Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[The Gr8 Dane]

I hope you realize that those projected 22 pts in rookie season would have been the worse 1OA forward rookie production since Thornton. IMO, it's not something to point out as a good thing.

I think we've moved on from that point.

People are gonna have to deal with it lol weak first overall its pretty simple. Sorry but im not losing sleep over cooley or wright personally, that kid anaheim got on D at 10 is incredible though.

I do lose sleep over missing out on bedard fantili and leo carlson though

 

[Egresch]

I’ve written plenty of factual statements about Slafkovsky. He’s the worst producing top drafted forward of the 21st century. His change in PPG is negligible (21pt pace to 22pt pace). He is getting outscored by the rookie Cooley.

As someone already mentioned, Slaf is outscoring Cooley even-strength. Cooley 1+2, Slaf 1+3.
Cooley plays 3:45 PP1 time per game, Slaf plays 2:11 PP2 time.
Cooley starts 20,1% of his shifts in offensive zone (most in ARI team), Slaf starts 14,6% (8th in MTL).

Cooley is put in positions to suceed from the very begining. In the meantime, Slaf played half of his games with Newhook and Anderson You see that huge difference, right?

 

[Andy]

I hope you realize that those projected 22 pts in rookie season would have been the worse 1OA forward rookie production since Thornton. IMO, it's not something to point out as a good thing.

Our other choices for 1OA were:

Shane Wright, who can't crack an nhl line up in D+2
Nemec who is still in the AHL in his D+2 (though mostly because the devils have the depth too keep him there)
Logan Cooley who is doing fine in his D+2, but has deficiencies at even strength.

I think folks need to accept that it wasn't a strong draft class and anyone we'd have picked would not compare to traditional 1OA. So the comparisons are moot.

 

[Beaker]

Cooley is put in positions to suceed from the very begining. In the meantime, Slaf played half of his games with Newhook and Anderson You see that huge difference, right?

Slafkovsky was given powerplay / ice time even when his play was underwhelming and others were more deserving. He has definitely been put in a position to succeed. No chance he would’ve be given the same opportunities under a coach like Therrien.

 

[Egresch]

Slafkovsky was given powerplay / ice time even when his play was underwhelming and others were more deserving. He has definitely been put in a position to succeed. No chance he would’ve be given the same opportunities under a coach like Therrien.

You see that he was underwhelming in exactly those games when he played with Newhook, Anderson? Anderson is more deserving to play 3:43 in PP1?
I am not saying, Slaf has to be put to PP1. I am just saying you guys are comparing apples to pears when looking at points vs. Cooley. Slaf also played with 4 different centers in 18 games. Sometimes you need to put numbers into context.

 

[cave troll]

Since Anderson and Newhook suck, how about we trade them for Zucker and Carcone since those two make Cooley's life easier?

 

[morhilane]

Our other choices for 1OA were:

Shane Wright, who can't crack an nhl line up in D+2
Nemec who is still in the AHL in his D+2 (though mostly because the devils have the depth took keep him there)
Logan Cooley who is doing fine in his D+2, but has deficiencies at even strength.

I think folks need to accept that it wasn't a strong draft class and anyone we'd have picked would not compare to traditional 1OA. So the comparisons are moot.

The 2022 draft has the lowest D+2 players in the NHL (permanent, no yo-yoing) in years. The 2012 draft had ~10 players who played all their D+2 in the NHL. The 1999 draft, considered the worst draft ever, had ~7...

The 2022 has 5 left (Slaf, Poitras, Cooley, Korchinski and Mintyukov). I wouldn't be surprised if the 2023 draft will probably have more players in the NHL next year than the 2022 draft will even.

 

[ReHabs]

Cooley is put in positions to suceed from the very begining. In the meantime, Slaf played half of his games with Newhook and Anderson You see that huge difference, right?

Slaf should be in a position to succeed— I agree. I think the fact that Cooley, a rookie, is outscoring Slaf, a sophomore, is really disappointing even if Slaf has one (1) more EV point than him at this time.

Slaf’s last year seems like a major waste even before the major knee injury he suffered which wiped out half his season.

I hope you realize that those projected 22 pts in rookie season would have been the worse 1OA forward rookie production since Thornton. IMO, it's not something to point out as a good thing.

