Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[River Meadow]

I can't get over how Slaf went from being uncoordinated and weak to balanced and strong in a span of 2 months. He went from stupid to smart.

Probably pissed from all the hate and taunting he was getting.

I'm sure at least some of that fueled his fire.

 

[Naslund]

Congrats to all that said from the start to be patient with Slaf. Congrats also to all that have admitted that they were wrong.

 

[bighab]

If the Slaf we've been seeing is here to stay - and I think he is... he's likely to just keep getting better - I don't think the playoffs aren't as far off as some would believe. He brings such a needed element to that top line. He makes Suzuki better. He makes space for Cole.

Having a legitimate - not elite albeit (yet?) - first line completely changes the look of the team.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Lovely game

 

[Kennerback]

He’s truly a technically brilliant passer.

 

[tooji]

What I like about slaf’s assist was not only how he protected the puck from two defenders to make the slot pass but also how he drove the net after and took defenders with him. The latter was just as crucial for the goal.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

What I like about slaf’s assist was not only how he protected the puck from two defenders to make the slot pass but also how he drove the net after and took defenders with him. The latter was just as crucial for the goal.

And how he took the puck away from 2 x Hawks players to create the play in the first place.

 

[Kennerback]

What I like about slaf’s assist was not only how he protected the puck from two defenders to make the slot pass but also how he drove the net after and took defenders with him. The latter was just as crucial for the goal.

He needs to feel out what works and what doesn’t to convert his passes to assists. But he can connect on passes that thread the needle. Time will help.

 

[Habs10Habs]

Congrats to all that said from the start to be patient with Slaf. Congrats also to all that have admitted that they were wrong.

Hugo said right from the day he was drafted. That he was drafted for his potential. Not for what he provided on draft day. He wasn't my choice as I was so excited to see Wright/Suzuki as our future top 2 Centers.

As I watched him develop. He was obviously very green, yet showed flashes of what he could become. I was curious at first, when I saw how he was being brought along. My thinking was stick him in Laval and give him all the ice time he could handle.

Until I saw an interview with MSL. In it he stated that he didn't want to overload Slaf. That he was slowly spoon feeding him information and ice time. With being a number one pick (Especially in Montreal). The pressure must have been enormous. Yet the kid seemed to handle things, while slowly improving.

Could this method work for all players? Maybe not, but now watching how much he's improved these last few weeks. I can't go against the plan that MSL and management, have in place for him.

 

[BaseballCoach]

He's the best forward on the team after Suzuki right now.

And most importantly, he brings a skillset that is sorely lacking on the team: massive forecheck presence and puck protection. Furthermore, his passes are ambitious but they nearly always hit.

How can that be? @ReHabs assured us he had limited playmaking ability and poor IQ.

 

[Kennerback]

How can that be? @ReHabs assured us he had limited playmaking ability and poor IQ.

He needs to work on converting his passes to assists, but save for that, he’s a technically gifted passer anywhere else on the ice. For example, a lot of assists are shots to get a rebound. He also needs to add trying to surprise the goalie when hitting a player with a pass. But the actual technical execution of his passes is top-notch.

 

[417]

He needs to work on converting his passes to assists, but save for that, he’s a technically gifted passer anywhere else on the ice. For example, a lot of assists are shots to get a rebound. He also needs to add trying to surprise the goalie when hitting a player with a pass. But the actual technical execution of his passes is top-notch.

By scoring them himself.

 

[Kennerback]

By scoring them himself.

That too. I’m happy he’s starting to pick up dirty goals around the net.

 

[donghabs98]

His backchecking is quite good. He doesn’t overcommit and chase the puck like a lot of young players (ie Kotkaniemi back in the day). It’s obvious that he’s very coachable. That’s definitely one of the things that can only be uncovered through interviews before the draft. It’s likely a big reason why they took him ahead of Wright who always seemed a bit entitled.

I'm definitely under the impression Wright's interviews rubbed the Habs brass the wrong way and probably raised questions on whether he could handle the Habs market. For me, I have real doubts Wright could have handle the spotlight playing with thw Habs (and not being able to immediately put on points). Slaf has handled it as best as you could have hoped for from a 19yr in his situation.

 

[Habs10Habs]

I'm definitely under the impression Wright's interviews rubbed the Habs brass the wrong way and probably raised questions on whether he could handle the Habs market. For me, I have real doubts Wright could have handle the spotlight playing with thw Habs (and not being able to immediately put on points). Slaf has handled it as best as you could have hoped for from a 19yr in his situation.

That's actually one thing that made it easier for me to accept that we didn't draft him. I don't care about the dirty look he gave Habs management at the draft. I just think to play well in Montreal. You need a bit of a "Give no F's" attitude. With Slaf, I'm not saying he's arrogant. But he has shown that he can handle the backlash.

