Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[nhlfan9191]

I thought he had a good first period. Second wasn't as great. Didn't watch half of the third.

In the first he was in the right positions the majority of the time. He was doing the right things in the offensive zone and covering the right guy defensively and backchecking hard. In the second I saw him lagging behind the play, losing defensive coverage, or making non-sense passes that lead to breakaways against, but only on a couple shifts. Improvement is what we want to see and I think he's improved even in this training camp because in the first few games he was bad at all of these things and the negatives were every shift.

I still don't see elite skill but I'll be patient.

I don’t see elite skill either but I think he’s played well enough to make the team which wasn’t the case last year. Time will tell. We were told he’d be a project and that he is.

 

[Andy]

The way he played yesterday is pretty much how he played all camp.

He finished camp with 2g and 3pts in 5 games. He did not look out of place with Dach.

He’s created a few chances to score every game and he’s progressing at a good pace. There’s no stagnation or regression.

He still hasn’t developed all his strength yet and he’s already tough to play in the corner.

There is still work to do, but he’s getting there. Just be patient. He was clearly head and shoulders above every other forward prospect in the pool.

If he plays in the regular season like he has in camp, he could realistically get 15g and 40 points.

 

[DAChampion]

I recall Slafkovsky being quite ineffective in last year's camp.

 

[le_sean]

Nah, being blind to obvious plays is what hurts the Habs.

Slaf played a better game, scored a goal by going to the net. Made a nice, hard pass to the centre to set someone up, I forgot now.

I'm pointing out the flaws he has and needs to work on. It's not like his only flaw is the defensive aspect of the game, he has little issues throughout his game. You see it, too. He'll have a nice play, or even a great shift and then his next one he'll look bad.

I'm hoping, if healthy he finishes with 20g and 40, or 50 points. Would be a solid 2nd year and shouldn't be out of expectations.

Your expectation is 20 goals and 50 points for a 19 year old project playing on a poor offensive team? His next regular season game will be his 40th total. You need to rethink that.

 

[Jaynki]

Your expectation is 20 goals and 50 points for a 19 year old project playing on a poor offensive team? His next regular season game will be his 40th total. You need to rethink that.

As irrealistic as it feels. Its certainly not impossible.

KK and Galchenyuk fits in the weird category with Yakupov and Lafreniere of player who have stagnated from their D+1. We are traumatised by them, but they dont represent the majority of rookies, they are in the a minority group.

Usually, most of the times, from D+2 to D+4 is the window of maximum growth for the rookies and its where they usually take massive, exponential stride. It has to be expected from Slaf and its also the reason why its short sighted to cap his potential right now or already dismiss him.

I think 20 goals and 50 points is in the card especially if Slaf stays with Dach a lot and have PP time.

 

[417]

Your expectation is 20 goals and 50 points for a 19 year old project playing on a poor offensive team? His next regular season game will be his 40th total. You need to rethink that.

I think he presented that exactly the way he wanted lol.

 

[Kairi Zaide]

If he can be our Brady Tkachuk that would be huge.

He plays nothing like Tkachuk. Brady is a monster at getting pucks on net, in the same way Gally was. Slaf struggles at this aspect, having barely over one shot per game.

As irrealistic as it feels. Its certainly not impossible.

KK and Galchenyuk fits in the weird category with Yakupov and Lafreniere of player who have stagnated from their D+1. We are traumatised by them, but they dont represent the majority of rookies, they are in the a minority group.

Usually, most of the times, from D+2 to D+4 is the window of maximum growth for the rookies and its where they usually take massive, exponential stride. It has to be expected from Slaf and its also the reason why its short sighted to cap his potential right now or already dismiss him.

I think 20 goals and 50 points is in the card especially if Slaf stays with Dach a lot and have PP time.

He's not going to score 20 goals playing like he currently does, that's for sure. That's 100 shots if he shoots 20%, which is highly unlikely, 133 if he shoots 15% (still a bit high for him imo), and 200 if he shoots 10% (which is what he had last season but that I could see improve).

 

[Jaynki]

He's not going to score 20 goals playing like he currently does, that's for sure. That's 100 shots if he shoots 20%, which is highly unlikely, 133 if he shoots 15% (still a bit high for him imo), and 200 if he shoots 10% (which is what he had last season but that I could see improve).

If he have breakaways like he had, if he has one timer like he had and if scores in front of the net like he did.

Not impossible he scores 20.

 

[SlafySZN]

Nah, being blind to obvious plays is what hurts the Habs.

