Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Forsead]

If he stays healthy, I see him finishing with 50 pts in his first 121 gp in the nhl.

To put into perspective, Pacioretty had 49 pts in his first 123 gp in the NHL (that comprised his breakout 2010-2011 season and AHL games). He was 2 years and 4 months older though.

Everything is on the table for Slaf IMO, just need to explode next season (and likely will).

Also, does someone remember a 19 year old winger with as much defensive instincts ? Maybe Havlat or Hossa playing for Jacques Martin, but I don't remember well ? I'm amazed by that side of Slaf game.

 

[LesCanadiens]

If he stays healthy, I see him finishing with 50 pts in his first 121 gp in the nhl.

To put into perspective, Pacioretty had 49 pts in his first 123 gp in the NHL (that comprised his breakout 2010-2011 season and AHL games). He was 2 years and 4 months older though.

Everything is on the table for Slaf IMO, just need to explode next season (and likely will).

Also, does someone remember a 19 year old winger with as much defensive instincts ? Maybe Havlat or Hossa playing for Jacques Martin, but I don't remember well ? I'm amazed by that side of Slaf game.

Totally. So impressed with everything, but this is an unexpected aspect of his game. As we always can forgive a 19 year old for starting off poor defensively. This kid is excellent and easily one of our best defensive forwards 5v5. Coaches dream.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Please... no. Newhook sucks at C. I would rather we get some C plug at TDL and put Newhook at wing.

With the dearth of resources we may not have a choice this year

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

If he stays healthy, I see him finishing with 50 pts in his first 121 gp in the nhl.

To put into perspective, Pacioretty had 49 pts in his first 123 gp in the NHL (that comprised his breakout 2010-2011 season and AHL games). He was 2 years and 4 months older though.

Everything is on the table for Slaf IMO, just need to explode next season (and likely will).

Also, does someone remember a 19 year old winger with as much defensive instincts ? Maybe Havlat or Hossa playing for Jacques Martin, but I don't remember well ? I'm amazed by that side of Slaf game.

No and i've been saying it since last year , the kid backchecks like a demon , and smartly , its one thing to hustle back but he's constantly in good position in the neutral zone to disrupt plays. Even a guy like Paciorrety wasn't this noticeable defensively for a winger. Especially not at this age. He's also marking his man really well at the point in his own zone , hard to get pucks through with a big guy like that hounding you at the blue line.

The kid is super competitive , will do whatever it takes to win , some guys see backchecking and effort on defense as a chore , not this guy , like a dog on a bone , he see's defense as something necessary to the game and loves hounding pucks and taking time and space away from people. Great attitude on the lad

 

[badfish]

I really wonder if they'll try Slafkovsky at center in a couple seasons. Some thoughts on this:

• Central Scouting originally had him listed as a center in his draft year
• He was asked by multiple teams in his draft year if he would play center (New Jersey and Vancouver for sure, but there were others)
• He apparently played center when he was younger (not uncommon for many NHLers)
• Has all the attributes you want in a number 1 center, including size, great playmaking, great defensive awareness, ability to work down low, etc.
• Apparently he's taken faceoffs already in his NHL career and is running 40-50% on win rate, I can't find anywhere that says how many faceoffs he's taken

What if Montreal was one of those teams who thought he might be a center down the line? Of course they would never, ever say this out loud because of the long time Montreal has gone without a number 1 center, and because of the failure of moving Drouin to center from wing. But remember, Suzuki played his first season often on the wing. I've always thought Suzuki's deployment might end up being closer to Giroux in the end, who played some years as a winger and some as a center. Having Slafkovsky / Dach down the middle would be a heck of a problem for most teams to manage.

 

[River Meadow]

This is sad af.

Poor Kings fans...

 

[LesCanadiens]

I really wonder if they'll try Slafkovsky at center in a couple seasons. Some thoughts on this:

• Central Scouting originally had him listed as a center in his draft year
• He was asked by multiple teams in his draft year if he would play center (New Jersey and Vancouver for sure, but there were others)
• He apparently played center when he was younger (not uncommon for many NHLers)
• Has all the attributes you want in a number 1 center, including size, great playmaking, great defensive awareness, ability to work down low, etc.
• Apparently he's taken faceoffs already in his NHL career and is running 40-50% on win rate, I can't find anywhere that says how many faceoffs he's taken

What if Montreal was one of those teams who thought he might be a center down the line? Of course they would never, ever say this out loud because of the long time Montreal has gone without a number 1 center, and because of the failure of moving Drouin to center from wing. But remember, Suzuki played his first season often on the wing. I've always thought Suzuki's deployment might end up being closer to Giroux in the end, who played some years as a winger and some as a center. Having Slafkovsky / Dach down the middle would be a heck of a problem for most teams to manage.

