Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Whitesnake]

Right… expectations.

People have this ideal that Slaf must live up to because he was first overall. That’s the real problem here.

Revise your expectations. Suddenly you’ll see a player who has looked pretty decent in the preseason.

If the idea was to pick No1 in order to get a bonafide Joel Armia, I'd say we f***ing miss the target and should have traded down. If the idea is to get a top 6 player, I say make him progress the way he should.

Not sure why I should revise my expectations. Actually the majority of No1 player chosen has not only started in the NHL. They were succesful. And you can go as far as top 3. MY expectations for him is NOT that. Actually it would have been to have him a full year in the AHL LAST year. And it's STILL to have him in the AHL THIS YEAR. Not sure how my expectations are the problems....

 

[Whitesnake]

Right… expectations.

People have this ideal that Slaf must live up to because he was first overall. That’s the real problem here.

Revise your expectations. Suddenly you’ll see a player who has looked pretty decent in the preseason.

That's also what has to be frustrated. Imagine that. Not only we can't whine about Mesar 'cause you know...late 1st round don't always make it...we can't even be dissapointed by the very 1st overall because it wasn't an ordinairy draft....And people wonder why there's some dissapointments....

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

If the idea was to pick No1 in order to get a bonafide Joel Armia, I'd say we f***ing miss the target and should have traded down. If the idea is to get a top 6 player, I say make him progress the way he should.

Not sure why I should revise my expectations. Actually the majority of No1 player chosen has not only started in the NHL. They were succesful. And you can go as far as top 3. MY expectations for him is NOT that. Actually it would have been to have him a full year in the AHL LAST year. And it's STILL to have him in the AHL THIS YEAR. Not sure how my expectations are the problems....

Yes, a good chunk of these number ones go on to be superstars. But this was a weird draft. Kids had missed a year, the longtime projected number one turned out to be problematic…

All I’m saying is that expectations should take into consideration the draft itself. No blue chip players so we went with the highest ceiling.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

That's also what has to be frustrated. Imagine that. Not only we can't whine about Mesar 'cause you know...late 1st round don't always make it...we can't even be dissapointed by the very 1st overall because it wasn't an ordinairy draft....And people wonder why there's some dissapointments....

You can be disappointed.

Let’s just see how it goes first okay?

 

[ReHabs]

That's also what has to be frustrated. Imagine that. Not only we can't whine about Mesar 'cause you know...late 1st round don't always make it...we can't even be dissapointed by the very 1st overall because it wasn't an ordinairy draft....And people wonder why there's some dissapointments....

If you lower expectations sufficiently, there is no reason to ever be critical of Kent Hughes or the Habs organization. Just let them lose year after year, maybe until we get another 1OA pick in a hopefully not-strange draft... but after that, there's good stuff coming after years of losing. You just need to have faith.

You can always enjoy playoff hockey watching Tampa Bay or Carolina or something.

 

[RationalExpectations]

If you lower expectations sufficiently, there is no reason to ever be critical of Kent Hughes or the Habs organization. Just let them lose year after year, maybe until we get another 1OA pick in a hopefully not-strange draft... but after that, there's good stuff coming after years of losing. You just need to have faith.

You can always enjoy playoff hockey watching Tampa Bay or Carolina or something.

No expectations for this year so I Can only have a positive surprise.

I actually hope another Canadian team wins. I am a VAN and MTL fan so not much hope there but OTT is a fun team, EDM and TOR usually producer good hockey.

I like to watch Hockey, and I Hope soon the Habs will be able to play hockey

By the way with more and more teams in the League I Hope the multiyear tanking for generational talent will be less effective.

 

[River Meadow]

I wish we could transplant Cam Neely's brain in Slaf.

Bambi had more of a mean streak so far..

 

[SOLR]

Bambi had more of a mean streak so far..

I'm not talking about the mean streak; I'm talking about knowing exactly where to go to score a lot of goals.

