Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[nhlfan9191]

He’s not Puljujarvi 2.0. There’s much more there. He’s already a more valuable player. But he needs a reboot of his offensive game. Unlike most other players, he doesn’t shoot from the mid-slot. That needs to be corrected. But progress will be incremental.

I never followed Puljujarvi. What went wrong with him?

 

[Kennerback]

I never followed Puljujarvi but what went wrong with him?

The game of hockey seems too fast for Puljujarvi. His mind can’t follow. Slaf‘s mind can absolutely follow the game, his problems only start when he’s in the Ozone with the puck on his stick and he needs to make a go at the net. This explains why he looks so good while his stats look so bad.

 

[Saundies]

Not sure what point you're trying to make in your last paragraph (I'll ignore the first two where you try to argue his tangible are improving, doesn't matter, a forward first overall pick is supposed to produce somewhat in his +2 seasons, anything else is a major disappointment. What is happening now is worst than Lafreniere's underwhelming debut.) But if you haven't realized it yet by the huge CH crest in my avi, I am not a fan of another market

I have been following this team for close to 20 years, and Slafkovsky play is trending towards what I've witnessed in that good amount of years: disappointment. This is Kotkaniemi 2.0. The exceptations here are so low it is incredible.

I never insinuated you weren't a Habs fan, you're just displaying the same attitude I've been seeing on Twitter the last couple of days as the fans of other teams I mentioned. So yeah, I lumped you in.

I love how it's "I'm ignoring your first two paragraphs" when I literally asked you a question in my first sentence. Your whole first post I replied to said "I love how we're satisfied..." so I was legit asking who you were seeing that is actually satisfied? Not exactly a discussion to be had if all you're going to do is ignore everything I say and spout your opinion.

You're allowed to be disappointed with his production. Most of us (probably) are, at least a little. But he's not playing badly or stagnating, no matter what people try to say.

 

[BLONG7]

This thread hilarious as per usual. He’s clearly the forward that looks the best the last 10 games, but the points don’t add up, so the vultures come out. Just constant beating of the HockeyDB drum.

Easily our best player the last number of games.............being put with Suzuki and CC have made a huge impact on him. There are many posters, who do not actually watch the games, we see this all the time.............box scores have meaning, but watching the games is better.
Points will come for sure...........
I will say it again..............very hard to be patient.

 

[nhlfan9191]

This thread hilarious as per usual. He’s clearly the forward that looks the best the last 10 games, but the points don’t add up, so the vultures come out. Just constant beating of the HockeyDB drum.

To be fair, being the best forward on this team right now is like being the most attractive person at an ugly convention.

 

[SlafySZN]

To be fair, being the best forward on this team right now is like being the most attractive person at an ugly convention.

But then if he wasn’t people would whine too.

 

[417]

How could anyone possibly know the answer to that question,it's silly to even ask that.
Can you prove one way or the other what would be if it were to have been?No you can't,nobody can.
I just looked at his stats. 2 goals 5 assists and -7. after 29 games. Does this seem like impressive stats to you?

Our leading points player has 23pts in 29 games.

No on one on this team has impressive stats, why are we placing that burden of blame on the youngest player on this roster who is still developing?

Numbers are secondary at this point. I'm not sure why people expect him to be the outlier.

Easily our best player the last number of games.............being put with Suzuki and CC have made a huge impact on him. There are many posters, who do not actually watch the games, we see this all the time.............box scores have meaning, but watching the games is better.
Points will come for sure...........
I will say it again..............very hard to be patient.

Considering where this team currently is, it should be the easiest thing ever.

It's much more difficult to be patient when you have expectations for your team to win.

 

[Hins77]

I don’t think he is going to be a natural producer. Like, he is going to be able to put points on board, but not constantly. If he is going to have the same kind of career than JVR/Brock Nelson, Im gonna be really happpy. I know, we should expect a landeskog/ rantanen/schevnikov kind of guy for a first overall pick, but I don’t think he has the offensive tools to become a regular point producer. But certainly a reliable top 6 complementary piece

 

[BLONG7]

Our leading points player has 23pts in 29 games.

No on one on this team has impressive stats, why are we placing that burden of blame on the youngest player on this roster who is still developing?

Numbers are secondary at this point. I'm not sure why people expect him to be the outlier.


Considering where this team currently is, it should be the easiest thing ever.

It's much more difficult to be patient when you have expectations for your team to win.

