Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[SlafySZN]

Le blogue de Juraj | LNH.com

L’attaquant des Canadiens revient sur le premier mois de sa saison, marqué de hauts et de bas

www.nhl.com

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Slaf has improved since last year. So it's working in Slaf's case to learn solely at the NHL level. The only thing that hasn't improved is the production. But that doesn't mean if he goes to the AHL, he will suddenly come back to the NHL and start producing at will. That will come.

But there is noticeable improvements in his overall game. And for a player coming from Europe and adapting to the smaller ice and the quicker NHL pace, it should be praised. He's far from a finished product. But the product so far in 2023-24 is superior to the product in 2022-23.

Anyone would learn to some degree no matter the environment. It’s about putting the player in a situation to best be able to succeed, optimizing his success. We haven’t done that.

Improvements are marginal with no tangible results.

 

[Skip Bayless]

Le blogue de Juraj | LNH.com

L’attaquant des Canadiens revient sur le premier mois de sa saison, marqué de hauts et de bas

www.nhl.com

"I almost touched the puck last night"

Damn he crazy !

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Laferniere scored 7 goals on 24 shots and is on unreal 29,2% shooting percentage.
Caufield would have scored around 20 goals already with that percentage - he is on 7,7%
Once the stats start to normalize Laf will end up on 40-50 pts season instead od 60-65.
He is on a steady progression, but that kind of progression is OK for a good 2nd round prospect. Not 1OA.

At that percentage, Caufield would be on pace for close to 96 goals over 82 games.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Slafkovsky doesn’t need to spend his life in the AHL either and let’s not forget that the timing when Byfield was sent down wasn’t randomly chosen…

Slaf has been significantly better once given better linemates. The points will come if he keeps playing this way. Unfortunate that he lines up with CC just as he goes into his first slump with us but also kind of hilarious.

Keep him there, continue to monitor. If he can maintain the level of play that he’s shown over the last few games then he will produce. CC is not going to finish the year with a shooting percentage under 8. Points will come.

 

[Don D]

Several of our key players (Caulfield, Suzuki), top 9 (Newhook, RHP) and upcoming prospects (Hutson, Roy, Farrell) are on the "smaller" scale. A player like Slavkosky is a necessity on this roster, regardless of whether he scores 30 or accumulates 60-70 points. Dach is tall but not overly physical. If Slaf can continue to improve and becomes more physical, he will help the Habs. Agreed that for a first overall pick, more would be expected, but we have what we have. Take him away, Dach injury and add upcoming prospects and we have the Montreal "Peewees"!

 

[leVENTduNORD]

"I almost touched the puck last night"

Damn he crazy !

You're almost funny right now.

 

[admiralcadillac]

A good scorer here in Slaf’s place has a clear shot on net and can roof his backhand. Puck can also rebound off the goalie onto Caufield’s stick. It ‘s a Grade-A great scoring opportunity, If you forego that great opportunity it needs to be for a greater one.

Slaf needs to consider he needs to pass through a D and hit the tape at the right place at the right speed and Caufield needs to be on the ball. Too many variables. It didn’t work.

He still passes way too much. And if it’s because he can‘t shoot properly, he needs to stay after practice to work on it.

A good scorer there knows if they try and reposition to shoot there is a defender looking to lift the stick and strip the puck. It would be a very difficult shot to get off.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

apparently, you don't "know"... as the two bolded comments suggest lol

it's hard to understand, i get it. To je to. Enjoy the complaining! Hopefully, if/when Slaf continues to progress and reaches his pinnacle of NHL impact, you'll be able to enjoy that even more

Here you are saying nothing again. You know almost nothing about the topic, yet it won’t stop you from making posts without anything tangible in them. Similar to Slaf’s production. It’s all about the nuances.

 

[Skip Bayless]

You're almost funny right now.

I'm sorry.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Would you consider it a disappointment if he got 15-20 points this season, 30-35 next season, and 45-50 the following season at 21?

Obviously everyone prefers he breaks out this season, but in the big picture who cares if it happens now or three years from now when he's an old man of 22? We're focused on his prime, not his training-wheels.

But yeah, if it NEVER happens and he never reaches more than 15-20 points... that'll be a huge disappointment.

Btw, no one is expecting or hoping for a breakout this year, whst ppl want to see is progress. 40 points would have been a good number to hit.

We can all carry on like having a worse ppg and lousy production is the progress we were hoping for, but it’s not what anyone was hoping for or even expecting.