I've pondered the same thing. Here are his faceoff stats.

 

[Sorinth]

This is sad af.

Poor Kings fans...

I mean if it's funny/sad that the kings have that level of production from a player what does it say about us that Slaf is often considered one of our best players on the ice and how that same production is a sign he's well on his way to being a future 1st liner?

Also how much does it matter that PLD has spent most of his time at wing instead of his natural center position or that's he's mostly played 3rd line? Going to LA was always a bit of a strange fit given that they had Kopitar and Danault, and it seems like they gave him 9-10 games before pulling the plug on him which tells me there's a serious disconnect between the coach and the GM.

 

[Adam Michaels]

In his first 88 games, Slaf has 30 pts (11G, 19A).

Some recent 1st OA and 2nd OA picks:

Hughes: 37 pts (14G, 23A) in his first 88 GP
Lafreniere: 30 pts (19G, 11A) in his first 88 GP
Byfield: 32 pts (8G, 24A) in his fitst 88 GP
Kakko: 27 pts (12G, 15A) in his first 88 GP

There are plenty of examples of players taken in those spots that get producing almost right away. But they don't all come flying out the gate in terms of production.

 

[Habssince89]

Slaf as a C would be awesome, so I wouldn't be against the experiment, but he's progressing well at RW and I don't know if we need to add more difficulty and complication to his development path.

 

[SlafySZN]

Slaf as a C would be awesome, so I wouldn't be against the experiment, but he's progressing well at RW and I don't know if we need to add more difficulty and complication to his development path.

Not right now but in the futur. I 100% could see it.

 

[Sorinth]

In his first 88 games, Slaf has 30 pts (11G, 19A).

Some recent 1st OA and 2nd OA picks:

Hughes: 37 pts (14G, 23A) in his first 88 GP
Lafreniere: 30 pts (19G, 11A) in his first 88 GP
Byfield: 32 pts (8G, 24A) in his fitst 88 GP
Kakko: 27 pts (12G, 15A) in his first 88 GP

There are plenty of examples of players taken in those spots that get producing almost right away. But they don't all come flying out the gate in terms of production.

And you have Yakupov at 46 points, Galchenyuk at 49, Beniers came in pretty much on fire with 64 points in his first 88 and this year his 19 in 44 is a big reason why Seattle isn't where they were expected to be. Draisaitl started off as slow as Slaf with only 9 points in his rookie year (37 games then sent back to the CHL) and started to breakout the following year

The lesson we should take away from all this is that production at 18-19 really doesn't mean much at all, it's simply not a good predictor of future success.

 

[admiralcadillac]

In his first 88 games, Slaf has 30 pts (11G, 19A).

Some recent 1st OA and 2nd OA picks:

Hughes: 37 pts (14G, 23A) in his first 88 GP
Lafreniere: 30 pts (19G, 11A) in his first 88 GP
Byfield: 32 pts (8G, 24A) in his fitst 88 GP
Kakko: 27 pts (12G, 15A) in his first 88 GP

There are plenty of examples of players taken in those spots that get producing almost right away. But they don't all come flying out the gate in terms of production.

Three of those guys are not great. I hope for better.

And you have Yakupov at 46 points, Galchenyuk at 49, Beniers came in pretty much on fire with 64 points in his first 88 and this year his 19 in 44 is a big reason why Seattle isn't where they were expected to be. Draisaitl started off as slow as Slaf with only 9 points in his rookie year (37 games then sent back to the CHL) and started to breakout the following year

The lesson we should take away from all this is that production at 18-19 really doesn't mean much at all, it's simply not a good predictor of future success.

It absolutely is. If you produce at a high level immediately you will be a good player.

If your production is middling, you might also be a good player.

There really aren’t any examples of players with great first seasons who don’t go on to be good - Yakupov had an okay first campign.