This has been a long haul for habs fans who have been a fan for many years............Gillette, Gainey and Boivin made us relevant again..............only to see Mol$on and BargainBin tear it down......beyond ugly and hence my comment about patience....my memories go back 50 years, and the past 30 have been pretty ugly.

Let's hope Slaf is a huge part of moving forward as a team and organization.......our last two-three drafts have to save us....

 

[dcyhabs]

Easily our best player the last number of games.............being put with Suzuki and CC have made a huge impact on him. There are many posters, who do not actually watch the games, we see this all the time.............box scores have meaning, but watching the games is better.
Points will come for sure...........
I will say it again..............very hard to be patient.

He's also one of the few players who has the potential to be what the habs need. In a year or two, with more maturity and muscle, he should be able to make space for other players. The habs have a lot of players who would benefit.

 

[Goldthorpe]

You don’t want to give any time for a player to adapt to the toughest league in hockey? Not even half of a first season?

But of course, players at this age progress often continuously, often in spur, and this may include adapting to a new league. But that's not the point of my comment. Some people have been saying for months that it was better to develop a player in a lower league to see him dominate versus in the NHL. People were adamant that it was a major mistake for doing otherwise. Cooley dominated a lower league last year and isn't better today. That's true no matter the "adaptation" period. If he can bridge the gap by the end of the season, then great for him.

Why do you think hockey historians distinguish between rookie seasons and other seasons?

All "rookie season" means is that it is the first season of a player in a league. Why do we call a first-year college student "freshman"? I guess we should ask the "college historians" why they "distinguish" students like that.

If you want to view it that way, sure. It’s impossible to have conclusive evidence. We can apply induction, however, and put together a series of assertions and assumptions and develop a generalized conclusion.

And one can make up assertions and assumptions and change them on a whim - like the assumption that "dominating in a lower league" has a significant impact on playing development - and the fun things is that the conclusions will always end up right, they'll just be rationalized differently.

Then we can evaluate this conclusion based on evidence and stats.

The problem here is that Slafkovsky is off the charts so he breaks every analysis model we try to refine. Why else do you think so many different names have been brought up in comparison to him?

The problem is that looking at stats models in a sport like hockey can only bring you so far. I don't care much about comparing Slaf stats with other players, I don't think it's worth much.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Our leading points player has 23pts in 29 games.

No on one on this team has impressive stats, why are we placing that burden of blame on the youngest player on this roster who is still developing?

Numbers are secondary at this point. I'm not sure why people expect him to be the outlier.


Considering where this team currently is, it should be the easiest thing ever.

It's much more difficult to be patient when you have expectations for your team to win.

Suzuki’s where I thought he’d be pacing for something like 67 points. CC’s numbers are a massive disappointment in terms of goals. His play should’ve yielded better but it is what it is. Slaf should have way more points too.

The part that I think some people don’t get (or in some cases don’t want to get) is that the points aren’t as important now as they will be in the future. What matters most is that Slaf is giving us a high level of play. It SHOULD have yielded more points already but if he keeps progressing this way there’s no way he won’t produce in the future.

This is a development year. He’s developing well. That’s all that really matters right now.

 

[Habs]

what if he needs some really good players to get him going, because he isn't generational, and then he totally takes off. Would be sad if the team fails him and gives him plumbers to play with for the next 5 years. kid has talent, I wonder how he would already be progressing on a team with a good core and not on year 33 of the rebuild?

 

[Kennerback]

I don’t think he is going to be a natural producer. Like, he is going to be able to put points on board, but not constantly. If he is going to have the same kind of career than JVR/Brock Nelson, Im gonna be really happpy. I know, we should expect a landeskog/ rantanen/schevnikov kind of guy for a first overall pick, but I don’t think he has the offensive tools to become a regular point producer. But certainly a reliable top 6 complementary piece

I don’t think he’ll be a natural point producer either. An additional reason to go all in on 1-on-1 offensive training. It might make a real difference in getting all we can from him.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

what if he needs some really good players to get him going, because he isn't generational, and then he totally takes off. Would be sad if the team fails him and gives him plumbers to play with for the next 5 years. kid has talent, I wonder how he would already be progressing on a team with a good core and not on year 33 of the rebuild?

No doubt this is where a superstar center would come in really handy. And honestly CC should’ve been good enough. Just a shame the slump comes now.

Long term though? Not worried.

 

[Goldthorpe]

I see Slaf a future perfect third wheel, I guy you put with skilled players because he can play with them and bring a board play and physicality they typically lack, and really open space for them. Not the best offensive forward in a team, but one you are still very happy to put on your first line.