Slaf played a better game, scored a goal by going to the net. Made a nice, hard pass to the centre to set someone up, I forgot now.

I'm pointing out the flaws he has and needs to work on. It's not like his only flaw is the defensive aspect of the game, he has little issues throughout his game. You see it, too. He'll have a nice play, or even a great shift and then his next one he'll look bad.

I'm hoping, if healthy he finishes with 20g and 40, or 50 points. Would be a solid 2nd year and shouldn't be out of expectations.

Like pretty much all rookies, hell every player even…

That’s exactly why Jeff Gorton said to not over analyze each one of his shifts.

 

[SlafCaufield]

Slaf showed everyone what he was all about last night

used that big body,, got to the net,, scored a goal

got into some scrums,, son'd a few Sens pipsqueaks

this kid is too good to fail

 

[japhi]

I like what I see in Slaf's dev so far. He seems to be on or around the puck a lot, and is only struggling with timing. He has more time with the puck then he realizes and he will figure this out,

Reminds me a bit of the Sedins dev curve. Big guys that first few years in the league looked like busts. We called them the Sisters out here on the West Coast, they couldn't stay on their feet and couldn't make plays. Both got their hockey strength and timing, and are in the HOF.

Going to be painful around here as Slaf takes a few years longer then his peers to get to whatever his upside is. This was always going to be a project but the "don't rush prospects" crowd will demonstrate they don't in fact have any patience.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Last year, Slaf had 1 assist in 4 preseason games, was -3 and had 2 PIM.
This year, Slaf had 3 pts (2G, 1A) in 5 preseason games, was +3 and had 2 PIM.

And more than just the better production, you saw Slaf playing better and showing his qualities more often. Gonna be fun to see him continue to progress as he continues to figure things out.

 

[SlafCaufield]

I like what I see in Slaf's dev so far. He seems to be on or around the puck a lot, and is only struggling with timing. He has more time with the puck then he realizes and he will figure this out,

Reminds me a bit of the Sedins dev curve. Big guys that first few years in the league looked like busts. We called them the Sisters out here on the West Coast, they couldn't stay on their feet and couldn't make plays. Both got their hockey strength and timing, and are in the HOF.

Going to be painful around here as Slaf takes a few years longer then his peers to get to whatever his upside is. This was always going to be a project but the "don't rush prospects" crowd will demonstrate they don't in fact have any patience.

I think the Sedins are a good comparison

they took a little while to break out and Slaf has more size and skill than they did

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Your expectation is 20 goals and 50 points for a 19 year old project playing on a poor offensive team? His next regular season game will be his 40th total. You need to rethink that.

Well, 20gs (18-22ish) and 40- 50 points assuming he's healthy and the team is relatively healthy.

Trending well

If he's like 15g - 30p, alright passing grade.

If he's 10g - 20points, or lower and he and the team are fairly healthy, then even the most diehard slaf fan has to worry.

If he does get let's say 10g, 20 points in a full season, or close to it. Do you trade him ? Nah, you give him more chances and see.

He could become a 3rd liner with size, pretty good speed and a nice shot. Could be part of a pain-in-the-ass line. That's assuming he progresses a little and fails to go beyond that.

I think the Sedins are a good comparison

they took a little while to break out and Slaf has more size and skill than they did

The first part is right.

I'd be beyond stoked if Slaf manages to get 1,000 points.

The Sedins are easily more skilled than Slaf....

 

[japhi]

He scored a goal so the optimists are going crazy as usual. It wasn’t as impressive as the posts in this thread would suggest.

Imagine being an optimist on a Habs forum. What a crazy position to take.

And maybe it's just me, but very few players stand out in games like this. Look at ESTOI, basically every player gets 11 minutes. 9 players had more then a minute PPTOI. This isn't a standard hockey game. So making a nice play in front of the net, being physical, breaking up a play defensively, in this context, IS a great game.

 

[SlafCaufield]

Well, 20gs (18-22ish) and 40- 50 points assuming he's healthy and the team is relatively healthy.

Trending well

If he's like 15g - 30p, alright passing grade.

If he's 10g - 20points, or lower and he and the team are fairly healthy, then even the most diehard slaf fan has to worry.

If he does get let's say 10g, 20 points in a full season, or close to it. Do you trade him ? Nah, you give him more chances and see.

He could become a 3rd liner with size, pretty good speed and a nice shot. Could be part of a pain-in-the-ass line. That's assuming he progresses a little and fails to go beyond that.


The first part is right.

