Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Jaynki]

I agree, Slaf has made an impact, but not at the level those charts suggest. I'm not knocking the kid, I just haven't yet seen the dominance, confidence, and control we're hoping for. It's great you and others see signs of it – I'm hoping it becomes more obvious to the rest of us.

His 2nd game he was our best player and had a very strong game tho. I saw sign of "it" all training camp but i also saw the hesitation and the whiff. As long as we see more and more of the former and less and less of the latter he will become a player. (Inchworm improvement)

For the rest, yeah, we will see. I think it will be fair to reevaluate after 20 games, then 40 games and then after the season. We might end up surprised (or very disappointed) with the growth.

I think he is currently one of the better forwards in the roster but that's just shows how weak this team is up front.

Well, indeed.

But on the other hands, i think we could argue he would be a top 9 on teams like Vegas, the Leafs and the Oilers too, fwiw.

Anyway, we need him to be a top line player, not a top 9.

 

[Jaynki]

Still nowhere close to Dach, Suzuki, Caufield and Monahan

The rest of the forwards are very inconsistent and Slaf could be the best of them in one match and the worst of them in the second match. (If that makes sense)

I think that is where he slots too.

I think we can safely debate Slaf VS Newhook VS Anderson but those three are a level below the 4 others, but a level above the rest of the line-up.

If Monahan can stay healthy, he might rejuvenate his career. What a player.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Still nowhere close to Dach, Suzuki, Caufield and Monahan

The rest of the forwards are very inconsistent and Slaf could be the best of them in one match and the worst of them in the second match. (If that makes sense)

That should be his motivation if he wants more ice time. Close the gap on those 4 and pass the others

 

[WeThreeKings]

He needs to use his body more and less of the one handed puck push.

 

[Jaynki]

I don't always listen to Grant McCagg, but......

https://x.com/grantmccagg/status/1709032296462860536?s=20

https://x.com/grantmccagg/status/1709047828423585952?s=20

So my honest assessment, attempting to put aside my confirmation bias.

I thought Slaf looked like an NHL player out there so far this pre-season, not a flashy highlight reel one, but a guy that is beginning to use his skill set to make life tough for opposing players.

The pros:

- Slaf's size and reach are huge advantages on the defensive side of the puck. He often pushes players to the outside, limiting scoring opportunities for opposing players.
- Slaf's straight line speed is evident. He has a long powerful stride, that often makes him look like he is moving in slow motion, but is actually quite fast.
- He is difficult to knock off the puck. I saw him lose an edge a couple of times but he is not a KK like bambi. When he makes contacts with opposing players, he is often the one coming out holding his position.

The cons:

- Still processing the game slower than optimal, but I have seen slight improvements since last year.
- I want to see him hold the puck a little longer to not just make a safe play, but perhaps a better play.
- Needs to get into shooting lanes more and take shots. Last night for example he never put himself in position to even take a decent shot. He needs to find open ice to give him space to think and make a play or take a shot.
- Edge work and shiftiness. He will never just skate through people in the NHL on his way to scoring a goal. Big strong defenders will figure that out pretty quick. He has to work on some edge work.

The verdict:
I believe he is NHL ready and belongs on this team. Doubt is starting to creep in for me, possibly after reading so many negative comments and people blasting him. He is still an NHL player based on his physical abilities alone. If his brain can catch up to his body he could be a superstar in this league. If it doesn't he will be a serviceable 3rd line power forward.

Nice post.

I know McCagg is biased but he do bring to light interesting facts in this pre-season.

 

[Hannibal]

He looks 10x times better than last year at the same date!

 

[morhilane]

What I find weird is the high defensive impact he has according to the stats. Every time they have to defend Slaf looks useless.

In the Ottawa game (his best defensive stats on those charts), he was denying Sens zone entries all night. Sens could barely pass the blue line before losing the puck. He was also doing it last night, mostly to Knies.

The defensive stats is xGA and actual goal against. Slaf was on the ice for a single goal against and had good xGA otherwise. Good xGA because he's a big useless who keep opposing players on the outside and block shooting lane when he's not getting the puck back.

 

[nhlfan9191]

I don t think like that. If in 2 to 3 years Slaf is a bust but MTL are a playoff team with solid foundation, I won t hold HuGo for it.

Even the best GM makes mistakes, does poor trades… what matters is that they choose a direction and have a coherent team building. If you failed a 1OA but got a former 3OA at a discount and he becomes a top line center, this is quite ok.

That is what I hated with Bergevin, the lack of direction. Maybe it will fail, but I like the approach regarding Dach, Newhook to accelerate a rebuild.

I would put it on HuGo just because it goes against what I would’ve done. I may be an armchair GM, but I had him ranked 4th of the available prospects. I had Cooley, Nemec, and Jiricek ranked above him. I couldn’t care less about Wright because the red flags were to much to ignore. And when things are as close as they were, I don’t take the winger when it comes to a tie breaker even if he was considered to be a unicorn if he hit his potential. I just view wingers as the easiest positions to fill as you move along in a rebuild. Good/great centres and defenseman are so much harder to acquire.