And I'm perfectly fine with this.

Had we pick anyone else 1OV, this fanbase would be screaming how we drafted yet another diminutive skilled forward when the powerforward of the future was right there at our grasp.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

No doubt this is where a superstar center would come in really handy. And honestly CC should’ve been good enough. Just a shame the slump comes now.

Long term though? Not worried.

And like you said in another post: keep that line together. They’ll figure it out eventually.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

I see Slaf a future perfect third wheel, I guy you put with skilled players because he can play with them and bring a board play and physicality they typically lack, and really open space for them. Not the best offensive forward in a team, but one you are still very happy to put on your first line.

And I'm perfectly fine with this.

Had we pick anyone else 1OV, this fanbase would be screaming how we drafted yet another diminutive skilled forward when the powerforward of the future was right there at our grasp.

Possibly but I don’t see why he can’t be a play driver himself when he puts it all together.

He has so much runway ahead of him still. Galch and KK flat out regressed. I mean we are cursed but he’s still doing very impressive things for a 19 year old. He could be flat out unstoppable in a few years

 

[nhlfan9191]

I see Slaf a future perfect third wheel, I guy you put with skilled players because he can play with them and bring a board play and physicality they typically lack, and really open space for them. Not the best offensive forward in a team, but one you are still very happy to put on your first line.

And I'm perfectly fine with this.

Had we pick anyone else 1OV, this fanbase would be screaming how we drafted yet another diminutive skilled forward when the powerforward of the future was right there at our grasp.

I’m going to be disappointed if he never transitions into at least a top 6 forward but he has all the tangibles of being a very good bottom 6 player already. A lot of people really fell in love with a guy like Eller and he was a big part of the Capitals cup in 2018 so it wouldn’t be awful if he fit into a role like that on the team only better and obviously with more physicality. He seems to have the best basement out of the guys he was drafted around in 2022.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

what if he needs some really good players to get him going, because he isn't generational, and then he totally takes off. Would be sad if the team fails him and gives him plumbers to play with for the next 5 years. kid has talent, I wonder how he would already be progressing on a team with a good core and not on year 33 of the rebuild?

its a good point, I dont think we have any good players that can elevate him. Kids going to have to do it on his own , tough town to do it in no doubt

 

[SlafySZN]

its a good point, I dont think we have any good players that can elevate him. Kids going to have to do it on his own , tough town to do it in no doubt

We have good players in Suzuki, Caufield, Dach (not this year) but no players who could push him forward offensively by helping him produce a ton for now.

 

[Kennerback]

Possibly but I don’t see why he can’t be a play driver himself when he puts it all together.

He has so much runway ahead of him still. Galch and KK flat out regressed. I mean we are cursed but he’s still doing very impressive things for a 19 year old. He could be flat out unstoppable in a few years

If Galchenyuk could have created opportunities for himself like Slaf he would have been a monster as he was a decent finisher. Slaf unfortunately is not, but will create a million opportunities for himself. I guess we can’t have it all.

 

[admiralcadillac]

If Galchenyuk could have created opportunities for himself like Slaf he would have been a monster as he was a decent finisher. Slaf unfortunately is not, but will create a million opportunities for himself. I guess we can’t have it all.

Or you could just be patient like any reasonable person

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

If Galchenyuk could have created opportunities for himself like Slaf he would have been a monster as he was a decent finisher. Slaf unfortunately is not, but will create a million opportunities for himself. I guess we can’t have it all.

I’ll wait and see on Slaf’s finishing abilities.

It’s all a work in progress and he’s shown himself a quick learner.

I. Seen plenty of tape of him displaying a damn fine shot. Once he puts it all together he’s gonna be a handful

 

[Kennerback]

I’ll wait and see on Slaf’s finishing abilities.

It’s all a work in progress and he’s shown himself a quick learner.

I. Seen plenty of tape of him displaying a damn fine shot. Once he puts it all together he’s gonna be a handful

The problem is not his shot. It’s his release. And the fact he never shoots mid-slot like everyone else. I want him to improve just as much as you. But it’s not something he needs to tweak and adapt to the NHL like a usual top draft pick. It’s not there at all, he needs to start from scratch. Just giving him time is not enough.

I’ve just reviewed his goals prior to the NHL. Two of his goals in the Olympics won’t happen in the NHL because he’s basically cranking up a winch handle before releasing. NHL goalies are too good and Ds have time to stick their sticks before he gets it off. He needs to completely cut out those windups in the NHL.