I'd be beyond stoked if Slaf manages to get 1,000 points.

The Sedins are easily more skilled than Slaf....

i mean at their age that Slaf is at now

as 19 years olds,, Slaf takes the cake

 

[417]

Like pretty much all rookies, hell every player even…

That’s exactly why Jeff Gorton said to not over analyze each one of his shifts.

Seriously.

If you spend all game just watching a single player and waiting for him to make mistakes, what other conclusion are you going to reach other than he makes mistakes lol.

 

[salbutera]

I thought he had a good first period. Second wasn't as great. Didn't watch half of the third.

In the first he was in the right positions the majority of the time. He was doing the right things in the offensive zone and covering the right guy defensively and backchecking hard. In the second I saw him lagging behind the play, losing defensive coverage, or making non-sense passes that lead to breakaways against, but only on a couple shifts. Improvement is what we want to see and I think he's improved even in this training camp because in the first few games he was bad at all of these things and the negatives were every shift.

I still don't see elite skill but I'll be patient.

You mean seeing elite skill like AKos? Garianov? Galchenyuk? Is the goal to build a team with puzzle pieces capable of winning playoff hockey towards a Cup, or bling as in goal of the night highlights?

 

[Shutdown]

He scored a goal so the optimists are going crazy as usual. It wasn’t as impressive as the posts in this thread would suggest.

He has a bad/mediocre game and there's 15 pages of discussion. He has a good game and there's 15 posts.

 

[CanadienShark]

I like what I see in Slaf's dev so far. He seems to be on or around the puck a lot, and is only struggling with timing. He has more time with the puck then he realizes and he will figure this out,

Reminds me a bit of the Sedins dev curve. Big guys that first few years in the league looked like busts. We called them the Sisters out here on the West Coast, they couldn't stay on their feet and couldn't make plays. Both got their hockey strength and timing, and are in the HOF.

Going to be painful around here as Slaf takes a few years longer then his peers to get to whatever his upside is. This was always going to be a project but the "don't rush prospects" crowd will demonstrate they don't in fact have any patience.

You just called the Sedins big?

 

[Ezpz]

You mean seeing elite skill like AKos? Garianov? Galchenyuk? Is the goal to build a team with puzzle pieces capable of winning playoff hockey towards a Cup, or bling as in goal of the night highlights?

I mean elite skill as in being able to create things by himself or make his team mates better. Being able to outwork or outwit opponents. It is not two extremes as you are painting where anyone with skill can't be a cup winner or has to be bad at everything else. Go take a look at the list of Conn Smythe winners that don't have elite skill. O'Reilly and Williams in the last decade maybe. Do you want to draft Patrick Maroon first overall?

 

[salbutera]

I mean elite skill as in being able to create things by himself or make his team mates better. Being able to outwork or outwit opponents. It is not two extremes as you are painting where anyone with skill can't be a cup winner or has to be bad at everything else. Go take a look at the list of Conn Smythe winners that don't have elite skill. O'Reilly and Williams in the last decade maybe. Do you want to draft Patrick Maroon first overall?

Last 10-years:
3W: Williams, Ovy & Marchessault
2C: Crosby (twice), ROR
3D: Keith, Hedman, Makar
1G: Vasilevsky

Also, how long did it take for some of these “elites” like Keith & Hedman to develop? There was talk of Hedman being a bust after his first 3-NHL seasons, and questions of Keith pups even get over the hump and become an NHL regular despite overpaying for Aucoin’s devices as UFA to groom him to start 05-06 season (D+4)

BTW - other than Crosby none of the other “elite” players on that list has ever been as clutch as Williams thorough out their playoff careers.

Markus Naslund was thought of as a bust incapable of translating his “skill” when drafted …. until he wasn’t

After a handful of games into 18-yr old season, comparing to Pat Maroon…. really?

 

[LaP]

Your expectation is 20 goals and 50 points for a 19 year old project playing on a poor offensive team? His next regular season game will be his 40th total. You need to rethink that.

If he finishes the season with 20 goals and 50 points it will look very good. Guys able to do that at 19 usually becomes very good players.

 

[le_sean]

If he finishes the season with 20 goals and 50 points it will look very good. Guys able to do that at 19 usually becomes very good players.

Of course. What I’m saying is it’s an unrealistic expectation. We had one player have more than 38 points last year. So how is a 19 year old project expected to get 50 points?

 

[DAChampion]

Of course. What I’m saying is it’s an unrealistic expectation. We had one player have more than 38 points last year.

Due to all of the good players spending time on the IR.