 

[Jaynki]

If the idea was to pick No1 in order to get a bonafide Joel Armia, I'd say we f***ing miss the target and should have traded down. If the idea is to get a top 6 player, I say make him progress the way he should.

Not sure why I should revise my expectations. Actually the majority of No1 player chosen has not only started in the NHL. They were succesful. And you can go as far as top 3. MY expectations for him is NOT that. Actually it would have been to have him a full year in the AHL LAST year. And it's STILL to have him in the AHL THIS YEAR. Not sure how my expectations are the problems....

Stutzle, Hughes, Draisaitl, Lecavalier, Thornton all had questionable D+1. Dubois was barely a PPG in the Q D+1, yet he had 48 points in the NHL D+2.

Its not about the D+1, especially in the NHL, its all about the progression and growth in the D+2 and D+3. (Inexistant in the case of our two former top picks. But i would argue for caution before claiming it will be inexistant with Slaf too.)

The difference between Yakupov, KK, Galchenyuk is exactly that. Despite them having better D+1 then the 1st group, they all stagnated after this.

The 1st group growth curve kept going parabolic D+2 and after.

Only then can we start to connect the dot. In which category will Slaf fall? Everyone seems to believes the 2nd one, i think there are better odds he fit in the 1st category. Still, nobody know and we will uncover it soon enough.

Now, we speak with autority on the AHL vs NHL subject but the truth is there is no right answer here. You have example of players struggling in the NHL in their D+1 and becoming mega super star. You have example of player playing AHL at 18 and becoming megastar(Rantanen, Pastrnak). You have example of players "developing" in the AHL forever. (Byfield, Turcotte). You have example of players being very good at 18 and busting for other reason than being rushed like drug addictions.

So really, the D+1 is indicative of nothing. Dominating the AHL at 18 VS struggling in the NHL at 18 brings absolutely no factual difference. It only changes the perspective and gives the impression of a smoother, more linear growth curve.

But its simply a false impression, that is backed by nothing, no jurisprudence, no favourable data. Like we believed the flat earth in the 1500, it made sense from our on-earth perspective i guess.

Players dont become worse because they struggle early in the NHL nor do they become better because they dominate junior or AHL more.

Its only when we connect the dot between the D+2 and the D+1 that we can start to have a real picture, brighter idea of the player we have and his potential.

 

[Goldthorpe]

If the idea was to pick No1 in order to get a bonafide Joel Armia, I'd say we f***ing miss the target and should have traded down. If the idea is to get a top 6 player, I say make him progress the way he should.

The idea is to get the player you consider the best or most valuable among all available. What would be the point of trading down? We'll get additional assets - not of huge value since all the other teams can see the state of the drafting poll as well as us - and we'll get the chance to pick a lesser player. How does that help us?

Not sure why I should revise my expectations. Actually the majority of No1 player chosen has not only started in the NHL. They were succesful. And you can go as far as top 3. MY expectations for him is NOT that. Actually it would have been to have him a full year in the AHL LAST year. And it's STILL to have him in the AHL THIS YEAR. Not sure how my expectations are the problems....

Nobody expectations are any problems. You can have the expectations that you want in your life. But others may listen to you and decide if those expectations are worth taking seriously or not, and comments about them accordingly.

 

[Jaynki]

I'm not talking about the mean streak; I'm talking about knowing exactly where to go to score a lot of goals.

Cam Neely had 31 points in his D+1. Maybe it was not totally figured out yet too at this time.

Brady tkachuk showed flashes of dominance and scored 45 points as a rookie.

Saw you were talking about Matthew, who scored 48 points.

Yes and Cooley is still faster and more agile then those two.

You see how meaningless a statement like this is ?

 

[Deebs]

I'm not talking about the mean streak; I'm talking about knowing exactly where to go to score a lot of goals.

When I was watching the game on Saturday and seeing how Matt Knies carries himself on the ice, I was wishing Slaf could get to that level one day. Playing hard along the boards, tough forecheck, drives to the net, finds openings and when he gets the puck, gets rid of it quickly instead of thinking etc... Hopefully after a year in Laval, Slaf's confidence and on ice awareness gets a lot better and then he becomes that type of player for the big club next year or even later on this season.

