Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[morhilane]

He’s shown so much improvement but he’s got to work on that shot. Maybe it’s still timing? It’s looked pretty sad to be fair. Frankly I’d be happy if he just parked in front and banged in garbage.

A mix of little things that could be bundled into "timing", but are actually more than timing:
- not always in a good shooting position (feet) when receiving the puck to take a shot right away,
- pass first mentality can cause indecisiveness during the whole process
- he changed to a longer stick from a different manufacturer in November and might still getting used to it to shoot

I personally don't expect a big jump there until next season once he get to spend a lots of time on it during the off-season.

 

[Rapala]

You are the one who is 100% wrong that "everyone knows that the best place to put a player is where he will get the most minutes".

It is ALWAYS possible to put a player in a lower league and get him more minutes, so by this rule you totally invented on your own, hockey players would not graduate out of any league at all except an age-limited one.

It's completely and utterly false. I humbly suggest you go back and re-read what you wrote.

What I don't get is how this is even relevant anymore?
People just want to be right.
The truth of the matter is Slaf always had the talent to succeed no matter where we decided to play him.
Very good players with natural abilities and attributes will always succeed unless they aren't putting the work in.
That was never going to be the case with Slaf.

 

[BaseballCoach]

The very first thing I notice when Slaf is out there on PP1 pucks aren't consistently going from his stick to behind our goal line.
Remember when Hoffman tried to play that spot. Unable to seal the wall or weak attempts at play making that backfired.
So we've got 3 guys now who rarely turn it over in Slaf Suzuki and Monahan.
Caufield is good when he isn't force fed the puck along the wall. Usually from Matheson in the zone and sometimes Suzuki entering the zone.
When he and Suzuki exchange down low it usually goes well and they generally have space to create.
The weak link is now Matheson with his decision making hesitation and sometimes poor shot selection.
Nothing pisses me off more than when we are controlling the play tiring the defenders and Matheson decides to take a low percentage shot.
When Barron is on he's better but I'm not sure he's ready to take on the PP1 role mentally.
All in all we've came a long way from when Gallagher and Anderson were getting PP1 time and it shows in the results.

Matheson is not the weak link. He' the 6th D-man in the league in PP points on a team without a single forward who has scored more than 6 and where only 3 forwards have more than 1 goal.

The weak link up to now has been Caufield with an abysmal shooting percentage, and earlier there was also Anderson doing zilch, before Slaf replaced him.

 

[LesCanadiens]

You guys are right. I just googled his draft card and he was 228lbs. Insane. So heaviest since Lindros.

A couple weeks ago, I purposely watched some Lindros highlight packages on YouTube to compare to Slaf. Different players besides the freakish man-size at 18 and that they're both excellent skaters with good hands, especially for their size. Lindros had a better shot, no doubt. But the main difference I saw is the mean-streak. Lindros had a very nasty mean streak and could go with any heavyweight.

 

[Bombshell11]

compared to last year, are proof of that. Hence why your question was/is perplexing.

i like Slaf on the first line too, not debating that.

3. I disagreed with your notion that Slafkovsky hasn't developed any skill simply because he played on the 3rd line for the first 50ish games of his NHL careeer.

Never said that, you're extrapolating


Any way, i think you just misunderstood what i said, case closed for me

 

[CHwest]

What skills do they develop playing third line minutes that would benefit a future dominant 1st liner? Do they learn how to shoot better? pass better? do zone entries better? deke better?

They learn to think the game faster.

 

[Rapala]

They should be using Guhle on that left point more. It almost seems to me that Burrows is at fault and Matheson is just following coaches instructions on keeping everything to the left for CC and Suzuki, but it's so predictable for the defenders. But the shot selection is 100% on him. He's better-off dumping it in a corner than taking some of the moronic shots he takes.

No it goes beyond that because he struggled to get the puck to Suzuki on that side when he played there as well. His passes were often telegraphed inaccurate and awkward looking. He definitely can't hit a no look to that side.

 

[Kennerback]

A mix of little things that could be bundled into "timing", but are actually more than timing:
- not always in a good shooting position (feet) when receiving the puck to take a shot right away,
- pass first mentality can cause indecisiveness during the whole process
- he changed to a longer stick from a different manufacturer in November and might still getting used to it to shoot

I personally don't expect a big jump there until next season once he get to spend a lots of time on it during the off-season.

