Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[ReHabs]

It sounds like your biggest issue is with Kent Hughes. Is it him you dislike, or is it people's perception of him that rubs you the wrong way?

In lieu of a longer comment which I've now erased, I'll just say that I don't like blind trust in Habs figures (players, GM, owner, coach, etc) and I especially don't like how Hughes has handled the 1OA pick. This is meant to be a precious jewel, one that makes up for a very difficult and destructive season worth of losing, and Hughes has seemingly ignored all the potential downsides of this rush-him approach. If Slaf finishes this season with a 0.5ppg (a substantial improvement of his current ppg) he would STILL be the worst performing 1OA after two seasons among all Top Drafted Forwards of the past 23 years. And these are players who were all around his age, mind you. Slaf is at the very bottom of this cohort and it doesn't seem like the Habs are at all fussed or concerned or interesting in reviewing their approach.

Confidence and arrogance are easily mixed. I don't see any reason to think Hughes has earned his self-confidence as a GM. Have you?

 

[Jaynki]

That's because a whole bunch of people on this site have nothing better to do but post all day and whine.

Well, i can't say a thing.

I have nothing better to do than post all day and hype.

 

[Tyson]

Slaf is slowly turning the corner. There will still be ugly games and folks need to understand that. He looked overwhelmed against Vegas but for the most part he has looked good in recent games.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

In lieu of a longer comment which I've now erased, I'll just say that I don't like blind trust in Habs figures (players, GM, owner, coach, etc) and I especially don't like how Hughes has handled the 1OA pick. This is meant to be a precious jewel, one that makes up for a very difficult and destructive season worth of losing, and Hughes has seemingly ignored all the potential downsides of this rush-him approach. If Slaf finishes this season with a 0.5ppg (a substantial improvement of his current ppg) he would STILL be the worst performing 1OA after two seasons. And these are players who were all around his age, mind you. Slaf is at the very bottom of this cohort and it doesn't seem like the Habs are at all fussed or concerned or interesting in reviewing their approach.

Confidence and arrogance are easily mixed. I don't see any reason to think Hughes has earned his self-confidence as a GM. Have you?

the thing is how are you gonna can or call for their heads 2 years into their tenure, they have tons of rope,

They also aren't pure laine québécois so if the team stinks in a few years they will simply get fired and nobody from RDS or TVA or the toxic side of media will bat an eye.

its not gonna be a bergevin situation where these dudes stay an entire decade if the team is garbage like berg did

 

[Tyson]

I remember not very long ago thinking about how disappointed the Kings must be with Quinton Byfield. The kid has started figuring it out.

 

[417]

I remember not very long ago thinking about how disappointed the Kings must be with Quinton Byfield. The kid has started figuring it out.

Kings fans might have been disappointed.

I doubt the Kings were.

 

[Tyson]

Kings fans might have been disappointed.

I doubt the Kings were.

Fair point.

 

[Andy]

Remove the last 5 ish games and I would guess the people who thought he was playing well were pretty marginal.

Other than that five game stretch with Newhook and Anderson, he’s been playing well the whole season (Newhook and Slaf have been producing since being taken away from Anderson, while Anderson hasn’t)

He’s not developing as quickly as you’d expect a 1OA but he’s developing well. He won’t reach his potential this season or next, but he’s progressing very well while showing flashes of his skill

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

I figured Cooley would be a bit better off the hop. Slaf has 40 games on him which Isn’t trivial but not incredibly significant.

I can see Cooley putting up more points than Slaf in the end but I feel like Slaf can still have a better well rounded game.

I can also see Slaf putting up comparable points or even more. I don’t think Cooley is hands down the better prospect. He very well could be but I don’t think he’s running away with it. He certainly isn’t at the moment.

Is Cooley even more raw than Slaf is? Genuinely asking for those who have watched.

I wasn’t expecting that to be the case. Cooley could still explode at any moment. Who knows.

Isn’t it heartening though for some of the Slaf critics to see that Cooley isn’t tearing it up? Again genuinely asking

 

[Jaynki]

I don’t think Cooley is hands down the better prospect.

He is not. He is small and weakish and haven't done much apart from the PP. Has trouble defensively and with physicality right now.

He is a pretty good player still but we are not talking about 1C.