His D+2 production is even worse. We are in uncharted waters and Habs fans are shrugging their shoulders and going “this is the best possible way to develop Slafkovsky”

Our other choices for 1OA were:

Shane Wright, who can't crack an nhl line up in D+2
Nemec who is still in the AHL in his D+2 (though mostly because the devils have the depth too keep him there)
Logan Cooley who is doing fine in his D+2, but has deficiencies at even strength.

Add Slaf to the list of 2022 draftees who shouldn’t be in the NHL.

I think folks need to accept that it wasn't a strong draft class and anyone we'd have picked would not compare to traditional 1OA. So the comparisons are moot.

So why are you so confident Slaf was not rushed ?

 

[Jaynki]

I hope you realize that those projected 22 pts in rookie season would have been the worse 1OA forward rookie production since Thornton. IMO, it's not something to point out as a good thing.

We might not realize the same thing out of those fact my dear

 

[Andy]

Add Slaf to the list of 2022 draftees who shouldn’t be in the NHL.

So why are you so confident Slaf was not rushed ?

Because he looks like an nhl player and he isn't regressing. I see an overall trend of progression in his game.

Also, I like that he's next to MSL and that the team isn't in a rush for him to produce. They have a good mindset towards his development.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Still, that gnome plug Cooley scored more pts in his first 18 NHL games than Slaf did in his 39.
How is that possible?
That damned PP. Should be abolished !

This has been covered already. The usage is completely different.

“But Cooley has most points!!!” Is really dumb without looking at usage.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Because he looks like an nhl player and he isn't regressing. I see an overall trend of progression in his game.

Also, I like that he's next to MSL and that the team isn't in a rush for him to produce. They have a good mindset towards his development.

He looks much better since they moved him up. He was drowning with Anderson. With the way he’s playing now it makes zero sense to send him down.

 

[ReHabs]

Because he looks like an nhl player and he isn't regressing. I see an overall trend of progression in his game.

Also, I like that he's next to MSL and that the team isn't in a rush for him to produce. They have a good mindset towards his development.

As of last game? He looks lost as ever imo -- major mistakes every few shifts. Not thriving.

But progressing -- that I'd agree with you. If he goes through another long slump however, I think you'll still find a way to say the Habs are doing it right.

He looks much better since they moved him up. He was drowning with Anderson. With the way he’s playing now it makes zero sense to send him down.

It made zero sense to keep him up at any point until very very recently -- but most just shrugged it off, clearly Kent Hughes knows what he's doing, what with his extensive list of successes.

If Slaf has actually turned the corner then that's fantastic. Even if he doesn't produce steadily, if he's actually managed to sustain a higher, better performance level we should all be happy + relieved for the time being. Production has to follow but a higher performance level is good in and of itself. That means fewer mistakes, fewer dumb plays, more physical involvement, etc.

And if he doesn't sustain a higher, better performance level... well, let's hope it doesn't happen.

 

[sandviper]

I think it's the opposite. It's mostly Habs fans overhyping their own prospects and bashing others. How many times we've red that Cooley is a gnome who can only play on PP? That Wright is going nowhere? That Nemec is soft? That Jiricek is AHL dude?
The worst bashing of all was that happiness about Michkov being sidelined in SKA. That was the lowest point of bashing here.

The overhyping for sure, though all fan bases do it. You’re not wrong there.

 

[SlafySZN]

Since Anderson and Newhook suck, how about we trade them for Zucker and Carcone since those two make Cooley's life easier?

Cooley has difficulties at 5 on 5 and it is not where he is producing. He is producing with Keller on PP1.

 

[Andy]

I think it's the opposite. It's mostly Habs fans overhyping their own prospects and bashing others. How many times we've red that Cooley is a gnome who can only play on PP? That Wright is going nowhere? That Nemec is soft? That Jiricek is AHL dude?
The worst bashing of all was that happiness about Michkov being sidelined in SKA. That was the lowest point of bashing here.

Who is overhyping Slaf? I would say most posters know he's a project, with another sizable chunk not really convinced he will be much of anything. I've seen a couple of posts saying he's going to be star, but not many, and no one really takes them seriously.

Also, yes, we do tend to see the grass as greener elsewhere. The only that is clear from the D+2 season of the 2022 Draft so far is that it's still not evident that there is a clear-cut first liner from the top 10. As was mentioned at the time of the draft, it doesn't appear to have been a strong one for forwards, but it's still too early to tell.

 

[habdynasty]

I don’t know why people would hate the new management this early into their rebuild. Those folks must have really loved Bergy.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Cool video by elite prospects , probably posted before but just saw it myself.