We are debating which developmental path puts Slaf in the best position to succeed. It doesn’t mean he’s a bust or will bust, but we aren’t doing him any favours. Dismissing his lack of production and still claiming we made the right choice here is bs.

 

[River Meadow]

Anyone would learn to some degree no matter the environment. It’s about putting the player in a situation to best be able to succeed, optimizing his success. We haven’t done that.

Improvements are marginal with no tangible results.

It's hard to argue with that, tbh.

Btw, no one is expecting or hoping for a breakout this year, whst ppl want to see is progress. 40 points would have been a good number to hit.

We can all carry on like having a worse ppg and lousy production is the progress we were hoping for, but it’s not what anyone was hoping for or even expecting.

We are debating which developmental path puts Slaf in the best position to succeed. It doesn’t mean he’s a bust or will bust, but we aren’t doing him any favours. Dismissing his lack of production and still claiming we made the right choice here is bs.

Again... very difficult to argue with.

 

[Miller Time]

Here you are saying nothing again. You know almost nothing about the topic, yet it won’t stop you from making posts without anything tangible in them. Similar to Slaf’s production. It’s all about the nuances.

Ah yes, BTT runs back the "I know you are but what am I" retort... How insightful.

Have a take, don't suck... And when your take sucks & gets called out as such, take it like a champ, no need to keep stooping so low.

I don't think anyone has suggested that Slaf's production is good. It's just that not all of us are just stat line watching, or worse, as your empty takes suggest, watching without the slightest clue of what's happening unless the goal song tells you it's good


I don't need to speak to the experience I have in the subject matter, the assessments either stand on their own merits or they don't. Yours don't. I've offered to politely share some resources that could help inform your empty takes. As long as nuance is a bad word for you, there's not much point getting into the finer details of athlete development.

Carry on whining about the lack of production, just perhaps don't get so upset when that shallow lens is called out as such

 

[Miller Time]

It's hard to argue with that, tbh.



Again... very difficult to argue with.

Lots of people stop learning in all sorts of environments.

A very astute HR thought leader I had the privilege of learning from said it best... Some people have 25 years of experience, others have 25x1 year of experience.

Learning is never a given. Mistaking the comfort of habit with learning is something people without an appreciation for nuance will regularly confuse.

The team, and perhaps more importantly, the player, feel quite evidently that this is the optimal environment of the available options. There is ample and growing evidence of that, whereas there is no tangible evidence to the contrary... All the speculating that he'd be better off in Laval is just that, pure speculation.

We'll never know definitively if he "would" have progressed faster or further had they taken a different approach. All we know now is that he is steadily improving and getting more comfortable in his game (with some important adjustments from his pre-draft habits that "should" translate to greater overall effectiveness as he hits his peak).

Only part to discover now is just how good he will get, and frankly I don't see any reason for anyone to be less bullish on his ceiling than they were 15 months ago.

Future is bright

 

[OnTheRun]

I want to agree with all of this but it's to when Logan Cooley already looks special and 10x the player Slafkovsky is.

Slafkovsky might turn out to be a good player in a couple of years but it already looks like we missed out on a player who's a really productive center right out of the gate.

At some point, our scouts have to stop not getting the most value out of our high picks. It's deflating and keeps us bad.

With only 6 players with more than 10 games played this year, the class 2022 is seriously lagging behind any other draft when it come to D+2 yield. The number would need to be twice as high just to be considered "normal". So it's either going to be the draft of the late bloomers or just a very weak one.

 

[River Meadow]

Lots of people stop learning in all sorts of environments.

A very astute HR thought leader I had the privilege of learning from said it best... Some people have 25 years of experience, others have 25x1 year of experience.

Learning is never a given. Mistaking the comfort of habit with learning is something people without an appreciation for nuance will regularly confuse.

The team, and perhaps more importantly, the player, feel quite evidently that this is the optimal environment of the available options. There is ample and growing evidence of that, whereas there is no tangible evidence to the contrary... All the speculating that he'd be better off in Laval is just that, pure speculation.

We'll never know definitively if he "would" have progressed faster or further had they taken a different approach. All we know now is that he is steadily improving and getting more comfortable in his game (with some important adjustments from his pre-draft habits that "should" translate to greater overall effectiveness as he hits his peak).

Only part to discover now is just how good he will get, and frankly I don't see any reason for anyone to be less bullish on his ceiling than they were 15 months ago.