 

[le_sean]

It seems like the breathing and conditioning training he did in the summer really worked. Obviously he’s not getting winded halfway through his shifts anymore, and last year he seemed to have a quite obvious drop in play in the 2nd game of a back-to-back. He looked phenomenal both of these last games.

 

[NobleSix]

Really impressed. He's been a damned beast

 

[bonneaug]

Seeing Slaf create plays out of pure physicality, it reminds me how unbelievably sad it is that we lost Dach for the season on game two. It’s a brand of hockey I’ve never really seen from the Habs in all my life — always the budget, small & somewhat skilled forwards. They’re no Ovi, but it’s about time we had a couple of wild bulls ourselves!

 

[Rapala]

It seems like the breathing and conditioning training he did in the summer really worked. Obviously he’s not getting winded halfway through his shifts anymore, and last year he seemed to have a quite obvious drop in play in the 2nd game of a back-to-back. He looked phenomenal both of these last games.

It certainly did as did his vision work. His baptism in the NA style of game probably should have been in a different league last season. The good thing is he was able to identify two areas he really struggled with and obviously worked very hard at correcting them. There are a number of posters who scoffed at the concept of working on breathing to help performance despite it being a staple for many top end athletes in all walks of sport. The eye stimulus to help reaction time and peripheral vision was just as important. The numbers that were cited in terms of gains in pure stamina and expendable energy were off the charts. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if other players follow suite. I would probably be mandating it for certain players if I was management.
LOL we could put the unbelievers to bed if it worked for Gallagher.

 

[ReHabs]

Seeing Slaf create plays out of pure physicality, it reminds me how unbelievably sad it is that we lost Dach for the season on game two. It’s a brand of hockey I’ve never really seen from the Habs in all my life — always the budget, small & somewhat skilled forwards. They’re no Ovi, but it’s about time we had a couple of wild bulls ourselves!

Well this is the big Slaf Proposition, after all.

His size and reach makes him stand out every time he’s on the ice, and the aforementioned improvements to stamina and awareness have him stand out on the ice in a good way and for longer.

Get to the net/get the puck to the net and good things happen. Slaf is living this right now. It’s good to see the points caught up with his overall good play. You don’t need to dipsy dangle when you can barge into the slot, protect the puck, and make room like a bulldozer. I didn’t figure this would be a successful playstyle (and maybe it ain’t against better teams) but if there’s any player on our team who can do it, it is Slaf.

 

[muzion]

Still on a high after he scored his goal, during the next sequence, he completely trounced a d-man in the corner, Strubble style. He's had many opportunities to destroy guys, and once he gets more comfortable with his ability to respond, guys in the league are going to be ****ting their pants when he comes on the forecheck.

 

[Heffyhoof]

I asked Slaf in this thread earlier to score a couple of points in the b2b, didn't expect a 4 point performance. He's learning to score net front goals which is awesome, hopefully his shot can be improved to add to his skill-set, because at this point he's basically improved in every other facet of the game.

Also, is it just me or is Slaf the fastest player on his line by a noticeable amount? I don't mean for his size.

 

[japhi]

He's been improving week over week from game one. Nice to see the offense coming, what's crazy is how solid he looks in the D zone, total monster on the boards,

 

[japhi]

Get to the net/get the puck to the net and good things happen. Slaf is living this right now. It’s good to see the points caught up with his overall good play. You don’t need to dipsy dangle when you can barge into the slot, protect the puck, and make room like a bulldozer. I didn’t figure this would be a successful playstyle

lol, ya this style of play has never worked!

 

[ReHabs]

lol, ya this style of play has never worked!

Why did you cut off the rest of the sentence? I said nothing but good things, there is no need to spin it into a negative.

If bulldozing to the front of the net worked all the time more teams would be doing it all the time.

Why wouldn’t teams focus on driving the puck into the slot? The reason why it doesn’t work all the time is (1) better, stronger defenders than those on the worst team in the league can making it punishing for an attacker attempting this, (2) relentless punishment is a deterrence and even powerful forwards end up picking their opportunities, and (3) you need an outside threat if all your plays funnel into the dense centre anyway.

Slafkovsky is big and powerful enough to shatter a collapsing defensive shell. He won’t do it every shift, obviously, and driving the puck into the slot won’t work all the time, obviously, but if he can pick his spots and remain a threat he would open up so much space for his skilled line partners. So you’re threat from the chaos in the slot and you open up space for the perimeter players. It’s a difference maker. This is what we need from a 1OA — a player who makes an outsized impact when he’s on the ice. It remains to be confirmed if Slaf has it in him to make the most of his shifts when the drive to the slot is less effective.

This is in my opinion the best case scenario for Slafkovsky as I know him. Leans on his strengths and avoids his weaknesses. Earlier in his NHL career he was doing the opposite and not surprisingly it was not effective.