 

[cave troll]

Well, since Slafkofsky is pointed out as a project can somebody tell me:
- what's the goal of the project?
- what is the time frame set for reaching that goal?
- what are the evaluation points for that project?

I was trying so hard to find what our GM and coach have to say about that project, but I didn't find any official "Project Slafkofsky". The only thing I found was Hughes talking about some muscle memory.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Well, since Slafkofsky is pointed out as a project can somebody tell me:
- what's the goal of the project?
- what is the time frame set for reaching that goal?
- what are the evaluation points for that project?

I’m sure they’ll get right back to you with this.

I was trying so hard to find what our GM and coach have to say about that project, but I didn't find any official "Project Slafkofsky". The only thing I found was Hughes talking about some muscle memory.

Weird that they didn’t outline it in a spreadsheet and publish it.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I don’t know why people would hate the new management this early into their rebuild. Those folks must have really loved Bergy.

I think criticism is fine. There are always things that can be done better. I wouldn’t have used Slaf the way they have but whatever…

Overall, I think we’re headed the right way but we’ve had some pretty crappy luck in terms of drafting high and position. It’s the right philosophy but we didn’t land that blue chip player you want to get.

We’re so early into things though. Guys screaming about his point production at less than 60 games is pathetic. It’s going to be a while before we really know what we’ve got with the players we love taken in the past few drafts.

Ignore the noise and watch the games. As much as it sucks to watch us lose, I’ve always liked watching how young players come along. True MB years were dark in that front but it’s so much better now. For the most part, prospects are given a lot more patience. Not all will pan out but overall I think it will show up with better results.

Still think we need a big superstar forward. Don’t think we have one yet. That would make all the difference.

 

[Heffyhoof]

I was wondering about the Caufield-Suzuki-Slaf line that was broken up after basically one full game together. I know Caufield and Suzuki weren't getting much done 5-on-5 so a breakup to get them going makes sense. Caufield is great but not a line driver in his own right, Suzuki was. To a lesser extent I'd argue Monohan drives play as well.

Maybe the refusal to put Slaf long-term with either Suzuki or Monohan is a consequence of management wanting him to be in a position where he's required to learn to be the play driver. He certainly has the build and skill-set and it's what you'd want from a 1OA.

 

[417]

Well, since Slafkofsky is pointed out as a project can somebody tell me:
- what's the goal of the project?
- what is the time frame set for reaching that goal?
- what are the evaluation points for that project?

I was trying so hard to find what our GM and coach have to say about that project, but I didn't find any official "Project Slafkofsky". The only thing I found was Hughes talking about some muscle memory.

- goal of any project is successful completion.

- Hughes and Gorton indicated after drafting Slafkovsky that they weren't looking to draft the best 18 year old, they wanted the best player down the road. Safe to assume down the road probably means when Slafkovsky is 22-23yrs old.

- good question, it's clearly not points like most fans. Only the coach knows

 

[bcv]

Cool video by elite prospects , probably posted before but just saw it myself.

This video doesn't say much for Slaf, it mostly just shows how bad Anderson is.

 

[Andy]

Well, since Slafkofsky is pointed out as a project can somebody tell me:
- what's the goal of the project?
- what is the time frame set for reaching that goal?
- what are the evaluation points for that project?

I was trying so hard to find what our GM and coach have to say about that project, but I didn't find any official "Project Slafkofsky". The only thing I found was Hughes talking about some muscle memory.

1. Goal of project: To develop a player that can contribute to the success of the team when it becomes competitive. hopefully in a top line capacity.

2. Time frame: not 60 games. Realistically, probably 3-4 years given the style of play expected of Slafkovsky and how traditionally it takes time for players to grow into their size.

3. Evaluation points: you don't want to see stagnation or regression with prospects. I know a lot of people don't like Slakovsky, but he's been progressing. It's super disingenuous to say he hasn't, or that he has even regressed. His progression is not happening at an exponential pace, but his overall trend line continues to be positive. He's better than he was last year. He's better now than he was at pre-season (where he was actually pretty good btw). He will have bad games. Like Suzuki has bad games. Like Caufield is sometimes invisible. You want to look at the aggregate trend, and I see a player who is getting better. It's a slow drip, but it's positive. Personally, I am okay with waiting, but patience among fans isn't usually one of their qualities.