those poster are not fans, they are haters just out to start a line brawl
He seems to be working on deviation in front of the net and shooting around players. The weird part is trying to understand if he was aiming at the 2nd or 3rd net...
He can’t be the only “big” player on his line or he will always be targeted. We need another skilled giant imo
We also expected 40 goals from Caufield this year. Sometime we set our expectations a bit high.
It's surprisingly still somewhat within reach. He'd need 23 goals in 32 games which is a 59 goal pace, he's got 6 in his last 9 which is a 55 goal pace. And has had streaks of 30ish games where he's been close to that pace, for example when MSL was first hired he had 22 in 37, to start last year he had 19 in 32. He most likely falls short, but I could see him getting close enough to make it interesting.
He should've hit 40. The underlying numbers were there. At one point midyear his shooting percentage was under 7... that's just not normal.
No goals in his last two make it very difficult (it was already going to be difficult.) A shame.
But 30-35 is still very good and in line with his salary, plus he's a better all around hockey player than he was.
30 is good for a young player like that. But... he scored 48 in his first 82 under MSL. And with his metrics, I had expected him to be 40+. It's a disappointing year from that perspective. But to be fair to him, he was coming off shoulder surgery. Maybe that had an effect.
Absolutely agree............HuGo told us as much when the kid was drafted.
One thing I will counter with in regards to this is you can’t learn to play hockey at a professional level at 18+. Obviously this doesn’t apply to Slafkovsky at all but there is a lot of skill required to make it. If being hungry, work ethic, and personality got you by in sports, there’d be a lot more guys making it over players who currently play in the NHL now. If you get a draft like 2022 where it’s tight between a handful of players, I go with your philosophy like HuGo did. But there are a lot of cases where I’d take talent over the character unless there‘a signs of serious flaws i.e Pierre Luc Dubois.
If Slaf keeps going at the current projected development trajectory he might have 20+ goals this season.
His goal numbers over the past 21 are bigly boosted by his two goal game. I’d say it’s unlikely but not impossible.
In Slafkovsky's case, the talent was there, only it was in a raw state that wasn't NHL-ready, kinda' like drafting a 16-year old. He looked overwhelmed at first because he probably was. Many kids wilt or lose confidence when thrown in before they're ready. This kid obviously thrives on challenges and likely possesses an unshakeable self-confidence. He struggled, but instead of losing steam he doubled down on improving. Impressive.
Yeah we definitely couldn't see it...but the coaching staff and management has hinted at it quite a bit, for those who choose to listen to their message, this isn't shocking.
Yes but I was referring specifically to them driving home the point of how mentally mature he was, this was something they repeated consistently when they were questioned on why they brought him over to North America instead of letting him play in Europe an additional year or whenever they were questioned on why he wasn't in Laval.
For all his great physical attributes, his superpower might actually be his coachability. Kid is so willing to learn and it’s paying off in a big way.
I love the much shorter windups. His full musket reloading wrist shot doesn’t work in the pros.
