Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Rapala]

Gotta hope Slaf's career arc doesn't look like LeClair, this fan base would have a meltdown if Slaf takes until his D+7 year to hit double digit goals lol

LeClair didn't even hit NHL until D+6 (10 games in his D+5), and in that rookie season, produced at a similar rate of Slaf's "bad" D+1 year.

LeClair is a great reminder that patience can and does pay off in some cases... and of the major blunder it can be to cut the cord too soon on players with the rare package of size/skating/skill attributes that he, and Slaf, have.

Some of us understood and loved LeClair from day one. I still get angry thinking about that trade.

 

[salbutera]

Draft is a crapshoot, development is not. Bobrov has been equally bad at drafting or Gorton has been horrible at developing.

Define development?

Habs had the greatest development guru of all time in Claude Ruel, but he couldn’t turn 1st round picks like Lindsay Vallis, Brad Brown, Turner Stevenson, Alfie Turcotte etc. into regular NHLers let alone 1st liners / 1st pairing they were drafted to be.

Now if development is fine tuning, yeah sure there are details that definitely can be tweaked to get that extra 1/10 of a second improvement for example.

 

[Mrb1p]

Define development?

Habs had the greatest development guru of all time in Claude Ruel, but he couldn’t turn 1st round picks like Lindsay Vallis, Brad Brown, Turner Stevenson, Alfie Turcotte etc. into regular NHLers let alone 1st liners / 1st pairing they were drafted to be.

Now if development is fine tuning, yeah sure there are details that definitely can be tweaked to get that extra 1/10 of a second improvement for example.

Maybe coach wasnt that great

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

If he played with Lindros he might be. Seriously. Rob Brown put up 49 goals with Mario Lemieux.

If we had a superstar center then Slaf’s odds of success would go way up.

Leclair was a 20 goal 45 point player with us. With Lindros he becomes a 50 goal guy instantly.

He was playing mostly 3rd line minutes with Montreal. It's not just Lindros.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Gotta hope Slaf's career arc doesn't look like LeClair, this fan base would have a meltdown if Slaf takes until his D+7 year to hit double digit goals lol

LeClair didn't even hit NHL until D+6 (10 games in his D+5), and in that rookie season, produced at a similar rate of Slaf's "bad" D+1 year.

LeClair is a great reminder that patience can and does pay off in some cases... and of the major blunder it can be to cut the cord too soon on players with the rare package of size/skating/skill attributes that he, and Slaf, have.

Other examples of patience pating off: Neely and Thornton.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Maybe coach wasnt that great

Claude Ruel is greatly responsible for wrecking Doug Wickenheiser’s career so I’m not a big fan of his.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

He was playing mostly 3rd line minutes with Montreal. It's not just Lindros.

Okay.

It’s mostly Lindros. :laugh;

 

[BaseballCoach]

Gotta hope Slaf's career arc doesn't look like LeClair, this fan base would have a meltdown if Slaf takes until his D+7 year to hit double digit goals lol

LeClair didn't even hit NHL until D+6 (10 games in his D+5), and in that rookie season, produced at a similar rate of Slaf's "bad" D+1 year.

LeClair is a great reminder that patience can and does pay off in some cases... and of the major blunder it can be to cut the cord too soon on players with the rare package of size/skating/skill attributes that he, and Slaf, have.

His second year in the NHL, he scored 19.

Of course, playing 4 years in the NCAA will delay all achievements compred to draft year.

By the way, @Lafleurs Guy , I was around when John broke in, and he did look special from day one with his size and speed. Just took him a while to be more coordinated on the ice.

By the way, Leclair was a great player in his own right. Even the year Lindros missed 30 games, John scored 50 goals and 97 points.

 

[salbutera]

Claude Ruel is greatly responsible for wrecking Doug Wickenheiser’s career so I’m not a big fan of his.

So what how did Lapointe, Savard, Lemaire, Robinson, Gainey (Ruel told Pollock he’d quit if Habs didn’t draft him) etc. all magically work?

 

[Miller Time]

His second year in the NHL, he scored 19.

Of course, playing 4 years in the NCAA will delay all achievements compred to draft year.

By the way, @Lafleurs Guy , I was around when John brokein, and he did look special from day one with his size and speed. Just took him a while to be more coordinated on the ice.

By the way, Leclair was a great player in his own right. Even the year Lindros missed 30 games, John scored 50 goals and 97 points.

Yup... 2nd NHL season, at 23years old.

Will be interesting to see how many goals Slaf scores in his 23 year old season... 5 years from now

 

[Andrei79]

Start him in the NHL with Monahan and Dach, if it's clear he's bringing the line down drop him to the AHL. No point in having him play more minutes on the 3rd or 4th line

I'd love to see that line. He would definitely be put in a position to succeed.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

His second year in the NHL, he scored 19.