Future is bright

You're not wrong,

But given the specific context here -- A 18-19yr old coming over from Europe.

He was bound to learn pretty much anywhere he played.


The hope is wherever he is playing now is the right choice.

 

[Miller Time]

You're not wrong,

But given the specific context here -- A 18-19yr old coming over from Europe.

He was bound to learn pretty much anywhere he played.


The hope is wherever he is playing now is the right choice.

In theory yes...

But not a given I don't think (I guess it also depends on what one would categorize as learning).

Take Kravtsov...
His trajectory followed what many here are confident would've been more "optimal".
- stayed in Europe D1
- went to AHL D2 (returning to Russia during COVID)
- splits year in Russia and NHL in D3

Game (be it mental or technical) neve translates well to NHL, gets a shot with another team, same issues... Now back in Russia.

Did he learn much from his AHL/NHL stints? If so, not enough to translate his huge potential to regular NHL role.

And yes, COVID... Yes, his maturity issues... Yes, Rangers botched the relationship...

But my point is just that there isn't a set formula that is "optimal". In a team sport that operates in an entertainment industry, It's a constant balancing act btw what the team needs, what's best for the individual, and how well the player & coaches/org stay on the same page. That did not happen with Kravtsov.

For Slaf, they seem to be balancing this incredibly well. For his production to be where it's at, in this market, and both sides to remain steadfast in their commitment to the well outlined process they undertook, is a very positive sign... It's been slow, but I'd say there is noticeable evolution of his game. Both sides believe the production will come... Patience ain't for everyone, but as long as the most important parties involved stay the course, continuous learning is quite likely

 

[Dach Vader]

I was satisfied with his last 5-6 games, but he bad game tonight.

 

[morhilane]

I was satisfied with his last 5-6 games, but he bad game tonight.

Most of the roster did...

 

[Miller Time]

I was satisfied with his last 5-6 games, but he bad game tonight.

And there will undoubtedly be more of those before the year is up.

To je to

 

[Shabs]

I'm trying to be patient with slaf. I am. I want him to succeed so bad. But my feeling is that by now, if he was going to be a top 3, we would have seen some flashes. I've been looking hard but I just don't see it. Not really. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Jeune Poulet]

Imagine being Ylonen and you're great out there but some guy that's awkwardly skating and barely able to handle the puck gets twice as much ice time because of his draft rank a year and a half ago.

 

[Skip Bayless]

I am satisfied.

 

[Shawnathon]

In theory yes...

But not a given I don't think (I guess it also depends on what one would categorize as learning).

Take Kravtsov...
His trajectory followed what many here are confident would've been more "optimal".
- stayed in Europe D1
- went to AHL D2 (returning to Russia during COVID)
- splits year in Russia and NHL in D3

Game (be it mental or technical) neve translates well to NHL, gets a shot with another team, same issues... Now back in Russia.

Did he learn much from his AHL/NHL stints? If so, not enough to translate his huge potential to regular NHL role.

And yes, COVID... Yes, his maturity issues... Yes, Rangers botched the relationship...

But my point is just that there isn't a set formula that is "optimal". In a team sport that operates in an entertainment industry, It's a constant balancing act btw what the team needs, what's best for the individual, and how well the player & coaches/org stay on the same page. That did not happen with Kravtsov.

For Slaf, they seem to be balancing this incredibly well. For his production to be where it's at, in this market, and both sides to remain steadfast in their commitment to the well outlined process they undertook, is a very positive sign... It's been slow, but I'd say there is noticeable evolution of his game. Both sides believe the production will come... Patience ain't for everyone, but as long as the most important parties involved stay the course, continuous learning is quite likely

How do you say the process has been excellent when he had 20 points last year and is on pace for less this year. Why does Hughes or coaching deserve credit for that? It stinks. There is a optimal route and we’re not taking it. The Rangers taking a Russian bust doesn’t make what we’re doing smart. He’s looked better the last few games because he’s playing with our top forwards now. But he’s still not producing.

 

[River Meadow]

I'd love to see Slaf use his size and strength a whole lot more, given his 6ft3 230lbs frame, BUT....

• I'm not holding this against him right now because he's painfully obvious he doesn't have his 'grown-man' strength as of yet.
• It's also obvious he's not fully ready for the NHL.

Ylonen has been in the AHL for a while and looks pretty darn good right now.....

Just sayin'