 

[Egresch]

Good question... where would you rank him? Regardless of age

Suzuki
Caufield
Dach
Newhook
RHP
Anderson
Monahan

I would say he belongs to 3rd line, ideally centered by Monahan who can mentor him. None of Gally, Pearson, Ylonen, Armia, Evans and Pezzetta looked better than Slaf.

 

[Lshap]

I think it's a far better representation of his camp than this thread that's for sure.

He's had a good camp, I think the eye test and these score cards support that.

The problem is fans expect him to have an amazing camp.

Because he was drafted 1st overall.

Yeah, fair or not, being drafted 1OA carries expectations... especially here. Habs haven't had a 1OA in 40 years, haven't seen a top forward in 30 years, and have messed up a decade's worth of draft picks. I know we shouldn't turn Slafkovsky into a symbol of the Habs' failure to find forwards, but that's what happens to a fan base with PTSD (Post Traumatic Scoring Deficit).

Is it fair to dump all that history on Slafkovsky? Of course not. But hell, my girlfriend's old relationships get recycled and flung back at me, so I'm entitled to expect our 1OA to heal some of my old hockey scars.

 

[RationalExpectations]

I would put it on HuGo just because it goes against what I would’ve done. I may be an armchair GM, but I had him ranked 4th of the available prospects. I had Cooley, Nemec, and Jiricek ranked above him. I couldn’t care less about Wright because the red flags were to much to ignore. And when things are as close as they were, I don’t take the winger when it comes to a tie breaker even if he was considered to be a unicorn if he hit his potential. I just view wingers as the easiest positions to fill as you move along in a rebuild. Good/great centres and defenseman are so much harder to acquire.

Oh I fully agree with the reasoning, I would never have taken Slaf because center / Dmen relevance I merely meant that the overall results are more important than each decision taken individually.

 

[Mrb1p]

He looks 10x times better than last year at the same date!

10*0.01 is still only 0.1

 

[DAChampion]

By October Wright, Cooley and Slafkovsky, were showing little. Michkov is already the best player in the KHL, running circles around the patronage filled SKA. On his way to pulverize Ovechkin’s D+1. We’re talking about several levels of magnitude difference.

I’m not even criticizing the GM because Reinbacher might just become that good, but that’s what he’s up against.

Do you actually believe that Matvei Mitchkov is going to be a better player than Alex Ovechkin?

I think it's more likely that the KHL's level of competition is declining.

 

[Jaynki]

Do you actually believe that Matvei Mitchkov is going to be a better player than Alex Ovechkin?

I think it's more likely that the KHL's level of competition is declining.

True and true.

But we all know Michkov high potential and there was an opportunity cost with not selecting him. Management will be tributary of this decision.

I love Reinbacher and i thought he looked very good and promising. Flopping here tho will be an obvious, blatant, franchise-altering failure. Think we are okay tho for now.

 

[NORiculous]

I always thought this argument buy Hughes was incredibly dumb: because if Slaf struggles to produce at the AHL, then he sure as hell isn't ready for the NHL

That’s why I think the whole thing is insane and it doesn’t fit with the rest of what they are doing.

Well… that and them being UNANIMOUS on Reinbacher.

If you have a room that is unanimous on a pick like Reinbacher… there is a problem of too many people seeing the game the same way. I don’t think that is how you build a good management team.

But back to Slafkovsky…

I think Reinbacher was a pick to save their jobs because they are doubting/aren’t sure about Slafkovsky and how he will end up.

So because of this, in their minds anyway, they could not risk the downside in the offensive talent in Michkov, Benson, etc. offered. That and they think two Caufield doesn’t fit the “model”. Pretty sure any team would like to have two Caufield if they would just take a step aside for 2 minutes.

The NHL has seen many players be rushed and, of course, some will point to players from Joe Thornton to Jack Hughes… to support what management is doing. How many Thornton’s has the league seen though?

Al this said, I still find it COMPLETELY insane what Hughes said about Slafkovsky: Hughes, you are scared Slafkovsky won’t produce in the AHL… so you keep him in the NHL instead? lol

That means one (or two) of two things:
1. Your management team in the AHL sucks and you don’t have confidence in them to be able to handle prospects like Slafkovsky.
2. You see something wrong with Slafkovsky, since you are scared of sending him down and what that will do to him.

Major problem.

 

[Hannibal]

10*0.01 is still only 0.1

Okay bud, good post as usual!

 

[Paddyjack]

I interpreted Hughes comment differently. I thought he meant that Slaf in the AHL could raise even higher expectations from the fanbase and since Slaf is not projected by them to be a high production skilled guy but more of a powerhorse that help the 2 other guys on the line, it may actually put more pressure on his shoulders to produce points and break his confidence.

