Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Adam Michaels]

Slaf now has as many points as PLD.

And Slaf now at 10 pts in his last 18. Good to see that the production is now catching up to the way he's been playing.

 

[Jaaanosik]

He's been very good lately and it's awesome to see the production starting to come. Can't wait to see him gain a bit more strength so he can impose himself more physically than he is now. He's showing shades of what he will be capable of with his frame.

The opposition falls as decorations, candies and dry pine needles from a Christmas tree.
Even Cravier 6'8" - that was a nice hit.

 

[nhlfan9191]

We are seeing some very nice improvements............development is moving along nicely.

Great to see..........the kid is going to be a good one!! You can see it in almost every game.

This guy scared the crap out of me. The first year and a bit had me convinced we messed up the pick and did him no favours with development. I’ve never seen a 1st overall show not even glimpses of the player he was suppose to be over a period of time that long regardless of age. He’s figuring it out now and it’s relieving. I’ve been super hard on him when it comes to production but it seems that’s starting to come too. It’s nice to exhale.

 

[Andy]

Slaf now has as many points as PLD.

And Slaf now at 10 pts in his last 18. Good to see that the production is now catching up to the way he's been playing.

His point production was heavily affected by Anderson’s slump. Even Newhook produced when separated from Anderson. If not for that stretch, Slaf would have close to 20 points this year, I am sure of it.

 

[Cournoyer12]

A little optimistic to expect Slafkovsky to become another Pete Mahovlich. Pete was an unstoppable machine whose impact in his prime was like Evgeni Malkin.

I agree, however I do see a comparison, perhaps not with the same impact but hopefully forward moving. The Little M biggest influence was Fergy who convinced him to be more assertive. I think maybe in Slafs case it might be Arber, I think Slaf will really look forward to having him back with the big club

 

[Adam Michaels]

His point production was heavily affected by Anderson’s slump. Even Newhook produced when separated from Anderson. If not for that stretch, Slaf would have close to 20 points this year, I am sure of it.

The fact Caufield was also in a goal scoring slump when it was Caufield - Dvorak - Slaf for a number of games. Because Slaf had set Caufield up for a lot of opportunities, that under normal circumstances, Cole would score those.

So if Slaf had the Anderson of the last two weeks, he'd have more points. And if Cole was scoring as much as he did before, he'd have even more.

But despite all that, the way he was playing was going to end up in actual production. And now that production has started to come.

 

[V13]

Leclair completely exploded offensively when he was 25 (granted playing with Lindros and Renberg probably helped but still). His first full season with the Habs as a 22 years old he had 20pts in 60 games. At 19 he wasn't even in the NHL

So yeah sometimes these bigger guys tend to take a bit longer to blossom but when they do it's usually exponential. Patience is key. Otherwise if you give up on these guys when they are 18-19-20ish when they're still green and learning you may end up with another John Leclair situation.

For me Slaf reminds me a bit of John Leclair. His coming out in 1993 cup win and then the stupid trade. I'm super happy for Slaf and hope he keeps building his game.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Agreed, I think having both Suzuki and Caufield on the same line at 5v5 is not ideal even with Slaf as a winger.

Slaf - Dach - Caufield as 1st line
Newhook - Suzuki - xxx

I like those lines on paper and I prefer having Suzuki on a more two way oriented line, but it's a little premature to make that claim, given how effective the trio have been with Slaf.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

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.

It was 6"8 Krevier too, I was very impressed.

Slaf can make some big hits but he is also still on the receiving end a bit too much, can't wait for his real strength and balance to develop

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

For Slaf to have a 50 point ceiling with his size, skating and skill he’d have to be dumber than RJ Umberger’s face

 

[Pomee]

It's strange to see a player that looked lost and uncoordinated turning into a player that wants to be the man on every shift. Not to be a conspiracy theorist but things started turning around after he "hung out" with a friend in Montreal.

View attachment 789197

Petra Vlhova won World Cup Slalom race two days ago in Courchevel and beat Mikaela Shiffrin (which is huge), so maybe they had a bet:
You score goal every game, and I win all my races
These Slovaks...

 

[River Meadow]

It's funny to see everyone excited now that he's put a few points on the board, even the naysayers are coming around. When in reality he's been playing this well for the past month. No points or not.

Anyone could see this coming. Points were not needed for this affirmation imo.

well we were on his side the whole time really i swear, I just hate molson and his beer

(in all seriousness, no, he has looked terrible in many instances previous to this)

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

 

[SlafySZN]

 

[Redux91]

well we were on his side the whole time really i swear, I just hate molson and his beer

(in all seriousness, no, he has looked terrible in many instances previous to this)

Hey if the shoe fits!

 

[boxbox]

SLOVENSKO ! SLOVENSKO !

 

[Jaaanosik]

SLOVENSKO ! SLOVENSKO !

Heeeja heeeja heja Slovenskooo!

 

[boxbox]

Heeeja heeeja heja Slovenskooo!

so cringe and awesome at the same time

 

[Naslundforever]

I agree. I think Suzuki's first few strides may be quicker. But I'd give the edge to Slaf in top end speed.

We’ve seen 14 zip ip the ice too… I think he just choses not to Lol

I’ll say Slaf seems easily above average nhl speed and looks real confident. He’s cutting the ice real nice on rush coverage and his reach is huge. Isn’t that stuff tracked somehow with ai magic machines nowadays? I saw someone post top skater speeds this year which I don’t understand.

Suzuki is also good at using his mass to shield the puck and not freak out; good guy to emulate.

 

[Habs10Habs]

Slaf year 1

I picture more Kotkaniemi lol

 

[tnq]

Imagine if he has Anderson's skate skill

 

[Thebeastoftheeast]

For me Slaf reminds me a bit of John Leclair. His coming out in 1993 cup win and then the stupid trade. I'm super happy for Slaf and hope he keeps building his game. I'm getting old 1993 was so long ago lol. Some players games are more suited for the NHL rather than the AHL and Struble is a reminder of that. I remember when a young Chris Chelios played his first season in 1984 and was a big part of 1986 cup win. It's too early to make any comparisons for Struble but he does seem to have some offensive flair. Its been 30 years since we had some young kids to be excited about. As I type this Lane Hutson had a sick assist for 1st goal against Canada. Future is looking good if they keep developing.

I was fortunate enough to be in Fredericton during their 91-92 season and Leclair got sent down for a bit- Leclair was an absolute beast in the AHL during his time there.

 

[morhilane]

We’ve seen 14 zip ip the ice too… I think he just choses not to Lol

I’ll say Slaf seems easily above average nhl speed and looks real confident. He’s cutting the ice real nice on rush coverage and his reach is huge. Isn’t that stuff tracked somehow with ai magic machines nowadays? I saw someone post top skater speeds this year which I don’t understand.

Suzuki is also good at using his mass to shield the puck and not freak out; good guy to emulate.

It's tracked by NHL Edge tech and the data is available online: NHL EDGE Puck and Player Tracking Statistics - Home

 

[Naslundforever]

It's tracked by NHL Edge tech and the data is available online: NHL EDGE Puck and Player Tracking Statistics - Home

Cheers! Oh wow awesome that there’s a vid to explain the tech off the bat - fancy

 

[Naslundforever]

For fun

edit _ Juraj ahead of Newhook who clocked a 22.2mph