He definitely has that pass first mentality to a fault. He’s a magnificent passer but he overpasses so much he makes me cry. He also has a visible windup on his wrist shot, the takeoff point is obvious and will never fool a goalie, plus he has tons of problems to adjust the release to get it through Ds and hit the net.

 

[Rapala]

Matheson is not the weak link. He' the 6th D-man in the league in PP points on a team without a single forward who has scored more than 6 and where only 3 forwards have more than 1 goal.

The weak link up to now has been Caufield with an abysmal shooting percentage, and earlier there was also Anderson doing zilch, before Slaf replaced him.

Then with the number of stupid plays he makes he should be leading the league. Have you considered how many teams use no Dmen.
Of course not.

 

[417]

i like Slaf on the first line too, not debating that.

Agreed but that's secondary to the point I was making.

The main point I was making was that a lot of what Slafkovsky learned playing on the 3rd line, he's applying now on the 1st line (board work, defensive work are two that come to mind immediately).

Never said that, you're extrapolating


Any way, i think you just misunderstood what i said, case closed for me

Granted, I inferred that with your statement but perhaps I did misunderstand. Apologies if that the case.

Cheers!

 

[BaseballCoach]

Then with the number of stupid plays he makes he should be leading the league. Have you considered how many teams use no Dmen.
Of course not.

Not that many teams use no defencemen. but for fun, some more facts:

More PP points than

Rasmus Dahlin​

Shea Theodore​

Brent Burnsd​

Chalie Macavoy​

Roman Josi​

Noah Dobson​

Moritz Seider​

​

I could go on. The ONLY 5 D with more PP points than our hometown boy are
Makar, Fox and Q. Hughes (no kidding), Hedman and Bouchard (who has McDavid and Draisaitl to play with).

 

[Rapala]

Not that many teams use no defencemen. but for fun, some more facts:

More PP points than

Rasmus Dahlin​

Shea Theodore​

Brent Burnsd​

Chalie Macavoy​

Roman Josi​

Noah Dobson​

Moritz Seider​

​

I could go on. The ONLY 5 D with more PP points than our hometown boy are
Makar, Fox and Q. Hughes (no kidding), Hedman and Bouchard (who has McDavid and Draisaitl to play with).

So we are supposed to overlook his obvious faults. Ask yourself on how many other teams would Matheson quarterback the PP.

 

[BaseballCoach]

What skills do they develop playing third line minutes that would benefit a future dominant 1st liner? Do they learn how to shoot better? pass better? do zone entries better? deke better?

As @CHwest said, they learn to read the play faster.

That makes sense. Third line players (playing in the NHL) generally play faster than 5th and 6th line players (and worse) who are playing in the AHL.

It's why Armia can be a scoring machine in Laval and not do much in the NHL.

 

[Gustave]

Their pride is being hurt.
Unable to repent, pointing why pride is a deadly sin.

That's interesting; Pride goes both ways actually.

Pride is the opposite of humility, meaning in a sense that basking in glory (let's say being right and glowing into it) is just as capitally sinful as letting pride get in the way of someone refusing to repent, as you correctly pointed out.

In more common terms and example: the perfect circle of the sore losers and the sore winners, in very simplistic and general example. Both are the absolute epitome of being barren of humility.. and kinda deserve each other. Pride is the root of all evil, religiously (all of them) speaking.

 

[BaseballCoach]

So we are supposed to overlook his obvious faults. Ask yourself on how many other teams would Matheson quarterback the PP.

Matheson has faults and I quite readily admit he is not as good as Makar, Fox, Q Hughes and Hedman. Bouchard may be in the right place at right time.

I think the issue might be that while we see his flaws, we assume his qualities are normal. But his qualities are actually superior to many QBs. The results don't lie.

 

[NORiculous]

A couple weeks ago, I purposely watched some Lindros highlight packages on YouTube to compare to Slaf. Different players besides the freakish man-size at 18 and that they're both excellent skaters with good hands, especially for their size. Lindros had a better shot, no doubt. But the main difference I saw is the mean-streak. Lindros had a very nasty mean streak and could go with any heavyweight.

They (Lindros and LeClaire) were heavy, mean and skilled.

 

[japhi]

What a great game last night. Not surprised he is breaking out, am on record on what I was seeing as early as last year. Am a bit shocked he is this good defensively - broke up multiple plays including good board work that led to a goal. On the boards in his own end his is slick, gets position, quick puck up ice. Looking like a very good player in transition.

Feel bad for the guys stat watching and not watching the games, I can't remember watching a Habs prospect develop like this in real time, quite something to watch if you like the interplay and the details of the game.