 

[417]

Yeah, fair or not, being drafted 1OA carries expectations... especially here. Habs haven't had a 1OA in 40 years, haven't seen a top forward in 30 years, and have messed up a decade's worth of draft picks. I know we shouldn't turn Slafkovsky into a symbol of the Habs' failure to find forwards, but that's what happens to a fan base with PTSD (Post Traumatic Scoring Deficit).

Is it fair to dump all that history on Slafkovsky? Of course not. But hell, my girlfriend's old relationships get recycled and flung back at me, so I'm entitled to expect our 1OA to heal some of my old hockey scars.

That's why I keep repeating that we must separate our expectations from player’s development path.

One really has nothing to do with the other.

Remove the expectations we fans have for 1st overall picks (which is mostly, based on previous 1st overalls, selectively chosen of course), remove the PTSD, remove the previous regime trauma…etc

And he's having a good camp, more than good enough to be considered one of the 12 best forwards on this team.

All the talk you're reading or hearing about how “he doesn't belong in the NHL right now”, is based on fan expectation and previous Habs hockey trauma.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Nice post.

I know McCagg is biased but he do bring to light interesting facts in this pre-season.

McCagg is just as opinionated as the rest of us. He gets a bad reputation from some but he's not a complete idiot. Some people look at others and once they don't like them, they think everything they say is crap.

Take McCagg's opinions with a grain of salt.... like most "insiders"

 

[Habs Halifax]

I would say he belongs to 3rd line, ideally centered by Monahan who can mentor him. None of Gally, Pearson, Ylonen, Armia, Evans and Pezzetta looked better than Slaf.

Today, I would go with this but there are many different things we can try..

Caufield / Suzuki / Anderson: Anderson provides some physical protection for our stars and also can provide 20+ goals. We could swap Anderson with Monahan but I do like Monahan with Dach and Slaf.

Slaf / Dach / Monahan: Slaf works with Dach as skilled players and Monahan is there as the physical vet causing disruption. Monahan also can take key faceoffs.

RHP / Newhook / Gallagher: Energy line. Newhook has ways to go yet as a center but Gallagher can help on faceoffs. Not perfect but decent 3rd line IMO. This line would have to be monitored in terms of Newhook being able to handle the center role. If Newhook struggles as a center, move him to the Dach line and Monahan can take the 3C role.

Pearson / Dvorak (when healthy) / Ylonen: Well above average 4th line.

Depth: Evans, Armia, Pezzetta

 

[Ezpz]

He's been ok but you can really see the speed of his decision making lagging behind the play for large stretches. I am sure that's an experience thing but coaches really need to work on him with it. I know they don't want to kill his fun or whatever but statistically speaking forwards typically peak from 20-25. He's only a year away from the beginning of that. He should be improving leaps and bounds each year.

 

[Egresch]

Today, I would go with this but there are many different things we can try..

Caufield / Suzuki / Anderson: Anderson provides some physical protection for our stars and also can provide 20+ goals. We could swap Anderson with Monahan but I do like Monahan with Dach and Slaf.

Slaf / Dach / Monahan: Slaf works with Dach as skilled players and Monahan is there as the physical vet causing disruption. Monahan also can take key faceoffs.

RHP / Newhook / Gallagher: Energy line. Newhook has ways to go yet as a center but Gallagher can help on faceoffs. Not perfect but decent 3rd line IMO. This line would have to be monitored in terms of Newhook being able to handle the center role. If Newhook struggles as a center, move him to the Dach line and Monahan can take the 3C role.

Pearson / Dvorak (when healthy) / Ylonen: Well above average 4th line.

Depth: Evans, Armia, Pezzetta

I would do:
Caufield / Suzuki / Newhook (I know they lack size)
RHP / Dach / Anderson
Slaf / Monahan / Pearson
Pezzetta / Evans / Ylonen

Gally looked really bad yesterday. You need to be careful with Monahan's TOI, otherwise you can loose him for another injury.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I would do:
Caufield / Suzuki / Newhook (I know they lack size)
RHP / Dach / Anderson
Slaf / Monahan / Pearson
Pezzetta / Evans / Ylonen

Gally looked really bad yesterday. You need to be careful with Monahan's TOI, otherwise you can loose him for another injury.

I'd be OK with that too.

And yeah, it's sad to see Gallagher digress so much. All of his past accomplishments were based on extreme work ethic and shooting from everywhere. However, I don't think we are at the spot yet to demote him to 4th line or off the roster.

Personally, I'm not demoting Gallagher so we can play Pezzetta.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

His mobility and stamina are good enough now to have a regular shift in the NHL, so there's at least a better argument for him to stay with the big team than last season. He needs reps and experience, whatever they decide to do, he barely got 35 games last season and he was off for quite a few months before the camp. I want him to play a full season in the best setting possible .

 

[waffledave]

I'm not trying to start anything whatsoever but out of sheer curiosity - weren't you quite pro-Slaf previously? (I could be thinking of someone else).

Not at all. I said we should MAYBE consider him at 3rd overall absolute max but after we got 1st I was screaming from the rooftops not to take this guy and that his poor hockey sense and slow reaction time would be a huge issue.