Of course, playing 4 years in the NCAA will delay all achievements compred to draft year.

By the way, @Lafleurs Guy , I was around when John brokein, and he did look special from day one with his size and speed. Just took him a while to be more coordinated on the ice.

By the way, Leclair was a great player in his own right. Even the year Lindros missed 30 games, John scored 50 goals and 97 points.

But it took Lindros to get him there. He was not a special player before playing with him. That’s what superstars do, they make their teammates better.

Jagr talked about it when Lemieux returned. All of a sudden things were easier for everyone else.

And we haven’t had that kind of talent since Lafleur.

 

[Natey]

The subject was very clearly linked with Slafkovsky. It’s hilarious how upset you are.

Not upset at all, but thanks. *kisses*

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

So what how did Lapointe, Savard, Lemaire, Robinson, Gainey (Ruel told Pollock he’d quit if Habs didn’t draft him) etc. all magically work?

1. They had success under Bowman not Ruel.
2. Ruel didn’t actively try to sabotage those players like he did with Wick.

 

[salbutera]

1. They had success under Bowman not Ruel.
2. Ruel didn’t actively try to sabotage those players like he did with Wick.

Some would say Bowman tried to sabotage Lafleur on the 4th line and Ruel kept him going..

Ah yes….It’s always the coaches fault… why didn’t Wickenheiser pan out in STL?

Recall top-3 picks over last 20-years: 58% actually end up top line players, not 70% / 80% / 90%, and those odds were even worse 30, 40, 50 years ago

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Some would say Bowman tried to sabotage Lafleur on the 4th line and Ruel kept him going..

Those people would not know what they’re talking about.

Anyways this is sliding off topic.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Start him in the NHL with Monahan and Dach, if it's clear he's bringing the line down drop him to the AHL. No point in having him play more minutes on the 3rd or 4th line

It is ridiculous to think a 19 year old prospect cannot play 3rd line minutes in the NHL, that he'd be wasting his time.

These are professionals. If a kid is for example the 8th best forward on his team, some folks want to halt his progress and set back his development by sending him to battle against 6th-7th-8th liners just so some insecure fans can feel good about his point totals?

It's such an unrealistic take. Third line players have an important role. Last year, Monahan was at times our 3rd line center, and he may be again. But people want Slaf to go play with Simoneau and Maillet instead???

That is a far cry from being the 12th-13th-14th forward who skips games or is stapled to the bench repeatedly. In that case, if he is getting the 2022 Shane Wright treatment, then yes it makes sense to demote him to a level where he is not drowning. But to thank him for putting in the work to climb from 4th to 3rd line with a demotion and brutal 92% salary cut? Holy cluelessness!

Can you imagine any other team sending their third line players to the AHL??????????? This is insanity.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Yup... 2nd NHL season, at 23years old.

Will be interesting to see how many goals Slaf scores in his 23 year old season... 5 years from now

John wasted 4 years at University of Vermont. Perhaps he got an education out of it, but hockey-wise it hurt him, and it hurt the Montreal Canadiens. There is a good chance Leclair would not have been traded had he started younger and broken out by 1992 or 1993 instead of 1995. Or maybe if we DID trade him when he had more value, we might have been able to keep Desjardins at least.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Some would say Bowman tried to sabotage Lafleur on the 4th line and Ruel kept him going..

Lafleur was never on the 4th line.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

The thing is with Slaf , they already butchered his debuts.
He should have never been playing in the NHL last season. On top of that he should have went to the world cup during christmas like all other teams did with their top prospect.

This season we are between 2 worlds. You take a guess and if it flops again , you go the Kotkaniemi road or Lafreniere, or you go AHL and let him build confidence with an actual decent AHL team.

Our AHL team should be stacked this season , it would be a perfect opportunity for him and players like Mailloux or Roy to grow up together.

At this moment , Slaf is not a top 6 player and id rather put Newhook on the wing top 6 to give him some chance.

Caufield-Suzuki-Anderson
Newhook-Dach-Monahan

Would be actually good for now and if Monahan gets injured again or Slaf looks ready then you just move Newhook or Monahan away. We know that Monahan is gone at the TDL anyways

 

[BaseballCoach]

The thing is with Slaf , they already butchered his debuts.
He should have never been playing in the NHL last season. On top of that he should have went to the world cup during christmas like all other teams did with their top prospect.

This season we are between 2 worlds. You take a guess and if it flops again , you go the Kotkaniemi road or Lafreniere, or you go AHL and let him build confidence with an actual decent AHL team.