 

[Mrb1p]

I really wonder if they'll try Slafkovsky at center in a couple seasons. Some thoughts on this:

• Central Scouting originally had him listed as a center in his draft year
• He was asked by multiple teams in his draft year if he would play center (New Jersey and Vancouver for sure, but there were others)
• He apparently played center when he was younger (not uncommon for many NHLers)
• Has all the attributes you want in a number 1 center, including size, great playmaking, great defensive awareness, ability to work down low, etc.
• Apparently he's taken faceoffs already in his NHL career and is running 40-50% on win rate, I can't find anywhere that says how many faceoffs he's taken

What if Montreal was one of those teams who thought he might be a center down the line? Of course they would never, ever say this out loud because of the long time Montreal has gone without a number 1 center, and because of the failure of moving Drouin to center from wing. But remember, Suzuki played his first season often on the wing. I've always thought Suzuki's deployment might end up being closer to Giroux in the end, who played some years as a winger and some as a center. Having Slafkovsky / Dach down the middle would be a heck of a problem for most teams to manage.à

We have Dach and Suzuki, why would we need Slaf to be a C ? Suzuki is at center for the rest of his career, there's no question about this. He's part of the elite at center now and people really, really need to stop undervaluing him lol.

He's won 11 of 26 draws so far in his career.

And you have Yakupov at 46 points, Galchenyuk at 49, Beniers came in pretty much on fire with 64 points in his first 88 and this year his 19 in 44 is a big reason why Seattle isn't where they were expected to be. Draisaitl started off as slow as Slaf with only 9 points in his rookie year (37 games then sent back to the CHL) and started to breakout the following year

The lesson we should take away from all this is that production at 18-19 really doesn't mean much at all, it's simply not a good predictor of future success.

Its actually a pretty good predictor, all these players are in some capacity, NHL regulars, top 6/9 forwards and none of them are stars /a select few.

It is not an indicator of being elite, but it is an indicator of being an above average NHL player.

 

[Miller Time]

And you have Yakupov at 46 points, Galchenyuk at 49, Beniers came in pretty much on fire with 64 points in his first 88 and this year his 19 in 44 is a big reason why Seattle isn't where they were expected to be. Draisaitl started off as slow as Slaf with only 9 points in his rookie year (37 games then sent back to the CHL) and started to breakout the following year

The lesson we should take away from all this is that production at 18-19 really doesn't mean much at all, it's simply not a good predictor of future success.

Well said.

Especially production viewed narrowly from the stat line pov, with zero consideration for the roster/coaching context.... Which is what most fans inevitably go off on

 

[Sorinth]

Three of those guys are not great. I hope for better.



It absolutely is. If you produce at a high level immediately you will be a good player.

If your production is middling, you might also be a good player.

There really aren’t any examples of players with great first seasons who don’t go on to be good - Yakupov had an okay first campign.

Joe Juneau had 102 point rookie season but wasn't a star player. And I guess it depends on your definition of great, Yakupov was pacing 29 goals 53 points which I would consider much closer to great then okay.

Its actually a pretty good predictor, all these players are in some capacity, NHL regulars, top 6/9 forwards and none of them are stars /a select few.

It is not an indicator of being elite, but it is an indicator of being an above average NHL player.

Yakupov and Galchenyuk are above average NHL players now?

 

[Mrb1p]

Joe Juneau had 102 point rookie season but wasn't a star player. And I guess it depends on your definition of great, Yakupov was pacing 29 goals 53 points which I would consider much closer to great then okay.

Yakupov and Galchenyuk are above average NHL players now?

Galchenyuk was for about 6 seasons.

 

[badfish]

We have Dach and Suzuki, why would we need Slaf to be a C ? Suzuki is at center for the rest of his career, there's no question about this. He's part of the elite at center now and people really, really need to stop undervaluing him lol.

He's won 11 of 26 draws so far in his career.

Trust me this is not coming from a place of undervaluing Suzuki, hes a fantastic player. But I have to wonder if he'd be an even better right winger than a centerman.

I gave the Giroux comparison on purpose. Giroux was a fantastic number-1 center, but I'd argue if he played his entire career as a right winger he'd be regarded even higher as a player. Giroux switched from center to winger right in the middle of his prime when he was 29-years old. His last three years as a center he was a 0.82 ppg player (essentially what Suzuki is right now). But in in the next 3 years as a right-winger his production increased by 25%, including his best season in the NHL production wise.

Switching Giroux to winger made other parts of the team better. Couturier was moved up to the top line center. Up until that point, Couturier was essentially a 30-40 point per season player. He exploded with Giroux on his wing, turning into a 75 point center the next 3 years before running into injury bug.