 

[NORiculous]

If I were the boss he would be in Finland with a mandate to be the best player of that league.

That’s exactly what they don’t want to do, that’s exactly WHY they didn’t send him I the AHL.

I think they are going about this the wrong way though.

 

[Whitesnake]

Nobody expectations are any problems. You can have the expectations that you want in your life. But others may listen to you and decide if those expectations are worth taking seriously or not, and comments about them accordingly.

Yeah well comments should actually be about what I'M saying and not what they think I'm saying. Comments are as if I hate the guy and think he's a bust. My comments are about sending him in the AHL. There's a difference.

 

[WinterLion]

I wish we could transplant Cam Neely's brain in Slaf.

They could probably just insert it through his nose

Yeah well comments should actually be about what I'M saying and not what they think I'm saying. Comments are as if I hate the guy and think he's a bust. My comments are about sending him in the AHL. There's a difference.

I'm fine with sending him down to gain confidence. After the first game I thought it was the right thing to do, not as much now. If he starts losing confidence I would do it at some point.

 

[Jaynki]

That’s exactly what they don’t want to do, that’s exactly WHY they didn’t send him I the AHL.

I think they are going about this the wrong way though.

I would think that they did not sent him to AHL/Liiga because they they thought he was one of our 12 best forward first and foremost.

Whether you agree with it or not, whether you agree if that was the right choice is one thing.

But i am sure optics and fans opinion has nothing to do with it. Nothing they have done so far suggest they give a f*** about optics.

 

[Habs Halifax]

The issue I see with many fans is thinking this guy with his size will be a power forward type. Not from what I see. He doesn't really have a mean streak and he wants to be a skilled type. Not like he is overly soft but I don't see him focusing on the physical areas like you would expect for a guy his size.

I think the Hockey IQ area is in question. I'm not saying he is dumb but not sure this is his strength. Hope he puts it all together but like I said last week or the week before, I think we have a modest season/season growth over the next few years.

Stay patient because expecting a break out season doesn't seem to be in the cards.

 

[Jaynki]

The issue I see with many fans is thinking this guy with his size will be a power forward type. Not from what I see. He doesn't really have a mean streak and he wants to be a skilled type. Not like he is overly soft but I don't see him focusing on the physical areas like you would expect for a guy his size.

I think the Hockey IQ area is in question. I'm not saying he is dumb but not sure this is his strength. Hope he puts it all together but like I said last week or the week before, I think we have a modest season/season growth over the next few years.

Stay patient because expecting a break out season doesn't seem to be in the cards.

Can you define power forward?

I don't think he is mean either and i don't think he will crush dmen and intimidate.

His main attribute in my opinion is strenght, a la Sundin, Draisaitl and Malkin. And its this combination of strenght and finesse that makes him a special prospects.

For me, as long as he outmuscle his opponent, protect the puck like a strong men and plays heavy (powerful skating, heavy shot, using his size) i have no problem with a perceiced lack of physicality for a 240pounds winger as long as his strenght and heavyness is displayed in other ares of his game.

As for his IQ, i have seen him sometimes lost, whiff plays and skate into the void with the puck.

I also saw him do set up quick, efficient zone exit. I saw him connect sometimes very well with his linemate. I saw him creating turnover with his reach and positioning in the o-zone and i saw him get himself into a breakaway via great anticipation.

So far, its mitigated. As long as there is less and less of the 1st category, so the 2nd category can improve more and more. I think he will be perfectly fine.

As for the breakout, i hope we see it otherwise it will resemble the KK, Galchenyuk, Kakko, Laf, Dach pathways instead of the Stutzle, Draisaitl, Hughes pathways.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Can you define power forward?

I don't think he is mean either and i don't think he will crush dmen and intimidate.