Now if he can only get his shooting game buttoned up he will be a legit NHL top line power forward by year end. Might take a summer or two to pull it all together.

 

[Rapala]

But his qualities are actually superior to many QBs.

Sorry but no they aren't.
Like I said on how many other teams right now would he actually get PP1 minutes.
I'll answer for you since you ignored the point...
Not more than a few.

 

[Guess]

Exactly.

I think the issue is some fans see guys like Cooley who are flashy in terms of style and feel like it's easier to project their future, as opposed to Slaf whose game is based on strength and understanding of the game.

It's like how folks just couldn't appreciate how good Danault was during his time here because all his points came from simple passing plays and continuing an offensive zone cycle. It's boring, but it's effective.

He's not just more flashy, he has more offensive skill as well, higher IQ and better vision. I don't think Slaf has shown an elite offense even before his draft year, although please correct me if I'm wrong.


Slafkovsky's attributes can definitely make him more productive and valuable in the long run though, no doubt about it.

 

[BenchBrawl]

I'll go further than everyone else here, and claim that not only does Slafkovsky possess exceptional all-around play for his age, be it physical or defense, but that he will become a 100 pts scorer, dominating defenders one-on-one like with that beautiful goal he scored for Slovakia in 2022.

The rest clicked, THIS will click too.

Slafkovsky WILL become a Jagr-like player.

This is my prediction.

 

[dauv]

He's certainly the heaviest. Even Lindros, as imposing as he was, wasn't over 200lbs at the time of the draft. Slafkovsky was 230lbs.

I'm sorry but I'm pretty sure Eric Lindros was 6'4'' - 225 during his draft year (I could be wrong but I don't think so). Lindros was a freaking beast/monster

 

[Andy]

He's not just more flashy, he has more offensive skill as well. I don't think Slaf has shown an elite offense even befit his draft year, although please correct me if I'm wrong.


Slafkovsky's attributes can definitely make him more productive and valuable in the long run thin, no doubt about it.

The perceived "elite offense" that Cooley displays is a function of how flashy he is as player. You are kind of proving my point in way.

People think/perceive Cooley as having higher offensive potential because he does the flashy wow stuff that looks easy to project: dangles, great edge work, fast skating, east-west movement.

Slaf's offensive skill is much more subtle and it's based on using his size to create time and space, and then his understanding of the game to generate offense in that increased time and space. It's not a sexy game at all.

Despite the superior flash, I do not think Cooley has a superior understanding of the game than Slaf does. For me, offensive talent is more about being able to understand and anticipate the game, than having flashy offensive skill.

Look at a guy like Tavares who can barely skate to keep up. Dude is always near PPG because he just has such a fantastic understanding of the game. Even if he can't beat defenders, he just knows how to make quick decisions in tight.

 

[BenchBrawl]

I'll go further than everyone else here, and claim that not only does Slafkovsky possess exceptional all-around play for his age, be it physical or defense, but that he will become a 100 pts scorer, dominating defenders one-on-one like with that beautiful goal he scored for Slovakia in 2022.

The rest clicked, THIS will click too.

Slafkovsky WILL become a Jagr-like player.

This is my prediction.

We have no idea what kind of beast we have on our hands, so used to disappointment our fanbase has been.

 

[Andy]

We have no idea what kind of beast we have on our hands, so used to disappointment our fanbase has been.

Did you just respond to yourself?

 

[Guess]

The perceived "elite offense" that Cooley displays is a function of how flashy he is as player. You are kind of proving my point in way.

People think/perceive Cooley as having higher offensive potential because he does the flashy wow stuff that looks easy to project: dangles, great edge work, fast skating, east-west movement.

Slaf's offensive skill is much more subtle and it's based on using his size to create time and space, and then his understanding of the game to generate offense in that increased time and space. It's not a sexy game at all.

Despite the superior flash, I do not think Cooley has a superior understanding of the game than Slaf does. For me, offensive talent is more about being able to understand and anticipate the game, then having flashy offensive skill.

Look at a guy like Tavares who can barely skate to keep up. Dude is always near PPG because he just has such a fantastic understanding of the game. Even if he can't beat defenders, he just knows how to make quick decisions in tight.

Nice post, I haven't watched Cooley all that well but I'll keep what you said in mind next time I see him. That about anticipation and understanding, I figured Cooley would be superior to Slaf based on his pedigree (and Slaf's Liiga play) . Hope you're right!