I think Slaf has way more potential due to physical/athleticism capacity.

 

[ReHabs]

Isn’t it heartening though for some of the Slaf critics to see that Cooley isn’t tearing it up? Again genuinely asking

Cooley is a rookie and has more points than Slaf did all of last season, in less than half the games. He's scoring at a 57pt pace. Slaf scored at around a 20pt pace last season and c. 22pt pace this season. Cooley has lapped Slaf in terms of scoring.

If Slaf had 12pts in 17gp as a rookie, no matter HOW he got it, we'd all be yipping around like Yosemite Sam thinking we've struck oil.

As the season goes on it's likely Cooley will professionalize his game but reduce his production. The infamous wall that rookies from the NCAA sometimes hit. If he hits 45pts as a rookie, an undersized one, I think everybody will be rightfully satisfied.

So why is it you think he's not tearing it up?

 

[SlafySZN]

I figured Cooley would be a bit better off the hop. Slaf has 40 games on him which Isn’t trivial but not incredibly significant.

I can see Cooley putting up more points than Slaf in the end but I feel like Slaf can still have a better well rounded game.

I can also see Slaf putting up comparable points or even more. I don’t think Cooley is hands down the better prospect. He very well could be but I don’t think he’s running away with it. He certainly isn’t at the moment.

Is Cooley even more raw than Slaf is? Genuinely asking for those who have watched.

I wasn’t expecting that to be the case. Cooley could still explode at any moment. Who knows.

Isn’t it heartening though for some of the Slaf critics to see that Cooley isn’t tearing it up? Again genuinely asking

I wrote here couple of times in the last month about Cooley when people started to of course saying he should’ve been the first overall without watching him and only looking at stats. I’ve been saying he is doing good on the PP with guys like Keller but other than that he had tons to work on to be effective. I watch almost every yotes games.

He is a great prospect, he was my first overall but with how Slaf is developing and how he’s starting to look at 5vs5 in the last 10 games or so he has an edge on Cooley in that part of the game.

 

[admiralcadillac]

Cooley is a rookie and has more points than Slaf did all of last season, in less than half the games. He's scoring at a 57pt pace. Slaf scored at around a 20pt pace last season and c. 22pt pace this season. Cooley has lapped Slaf in terms of scoring.

If Slaf had 12pts in 17gp as a rookie, no matter HOW he got it, we'd all be yipping around like Yosemite Sam thinking we've struck oil.

As the season goes on it's likely Cooley will professionalize his game but reduce his production. The infamous wall that rookies from the NCAA sometimes hit. If he hits 45pts as a rookie, an undersized one, I think everybody will be rightfully satisfied.

So why is it you think he's not tearing it up?

Cooley is playing PP1, every game. Not hard to understand. I'm not suggesting Slaf would have as many or more points if he was also playing PP1 but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

 

[leVENTduNORD]

Can you name the last Habs youngster that had 70pts in a Habs shirt?

let me look at the ones who spent significant time in the AHL, given it's the ideal development league I should have no problems naming 3 or 4 in the last decade.

 

[leVENTduNORD]

Logan Cooley the PP specialist would have been adored here with his what, 3 ES points ? small frame, absence of defensive play, Just like no one is noticing Cole's lack of 5 on 5 scoring LOL

 

[waitin425]

Slaf with two points last night eh? Just a small taste of what's coming my friends. Kid will be a beast in this league by the end of his third season 2025. That confidence switch and man strength is on the horizon....and when it hits....watch out!

 

[SlafySZN]

Logan Cooley the PP specialist would have been adored here with his what, 3 ES points ? small frame, absence of defensive play, Just like no one is noticing Cole's lack of 5 on 5 scoring LOL

Difference is Cole is in a slump, he’ll snap out of it. He has most of his career goals/points at 5 on 5 and even strength. He was one of the best 5 on 5 goal scorer last season before his injury.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Cooley is playing PP1, every game. Not hard to understand. I'm not suggesting Slaf would have as many or more points if he was also playing PP1 but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

Slaf had 10 points in his first 24 games played and Cooley has 12 in 17.

But Cooley averaged five minutes more per game than Slaf did. It’s a big difference in usage. Moreover, Cooley is coming in as a 19 year old whereas Slaf was 18.

