Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Lafleurs Guy]

Hope he proves us wrong this season, but for someone who’s 6’3 230 lbs, he seems pretty soft on the ice

He wasn’t soft in the preseason. Not overly physical but I think you’ll see that come with time. He’s still growing into his body.

 

[Andy]

I've been really trying hard to understand the urgency from some posters to draw final conclusions about Slafkovsky's development.

At this point, there are signs in his game that show struggle, but also good potential. In reality, no one knows how he will develop and it's all guess work until then. I'm not sure why waiting to see how his curve plays out is controversial or even subject to intense debate. Equally, I am not sure why some folks are ready to hold management accountable after 39 games.

It just doesn't make any sense and it is entirely and obviously unreasonable.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I've been really trying hard to understand the urgency from some posters to draw final conclusions about Slafkovsky's development.

At the point, there are signs in his game that show struggle, but also good potential. In reality, no one knows how he will develop and it's all guess work until then. I'm not sure why waiting to see how his curve plays out is controversial or even subject to intense debate. Equally, I am not sure why some folks are ready to hold management accountable after 39 games.

It just doesn't make any sense and it is entirely and obviously unreasonable.

I gotta be right on HF boards!!

Call it the beer league effect where people take it too seriously like there's NHL scouts in the stands.

 

[Shutdown]

I've been really trying hard to understand the urgency from some posters to draw final conclusions about Slafkovsky's development.

At the point, there are signs in his game that show struggle, but also good potential. In reality, no one knows how he will develop and it's all guess work until then. I'm not sure why waiting to see how his curve plays out is controversial or even subject to intense debate. Equally, I am not sure why some folks are ready to hold management accountable after 39 games.

It just doesn't make any sense and it is entirely and obviously unreasonable.

They need to be able to say I Told You So and to be proven right about an opinion that, if we're being honest, was probably based on reading second-hand evaluations and watching a few highlight reel videos, and short tournament viewings.
It's the same thing every year. People are full of crap when it comes to prospect evaluation. Come the month of June there's a bunch of posters who claim to have watched a dozen games of basically every prospect ranked in the top 100 and have all these staunch opinions about who's going to bust, but it's funny how during the season they don't offer up any insight on those same prospects in the Draft threads.

 

[MonkeyBusiness]

Where did you get this chess video?

What is to stop the black king from moving to H8? There is no attack from the 7th or 8th rank, the black pawn in F6 stops an angle attack to H8. There would have to be an unblocked white rook in the H file for it be a checkmate (rare). Then the checkmate move by the white Queen would usually be H6 to H8. If there was a white rook in the H file, black could have prevented the checkmate by moving his rook from F8 to F7 on his previous move.

No big deal. Just lookin' ... just sayin' ...

There's a rook on the H file that is covering the H8 position. The scene is from the movie "independence day", but yeah the other guy made a mistake on his previous move.

 

[ReHabs]

I've been really trying hard to understand the urgency from some posters to draw final conclusions about Slafkovsky's development.

At this point, there are signs in his game that show struggle, but also good potential. In reality, no one knows how he will develop and it's all guess work until then. I'm not sure why waiting to see how his curve plays out is controversial or even subject to intense debate. Equally, I am not sure why some folks are ready to hold management accountable after 39 games.

It just doesn't make any sense and it is entirely and obviously unreasonable.

There are no conclusions to draw from just one season. He isn’t a bust, he isn’t a star, he is barely an NHLer at the moment.

Accountability is a catch-all term that should be used to mean: the Habs organization should stop pissing on our heads and tell us it is raining.

That’s all.

We’ll see as the season progresses and as Slafkovsky plays. Why wouldn’t we Habs fans, as a whole, want a huge hulking goal scoring winger to succeed? We all want and need his success.

I think some of you have us all wrong and refuse to believe us when we say the truth: we want desperately for Slafkovsky to be a big hit with the Habs. We just won’t accept lies and delusions on the way there.

 

[Andy]

Accountability is a catch-all term that should be used to mean: the Habs organization should stop pissing on our heads and tell us it is raining.

But they havent been saying anything. And in what world is accountability dolled out after a single season?

What lies and delusions are you even talking about?

I feel like you're just inventing fake problems so you have something to argue with.

 

[1909]

It's not YEAR 2.... It's year 1 and a half.

 

[Mrb1p]

I've been really trying hard to understand the urgency from some posters to draw final conclusions about Slafkovsky's development.

At this point, there are signs in his game that show struggle, but also good potential. In reality, no one knows how he will develop and it's all guess work until then. I'm not sure why waiting to see how his curve plays out is controversial or even subject to intense debate. Equally, I am not sure why some folks are ready to hold management accountable after 39 games.

It just doesn't make any sense and it is entirely and obviously unreasonable.

Im curious, do you have examples of such comments?

 

[ReHabs]

But they havent been saying anything. And in what world is accountability dolled out after a single season?

Again, the term accountability is a catch-all for something very easily understood. I think you know what is meant. It’s a condition not an end-point. They should be critically and fairly assessed at all times.

What lies and delusions are you even talking about?

About the AHL Head Hunting Orcs, about how going pointless for a whole calendar month was actually a sign of growth, about when Hughes said they didn’t want him in the AHL because then his production would matter more… and a litany of other nonsense

It’s fine if you think some of us are too sensitive, I think some of you are desperate to support Hughes because the alternative is too bleak.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

So you think there could be 3 top-line forwards, but you don't think the forward drafted 1st overall has the potential of becoming that?