His main attribute in my opinion is strenght, a la Sundin, Draisaitl and Malkin. And its this combination of strenght and finesse that makes him a special prospects.

For me, as long as he outmuscle his opponent, protect the puck like a strong men and plays heavy (powerful skating, heavy shot, using his size) i have no problem with a perceiced lack of physicality for a 240pounds winger as long as his strenght and heavyness is displayed in other ares of his game.

As for his IQ, i have seen him sometimes lost, whiff plays and skate into the void with the puck.

I also saw him do set up quick, efficient zone exit. I saw him connect sometimes very well with his linemate. I saw him creating turnover with his reach and positioning in the o-zone and i saw him get himself into a breakaway via great anticipation.

So far, its mitigated. As long as there is less and less of the 1st category, so the 2nd category can improve more and more. I think he will be perfectly fine.

As for the breakout, i hope we see it otherwise it will resemble the KK, Galchenyuk, Kakko, Laf, Dach pathways instead of the Stutzle, Draisaitl, Hughes pathways.

True power forward in this game today is E Kane and T Wilson types (to me anyways). Anderson is like a power forward but not the same as the other two. More like a notch below them.

Slaf's top potential is more like Rantanen. Big bodies that can protect the puck well but they are only physical when they have to be. We can hope Slaf can produce like Rantanen. Not sure if he reaches that ceiling though.

Another power forward type to me is Draisaitl. He's a center but that guy is one strong boy that plays both offensively and physically.

 

[Jaynki]

True power forward in this game today is E Kane and T Wilson types (to me anyways). Anderson is like a power forward but not the same as the other two. More like a notch below them.

Slaf's top potential is more like Rantanen. Big bodies that can protect the puck well but they are only physical when they have to be. We can hope Slaf can produce like Rantanen. Not sure if he reaches that ceiling though.

Another power forward type to me is Draisaitl. He's a center but that guy is one strong boy that plays both offensively and physically.

Ok, i agree.

Yes obviously Slafkovsky wont have Wilson or E.Kane nasty streak.

As long as he plays heavy and his strenght his evident in every aspect of his game.

 

[SOLR]

Cam Neely had 31 points in his D+1. Maybe it was not totally figured out yet too at this time.



Yes and Cooley is still faster and more agile then those two.

You see how meaningless a statement like this is ?

Neely had others issues, it took him a while.

 

[BaseballCoach]

I wish we could transplant Cam Neely's brain in Slaf.

Which Cam Neely? The one who was -56 in his 2nd and 3rd years in the league, and scored just 0.5 ppg those two years?

The one who put it together only in his fourth season and became a star player?

 

[nhlfan9191]

Cam Neely had 31 points in his D+1. Maybe it was not totally figured out yet too at this time.



Yes and Cooley is still faster and more agile then those two.

You see how meaningless a statement like this is ?

This may be the dumbest argument you’ve made yet. Comparing one or two single attributes is not even remotely similar to comparing production or a players overall game. The Tkachuk’s were NHL ready from day one and produced like NHL players while showing off why they were highly touted prospects at 18. Slafkovsky limped threw his first training camp, was placed on the team because of his draft status, and showed he wasn’t ready anywhere close to ready during the season. Some of the comparisons in this thread are baffling.

 

[Mrb1p]

Yeah well comments should actually be about what I'M saying and not what they think I'm saying. Comments are as if I hate the guy and think he's a bust. My comments are about sending him in the AHL. There's a difference.

It's been almost two years of this crap now. You're a hater and should be lynched if you demand more.

 

[salbutera]

Which Cam Neely? The one who was -56 in his 2nd and 3rd years in the league, and scored just 0.5 ppg those two years?

The one who put it together only in his fourth season and became a star player?

Slaf will never play a Cam Neely type game just as Pacioretty never did. There are bull in China shop power forwards (Neely, Tkachuk etc) and there are big bodied skill / finesse based power forwards (Pacioretty etc) - Slaf w continued maturation fits the latter va former