“But Cooley has more points” is very shallow analysis.

 

[ReHabs]

Cooley is playing PP1, every game. Not hard to understand. I'm not suggesting Slaf would have as many or more points if he was also playing PP1 but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

Who cares? If Slaf was playing PP1 and getting oodles of minutes and producing at a 57pt pace you'd be yipping too. We all would. Because that's what we expect to see.

Most of us who are critical of how Slaf is being handled is because they have not put him in a position to succeed and he's not performing at an acceptable level. Well, maybe from now on things will change.

let me look at the ones who spent significant time in the AHL, given it's the ideal development league I should have no problems naming 3 or 4 in the last decade.

So you couldn't name a single player? Is that it?

 

[admiralcadillac]

Who cares? If Slaf was playing PP1 and getting oodles of minutes and producing at a 57pt pace you'd be yipping too. We all would. Because that's what we expect to see.

Most of us who are critical of how Slaf is being handled is because they have not put him in a position to succeed and he's not performing at an acceptable level. Well, maybe from now on things will change.

So you couldn't name a single player? Is that it?

That makes no sense - several people have just explained why he hasn’t been in a position to produce relative to Cooley. I’m not sure what your point is.

 

[ReHabs]

That makes no sense - several people have just explained why he hasn’t been in a position to produce relative to Cooley. I’m not sure what your point is.

Most of us have been saying this all along. We were made out to be 'haters' because we didn't believe that Slafkovsky was playing well and justifying his meagre TOI and opportunities in the NHL. At this point so many of you are reflexively opposed to any criticism of how the Habs have treated Slafkovsky's development.

 

[waitin425]

Who cares? If Slaf was playing PP1 and getting oodles of minutes and producing at a 57pt pace you'd be yipping too. We all would. Because that's what we expect to see.

Most of us who are critical of how Slaf is being handled is because they have not put him in a position to succeed and he's not performing at an acceptable level. Well, maybe from now on things will change.

So you couldn't name a single player? Is that it?

The Arizona Coyotes and our Habs are two different teams with their own way of developing prospects. You imply that Arizona is handling Cooley the way we should expect to see the Habs handle Slaf.

Interesting that you have no "blind faith" and slam the Habs development process, our gm and our coach, while seemingly implying that the........ARIZONA freaking COYOTES are doing it right.

You make me laugh sometimes with your nonstop arguing. It makes your sometimes valid points harder to appreciate.

 

[ReHabs]

The Arizona Coyotes and our Habs are two different teams with their own way of developing prospects. You imply that Arizona is handling Cooley the way we should expect to see the Habs handle Slaf.

Interesting that you have no "blind faith" and slam the Habs development process, our gm and our coach, while seemingly implying that the........ARIZONA freaking COYOTES are doing it right.

You make me laugh sometimes with your nonstop arguing. It makes your sometimes valid points harder to appreciate.

I don’t have any insight into how the Coyotes develop players but it seems they’re much better than the Habs (Keller is one of my favourite players.)

My point is simple: if Slaf was in the exact same position as Cooley, we’d all be happy. So trashing Cooley or Phoenix is a dumb and insecure thing to do.

 

[Jaynki]

So trashing Cooley or Phoenix is a dumb and insecure thing to do.

I totally agree, but lets not have a double standard. It also apply to Slaf and our organisation.

There is no doubt that the data we have right now is way too small to reach any conclusion. He is at ~25% of the game he will play for the sum of his ELC.

Doubt is healthy, but thats a threshold that was surpassed since the minute we drafted Slaf over Wright.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

That makes no sense - several people have just explained why he hasn’t been in a position to produce relative to Cooley. I’m not sure what your point is.

It’s also pretty clear that the Canadiens want him to work on specific things rafter than concentrating on putting up points.

Hughes’ earlier comments on how they wanted to avoid sending him down because he’d likely do things down there that he couldn’t in the NHL - being a successful AHL player is not the same as being a successful NHL player - also indicates that they want him playing a certain way right now.

It’s only recently that they’ve started playing him with better players and he’s responded.

I’m not saying the Habs have done the right thing by developing him this way but it’s clear that they have a set plan. And it’s not points oriented. I mean how many points are you going to put up playing 11 minutes a night with the team’s worst players and no PP time?