A team with Slaf and Dach down the middle, if they turn out to be good centers, and Suzuki on the wing looks like the LA Kings of the 2010s, which were some of the best playoff teams I have saw in my lifetime. Big talented two-way center with size (Kopitar 6'3 225 /Slaf 6'4 235), big skillful center with size (Carter 6'3 220/Dach 6'4 220), and an elite skilled and gritty two-way rightwing playoff performer (Justin Williams 6'1 184 RH RW /Nick Suzuki 5'11 212 RH RW). Look around the NHL, I don't think there's a single team 3 years from now who would have top-2 centers both with that kind of size. If it worked it would be a clear competitive advantage.

 

[Kennerback]

He’s improved his offence. But I hope he puts in a huge offseason to work on his shot release. Get completely rid of the long classic wrist shot windup, get it off quick in traffic, changing the angle of the blade, etc… I like what I see but if he can get this tidied up it would take him to a completely different level.

 

[Egresch]

The best thing about Slaf is that people see there is still a lot of space for improvement. They finally realize that his attitude, willingness to learn and work ethic are elite. If you combine those, you can expect there is high probability he will keep improving and that is very intriguing.

 

[BLONG7]

The best thing about Slaf is that people see there is still a lot of space for improvement. They finally realize that his attitude, willingness to learn and work ethic are elite. If you combine those, you can expect there is high probability he will keep improving and that is very intriguing.

The kid has been terrific the last 15-20 games, and is improving each outing............great to see.

 

[le_sean]

Trust me this is not coming from a place of undervaluing Suzuki, hes a fantastic player. But I have to wonder if he'd be an even better right winger than a centerman.

I gave the Giroux comparison on purpose. Giroux was a fantastic number-1 center, but I'd argue if he played his entire career as a right winger he'd be regarded even higher as a player. Giroux switched from center to winger right in the middle of his prime when he was 29-years old. His last three years as a center he was a 0.82 ppg player (essentially what Suzuki is right now). But in in the next 3 years as a right-winger his production increased by 25%, including his best season in the NHL production wise.

Switching Giroux to winger made other parts of the team better. Couturier was moved up to the top line center. Up until that point, Couturier was essentially a 30-40 point per season player. He exploded with Giroux on his wing, turning into a 75 point center the next 3 years before running into injury bug.

A team with Slaf and Dach down the middle, if they turn out to be good centers, and Suzuki on the wing looks like the LA Kings of the 2010s, which were some of the best playoff teams I have saw in my lifetime. Big talented two-way center with size (Kopitar 6'3 225 /Slaf 6'4 235), big skillful center with size (Carter 6'3 220/Dach 6'4 220), and an elite skilled and gritty two-way rightwing playoff performer (Justin Williams 6'1 184 RH RW /Nick Suzuki 5'11 212 RH RW). Look around the NHL, I don't think there's a single team 3 years from now who would have top-2 centers both with that kind of size. If it worked it would be a clear competitive advantage.

Oof. Putting Suzuki on the wing is akin to those that wanted to turn Subban into a forward. By most metrics Suzuki has become one of the best defensive forwards in the league. He’s easily the Habs best centre since Koivu.

The point on Giroux makes no sense. What exactly did the Flyers ever accomplish? You mention the Kings, Mike Richards (all 5’11 of him) was their 2C in the first Cup run. They were huge on the wings with guys like Brown, Penner, King, Nolan, Clifford.

I mean we literally just watched Suzuki drag a mediocre team to the Finals as the 1C. He outplayed Matthews, PLD, Karlsson.

 

[Lshap]

The best thing about Slaf is that people see there is still a lot of space for improvement. They finally realize that his attitude, willingness to learn and work ethic are elite. If you combine those, you can expect there is high probability he will keep improving and that is very intriguing.

Agree 100%. That was the mystery with Slafkovsky – there was no way to see his level of compete and work ethic from my TV. I watched him struggle at first and had no idea what was going on in his head, in practice, between him and the coaches. Luckily, he's looking more and more like a kid who's determined to succeed. A great example of the value of character.

 

[waitin425]

Galchenyuk was for about 6 seasons.

If average is middle, Chucky was never above the middle. He had potential that was never realized. Probably because he was our version of the scarecrow.

 

[Mrb1p]

If average is middle, Chucky was never above the middle. He had potential that was never realized. Probably because he was our version of the scarecrow.

View attachment 813074

Galchenyuk scored 30 goals, to not call him above average is completely asinine. For his first 7 seasons he was at worst a 3rd liner and at best a 2nd liner, thats above average.