Slaf has confidence. It's some fans who are nervous and apprehensive.

Our AHL team should be stacked this season , it would be a perfect opportunity for him and players like Mailloux or Roy to grow up together.

At this moment , Slaf is not a top 6 player and id rather put Newhook on the wing top 6 to give him some chance.

Slaf is our 7th or 8th best forward, so technically a third line player, though our 2nd and 3rd lines might get similar ice time if they are pivoted by Dach and Monahan.

Two options:

Newhook-Suzuki-Caufield
Slafkovsky/RHP-Dach-Anderson
RHP/Slaf-Monahan-Gallagher
Pearson-Evans-Ylonen

Caufield-Suzuki-Anderson
Newhook-Dach-Monahan

Would be actually good for now and if Monahan gets injured again or Slaf looks ready then you just move Newhook or Monahan away. We know that Monahan is gone at the TDL anyways

No we don't know that for sure, not at all.

 

[River Meadow]

The thing is with Slaf , they already butchered his debuts.
He should have never been playing in the NHL last season. On top of that he should have went to the world cup during christmas like all other teams did with their top prospect.

This season we are between 2 worlds. You take a guess and if it flops again , you go the Kotkaniemi road or Lafreniere, or you go AHL and let him build confidence with an actual decent AHL team.

Our AHL team should be stacked this season , it would be a perfect opportunity for him and players like Mailloux or Roy to grow up together.

At this moment , Slaf is not a top 6 player and id rather put Newhook on the wing top 6 to give him some chance.

Caufield-Suzuki-Anderson
Newhook-Dach-Monahan

Would be actually good for now and if Monahan gets injured again or Slaf looks ready then you just move Newhook or Monahan away. We know that Monahan is gone at the TDL anyways

But Slafkovsky is our 'insert number here' best forward/player so we must play him in the NHL, because it's win now, duh!

 

[Scriptor]

It is ridiculous to think a 19 year old prospect cannot play 3rd line minutes in the NHL, that he'd be wasting his time.

These are professionals. If a kid is for example the 8th best forward on his team, some folks want to halt his progress and set back his development by sending him to battle against 6th-7th-8th liners just so some insecure fans can feel good about his point totals?

It's such an unrealistic take. Third line players have an important role. Last year, Monahan was our 3rd line center, and he may be again. But people want Slaf to go play with Simoneau and Maillet instead???

That is a far cry from being the 12th-13th-14th forward who skips games or is stapled to the bench repeatedly. In that case, if he is getting the 2022 Shane Wright treatment, then yes it makes sense to demote him to a level where he is not drowning. But to thank him for putting in the work to climb from 4th to 3rd line with a demotion and brutal 92% salary cut? Holy cluelessness!

Can you imagine any other team sending their third line players to the AHL??????????? This is insanity.

I'd like to point out that Monahan was not our 3rd line C but, rather, our 2nd line C last season. Where you get that he was our 3rd line C, I don't know. Monhan became the 2nd line C after Monahan was out for the season. There were a few experiments, but, overall, while healthy, Monahan was our 2nd line C.

Thankfully so, I might add.

If Montreal was desperately trying to make the playoffs this year, he would be again, IMO with Dach completing the Caufield - Suzuki duo the first line. Likely, Newhook and Anderson would be Monaghan's wingers.

Slafkovsky - Dvorak - RHP would likely form the 3rd line, or Slafkovsky - Dvorak- Heineman.

4th line would probably be something like Pearson - Evans - Gallagher

However, development, instead, is the guiding light again this season and Dach will Center a line of his own and Monahan will likely play mostly on the wing. Monahan will take crucial F/Os, whichever line he plays wing on (Suzuki or Dach's) because he is the best at F/Os on the team right now.

 

[BaseballCoach]

But Slafkovsky is our 'insert number here' best forward/player so we must play him in the NHL, because it's win now, duh!

The opposite. Slaf ought to continue developing at a good pace so he can contribute more in a year or two than if we move him backwards on the development curve.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Slaf has confidence. It's some fans who are nervous and apprehensive.



Slaf is our 7th or 8th best forward, so technically a third line player, though our 2nd and 3rd lines might get similar ice time if they are pivoted by Dach and Monahan.

Two options:

Newhook-Suzuki-Caufield
Slafkovsky/RHP-Dach-Anderson
RHP/Slaf-Monahan-Gallagher
Pearson-Evans-Ylonen





No we don't know that for sure, not at all.

It's great having confidence , but confidence doesnt make you immune to development and many things you gotta do in the NHL.

He has many aspect to improve to be a nhler , and being in the AHL is a better option at this point.

Nothing wrong playing top minutes in the AHL for some times.