Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Habs 4 Life]

Year 2 started out like WTF, why us again drafting another bust.... To the past 2 months WOW, finally a big strong skilled player that is playing a decent 200 foot game. I'm very happy and exited for the following years!!!

 

[BaseballCoach]

Year 2 started out like WTF, why us again drafting another bust.... To the past 2 months WOW, finally a big strong skilled player that is playing a decent 200 foot game. I'm very happy and exited for the following years!!!

No, not to many observers, and not to Martin St. Louis. The very first time MSL put him with Suzuki and Caufield, the coach said the kid "earned it".

 

[themilosh]

No shame in preferring Nemec and Wright, i did too, there's no way for us to know Wright is a complete nutsack (I think) without interviews and what not, I did raise the possibility in January 2022 but evidently, cannot go against talent.

It occured to me too, never liked his interviews much - always seemed fake. But I was still stuck in the we need a 1C and this guy was "supposed" to be the next Tavares... Wright may turn out to have a decent career, but I would feel sick seeing Slaf on the Devils (which is where hed be) right now. we haven't had such a specimen since Big John Leclair and boy he was fun to watch.

 

[Jack Skellington]

Sometimes reminds me of Barkov oddly

 

[waitin425]

I know some of you have seen this video already. First time I have watched it. Two things that struck me....

1) The things they said about Slaf, all seem to be coming true. It's like they knew what they were talking about.

2) So much goes into the scouting of each player and where they land on the grid. Seeing this, makes me truly laugh at those keyboard warriors who think they can do better. Doubling, even tripling down on their absurd anti-Slaf takes.

 

[Habssince89]

The development environment for Slaf has been excellent. I think he has very good former NHLers around him. Lecavalier surely has connected with him as a big forward with a ton of pressure on him. People like Dr Shot coming in is exactly what was lacking from the past regimes.

Whichever poster here said that Slaf is more like a high level athlete who happens to play hockey as opposed to a hockey player is right on the money. Slafkovsky is the new NHL and the Habs are lucky to have him. We talk a lot about how rare slaf's physical gifts are and it is true, but I can't help but think there's just going to be more and more players like that, so good that we get one now and we're not chasing the league for once.

The only thing that is a blow to his development this season has been Dach being out. But in spite of that he's thriving and he's earning every point. Could be the biggest (non-goalie) star we've had since PK.

 

[BaseballCoach]

It occured to me too, never liked his interviews much - always seemed fake. But I was still stuck in the we need a 1C and this guy was "supposed" to be the next Tavares... Wright may turn out to have a decent career, but I would feel sick seeing Slaf on the Devils (which is where hed be) right now. we haven't had such a specimen since Big John Leclair and boy he was fun to watch.

Slaf might finish with about as many goals this year at 19/20 as Leclair had at his peak with us at ages 23/24 and 24/25.

At 19/20, Leclair wad playing for Vermont in a weak league and scored 21 points in 18 games.

 

[Kennerback]

No shame in preferring Nemec and Wright, i did too, there's no way for us to know Wright is a complete nutsack (I think) without interviews and what not, I did raise the possibility in January 2022 but evidently, cannot go against talent. It is still very much in the air on who's going to be better out of the 10ish top players in 2022. Funny thing though is I thought Slaf had the highest ceiling, not so sure this is true anymore, but I do think he had the highest floor all along.

People need to chill tho, he's shooting at 23% since mid december, that's gonna go down quick.

He had a bad shooting percentage, now he’s back up at a nice high normal of 12.7%. He can’t realistically shoot better. He can only shoot at a higher volume to improve.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Sometimes reminds me of Barkov oddly

He can have the same production for sure, if he continue like that. Looks at his abilities, he have abilities to become a star player with a high offensive production. Look at his pass on PP, the assist to Suzuki, that's a elite playmaker who can do that. He have such a great passing ability to put 40-50 maybe more per year. His scoring ability will looks better in few years, he show some flash of a elite goalscorer aswell. Looks at his 2 goals against Capitals and his goal against Dallas. This a 30-35 goalscorer player who can do goals like that.

He is already good two-way player at 19 years old, in few years, he will see a complete great two-way player with all his qualities like forechecking, his protection of puck.

We have a beauty in coming, for sure!!

 

[Walksss]

Yeah i can see a 90 point player here in his prime. He scores goalscorer goals already and his passing is near-elite, he just needs to put a full season of consistency together and he's gonna be a monster.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Yeah i can see a 90 point player here in his prime. He scores goalscorer goals already and his passing is near-elite, he just needs to put a full season of consistency together and he's gonna be a monster.

Yes!

His tools are too good to don't produce like that. He is already equal even better than Suzuki in passing on PP.

 

[Mrb1p]

He had a bad shooting percentage, now he’s back up at a nice high normal of 12.7%. He can’t realistically shoot better. He can only shoot at a higher volume to improve.

Yes, he's back to a normal now, maybe slightly high, but people who look at "x number of games" or "last X games" are using statistics erroneously.

 

[Kennerback]

Yes, he's back to a normal now, maybe slightly high, but people who look at "x number of games" or "last X games" are using statistics erroneously.

