting... Caufield's overall game is still years away from being fully mature, but the shooting ability itself is probably one of the areas that will improve the least -smallest curve- given how advanced it already is...)

 

[River Meadow]

these are exactly the types of comments and assessments people made about JKO right up until he left (and in his start with the Canes)... to the point of "bamby" being a nickname that stuck.

there are ample glimpses in every game i've watched this year of Slaf doing some very impressive things, the issue is that they aren't consistent. So the question is really more of wether or not he will become more consistent and assertive in leveraging his abilities to impact the game to his full potential, or not...

that consistency will take time (in years, not weeks or months) to fully mature. Rare are the athletes who achieve that early on, and some players have traits that allow for far more impact early on (ie CC and his shooting... Caufield's overall game is still years away from being fully mature, but the shooting ability itself is probably one of the areas that will improve the least -smallest curve- given how advanced it already is...)

KK never looked as bad as Slafkowsky does currently.

KK was a far better player than Slaf at the same age and it's not even close.

May as well go back to comparing Slaf to become a potential Thornton or Thompson, etc, etc.

 

[Ezpz]

these are exactly the types of comments and assessments people made about JKO right up until he left (and in his start with the Canes)... to the point of "bamby" being a nickname that stuck.

there are ample glimpses in every game i've watched this year of Slaf doing some very impressive things, the issue is that they aren't consistent. So the question is really more of wether or not he will become more consistent and assertive in leveraging his abilities to impact the game to his full potential, or not...

that consistency will take time (in years, not weeks or months) to fully mature. Rare are the athletes who achieve that early on, and some players have traits that allow for far more impact early on (ie CC and his shooting... Caufield's overall game is still years away from being fully mature, but the shooting ability itself is probably one of the areas that will improve the least -smallest curve- given how advanced it already is...)

Can we wait four more years for Slaf to show something like KK is now in his d+6? Cole and Nick's primes will be ending.

 

[rahad]

Jiricek or Nemec also.

2022 draft have multiple elite D with potential to win the Norris one day.