There are always good player drafted lower than they should have been. What if Firkus is the superstar of the bunch? Would you have drafted him 1st overall? Maybe it will be Cooley, who knows?:There are things like hindsight that you don't have until way after the draft.

As I said and repeat, I don't care if Slafkovsky is not the best player coming out of this draft as long as he has a significant role in making us a better team and hopefully win a cup.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

He was rushed to the NHL last year.

Absolutely and they look to be doing it again.

Hopefully he is just a little in awe of his new lot in life and just needs to settle down to let his mind relax and function properly.

It is getting a little annoying that Hughes and company largely based their decision to take him on his confidence and ability to handle the pressure in Montreal. The first thing they turn around and do is keep him in Montreal because it would have been to much pressure for him to be sent to Laval as a #1 OA? They are putting so much effort into not putting pressure on the kid they drafted because he could take the pressure????

Slaf has been and very likely is in his own head and has been locked into tunnel vision mode and battling with his self confidence due to the consequences of him playing so poorly.

I hope that he has some early good fortune as perhaps just a little good luck will unlock the swagger and confidence that they saw in him and he can relax and perhaps process the game a little better.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Absolutely and they look to be doing it again.

Hopefully he is just a little in awe of his new lot in life and just needs to settle down to let his mind relax and function properly.

It is getting a little annoying that Hughes and company largely based their decision to take him on his confidence and ability to handle the pressure in Montreal. The first thing they turn around and do is keep him in Montreal because it would have been to much pressure for him to be sent to Laval as a #1 OA? They are putting so much effort into not putting pressure on the kid they drafted because he could take the pressure????

Slaf has been and very likely is in his own head and has been locked into tunnel vision mode and battling with his self confidence due to the consequences of him playing so poorly.

I hope that he has some early good fortune as perhaps just a little good luck will unlock the swagger and confidence that they saw in him and he can relax and perhaps process the game a little better.

I think your observations are not certainties. I think Slaf is more confident than you believe and no he was not rushed to the NHL, he was placed in the NHL at 18 to start learning the NHL game, given that he has the tools to play against men, and had proven it.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Another example could Dach.

Many would agree he was rushed to the NHL by Chicago but he is still developing his game and getting better.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I think your observations are not certainties. I think Slaf is more confident than you believe and no he was not rushed to the NHL, he was placed in the NHL at 18 to start learning the NHL game, given that he has the tools to play against men, and had proven it.

He hasn't and hadn't proved anything.

He had two good tournaments mostly against terrible competition and struggled mightily in Liga. I called out exactly what he was at the time as a low IQ tunnel visioned forward.

There is no rational discussion that supports him playing in the NHL last season. And I was absolutely correct in saying that he has had confidence issues and issues coping with the pressure as has been stated by MSL and other members of the team ad nauseam this off season. They have been abundantly clear that he was not having fun and his confidence was shook.

I am not in any way claiming with any certainty that he can't or won't overcome these issues but the fact that they were a factor is a matter of public record.

 

[Sh4ded12]

Be patient , the guy will be a monster very soon.

 

[417]

He hasn't and hadn't proved anything.

He had two good tournaments mostly against terrible competition and struggled mightily in Liga. I called out exactly what he was at the time as a low IQ tunnel visioned forward.

How do you rate those teams vs the competition he would have faced in the AHL or back in Europe had the Habs decided not to “rush” him?

There is no rational discussion that supports him playing in the NHL last season. And I and absolutely correct in saying that he has had confidence issues and issues coping with the pressure as has been stated by MSL and other members of the team ad nauseam this off season. They have been abundantly clear that he was not having fun and his confidence was shook.

There’s not a discussion that you think is rational that supported him playing in the NHL last year.

But the coaching staff and management thought there was.

I am not in any way claiming with any certainty that he can't or won't overcome these issues but the fact that they were a factor is a matter of public record.

What public record?

Another example could Dach.

Many would agree he was rushed to the NHL by Chicago but he is still developing his game and getting better.

This can often be translated to…

“He’s not as good as I thought he would be”.

 

[HuGort]

I like the comparison to Joe Thornton broadcast crew did. Shows how long it takes for big guys.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Slaf is a longterm project and always was.

You hope he become a decent top 6 forward otherwise a nice complementary top 9 player on a contender. Not worth a 1st overall? Probably... that being he can be still useful on a team.

Long term project in NHL at 18 does not compute.

Nice play from Slaf there.

 

[Goldenhands]

How does a low IQ player with tunnel vision like Slaf could see Newhook on that goal?

 

[DAChampion]

How does a low IQ player like Slaf with tunnel vision could see Newhook on that goal?

I wondered if this thread was already in turmoil after 1 period of Slafkovsky not producing.

 

[Miller Time]

defensive awareness and execution
transition read and speed
near perfect puckhandling execution, at full speed, to draw out defender and deliver pass, off his bakhand, to exactly the right spot for a hard driving newhook to tap it in

at 19
at 6'3, 230

Future is Bright

 

[River Meadow]

How does a low IQ player like Slaf with tunnel vision could see Newhook on that goal?

Lucky pass, duh.

 

[Goldenhands]

@Estimated_Prophet You saw that grade A scoring chance Slaf setuped for RHP just there? Talk us more about his tunel vision and IQ... You are so funny to read that I almost forgot your wonderful quotes on Reinbacher last draft. A dime dozen defenseman, late 1st rounder, on the same tier as Strbak and all the other funny quotes Im forgetting...

 

[BLONG7]

Kid has played very well for 2 periods.
Keep up the good work Slaf!!