That’s why we need to be careful to assume 60+ points. He has a tendency to fall back on his pattern of being overgenerous with the puck. He did at least twice last game. If he never breaks out of that cycle, he won’t get those extra goals nor the extra assists on rebounds. Dr. Shot needs to drill that math in his head.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

That’s why we need to be careful to assume 60+ points. He has a tendency to fall back on his pattern of being overgenerous with the puck. He did at least twice last game. If he never breaks out of that cycle, he won’t get those extra goals nor the extra assists on rebounds. Dr. Shot needs to drill that math in his head.

He continues to improve by leaps and bounds. I don’t think 60 points is an unrealistic expectation for next year. Obviously it depends on health and usage but he’s been really good. He’s been our best player on a lot of nights lately. Really impressive.

 

[Kennerback]

He continues to improve by leaps and bounds. I don’t think 60 points is an unrealistic expectation for next year. Obviously it depends on health and usage but he’s been really good. He’s been our best player on a lot of nights lately. Really impressive.

Yes he’s improving by leaps and bounds. His shot looks much more dangerous. But to be fair to ourselves there’s still room for improvement.

Case in point, he wasted a prime scoring chance on a rush by passing the puck through a D to Matheson who was in the goalie’s face with no angle. Typical NHLers will shoot and either score or create a dangerous rebound, Slaf ALWAYS passes.

I’ve edited some of his pre-NHL videos and watched everything I could find on him pre-NHL. I’ve seen him miss on that exact play so many times it’s crazy. He has 0% video career success rate on that play. Yet keeps trying and trying. Perhaps he thinks by failing enough, it’ll work one day.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Yes he’s improving by leaps and bounds. His shot looks much more dangerous. But to be fair to ourselves there’s still room for improvement.

Case in point, he wasted a prime scoring chance on a rush by passing the puck through a D to Matheson who was in the goalie’s face with no angle. Typical NHLers will shoot and either score or create a dangerous rebound, Slaf ALWAYS passes.

I’ve edited some of his pre-NHL videos and watched everything I could find on him pre-NHL. I’ve seen him miss on that play so many times, it’s crazy. He has 0% video career success rate on that play. Yet keeps trying and trying. Perhaps he thinks by failing enough, it’ll work one day.

I’m predicting 60 points, not 100. Absolutely he has more to work on.

 

[Rapala]

I'm waiting for the blow up, in terms of a 3 goal 2 assist game....where it becomes completely irrefutable.

Some people may not realize it.
Once the consistency is there like we've seen recently out of Suzuki Caufield and Slaf the next step is exactly that.
It's those multi point games that will differentiate the stars from the superstars. Only this will lead to PPG and beyond.

 

[waitin425]

Always remember....

44 of us said he should be in Europe this year.

 

[vlady]

Always remember....

44 of us said he should be in Europe this year.

I bet some would have voted for CHL if it was an option.

 

[nhlfan9191]

Yes he’s improving by leaps and bounds. His shot looks much more dangerous. But to be fair to ourselves there’s still room for improvement.

Case in point, he wasted a prime scoring chance on a rush by passing the puck through a D to Matheson who was in the goalie’s face with no angle. Typical NHLers will shoot and either score or create a dangerous rebound, Slaf ALWAYS passes.

I’ve edited some of his pre-NHL videos and watched everything I could find on him pre-NHL. I’ve seen him miss on that exact play so many times it’s crazy. He has 0% video career success rate on that play. Yet keeps trying and trying. Perhaps he thinks by failing enough, it’ll work one day.

This will come with repetition. He’s either not seeing certain shooting lanes yet or not confident in his ability to get the puck threw which is very common for any young player as they don’t want a bad shot to result in a turnover. 20 games ago he wasn’t shooting in clear shooting positions. He’s progressed a lot in that area. Far from perfect but the more he scores and gets that confidence, the more the puck will start going in. I’m a little surprised just how good his shot is when he uses it.

 

[Tyson]

Yes he’s improving by leaps and bounds. His shot looks much more dangerous. But to be fair to ourselves there’s still room for improvement.

Case in point, he wasted a prime scoring chance on a rush by passing the puck through a D to Matheson who was in the goalie’s face with no angle. Typical NHLers will shoot and either score or create a dangerous rebound, Slaf ALWAYS passes.

I’ve edited some of his pre-NHL videos and watched everything I could find on him pre-NHL. I’ve seen him miss on that exact play so many times it’s crazy. He has 0% video career success rate on that play. Yet keeps trying and trying. Perhaps he thinks by failing enough, it’ll work one day.

You mean a 19 year old isn't a finished product?

 

[Andy]

Even @cave troll has been MIA. Though I've seen him on the prospect board still trying to downplay Slaf. I think recently he said something to the effect that habs are overrating a player on a 30 point pace.

It's one thing to have a strong opinion, it's another thing to be immature and doubling down when reality is contradicting your opinion.

 

[Jack Skellington]

That’s why we need to be careful to assume 60+ points. He has a tendency to fall back on his pattern of being overgenerous with the puck. He did at least twice last game. If he never breaks out of that cycle, he won’t get those extra goals nor the extra assists on rebounds. Dr. Shot needs to drill that math in his head.

That's just confidence. Will come with experience. People forget that Suzuki and Caufield were still in the OHL and NCAA at this age.

 

[junyab]

I love all the boo-birds eating crow right now.

 

[Skala24]

Juraj Slafkovsky (4-2—6 in 5 GP) became the fourth teenager with a five-game point streak in Canadiens history, following Doug Wickenheiser (6 GP in 1980-81), Alex Galchenyuk (5 GP in 2012-13) and Stephane Richer (5 GP in 1985-86).