Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Kennerback]

Games like yesterday should be the norm?

That's why people get disappointed, because that's an extremely high standard to meet every game.

Not even Nick Suzuki holds that kind of standard, how is it fair to expect it from Slafkovsky?

I saw the game chart and Slafkovsky was far and above every other forward on the ice yesterday.

If that's what you expect on a game to game basis, then prepare to be disappointed.

I don’t expect a point every night. He could have exploited some of his puck carries better. He could have had an even better night. He needs to get more pucks on net.

If he has any consistency, he should give us what he gave us last night with some better games and a very rare worst game once in a while. He’s a big guy with a very long wing span that can get puck touches easier than the next guy. I think theses are basic expectations.

 

[Hannibal]

Slaf looks so more promising than both Lafreniere or Kakko, but high drafted wingers.

 

[Miller Time]

Love what MSL said about him in the post-game PC...

Spoke about how hungry he is to get better and how hungry he is to help the team/his teammates... that's very high praise coming from someone with a deep understanding of those qualities

 

[Kennerback]

Pouliot and Anderson

Slaf is already better than those 2 at their prime even if he is the 8th youngest player in the league

Might as well compare him to Alex Chiasson and Jean Francois Jacques.

Don’t want to offend anybody, but he needs to show he’s more than a better skating Pierre Dagenais. If he is indeed, last night should be the baseline.

 

[417]

I don’t expect a point every night. He could have exploited some of his puck carries better. He could have had an even better night. He needs to get more pucks on net.

Same could be said for every other Habs player on the ice.

If he has any consistency, he should give us what he gave us last night with some better games and a very rare worst game once in a while. He’s a big guy with a very long wing span that can get puck touches easier than the next guy. I think theses are basic expectations.

Very few NHL players are “consistent” though, again, not even our best players currently on the team are consistent to that point.

There may be a time where that bar has to be raised for Slafkovsky, but it surely isn't right now IMO.

If guys like Suzuki, Caufield and Dach are more consistent on a night to night basis, then it will trickle down to the team.

But that's supposed to flow downwards, not the other way around.

 

[Jaynki]

Don’t want to offend anybody, but he needs to show he’s more than a better skating Pierre Dagenais. If he is indeed, last night should be the baseline.

Yes. Indeed. I would even argue a more offensive Adam Engqvist at this point.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

He was solid in the preseason. Not perfect but pretty good.

And once again, it’s worth noting that he was off to a pretty good start last year before the team went into the tank. I think he’ll be isolated from that this year because he’s with Dach - who by the way is much improved himself.

I don’t expect this of Slaf every night. He’s still going to have some rough games and it will likely be two steps forward one step back this year. As long as he continues to improve though, it doesn’t matter.

For the love of God though… leave him with Dach.

I’m going to play devil’s advocate here though I think you’re right but maybe he just hits the ground running and it’s more like 4 steps one step back.

Maybe he just has a great season and never looks back. I think he still has a lot of room to improve but maybe just maybe he has bigger potential than many of us think.

I’m not saying either way what will happen this year but I think there’s an opportunity where he blows away our conservative estimates for him this year. I get that we’re operating from the idea (one of many) that bigger guys take longer which is obviously sensible but I can see him just starting to take the bull by the horns and really impressing sooner than later. It’s a possibility at least

 

[Kennerback]

Same could be said for every other Habs player on the ice.


Very few NHL players are “consistent” though, again, not even our best players currently on the team are consistent to that point.

There may be a time where that bar has to be raised for Slafkovsky, but it surely isn't right now IMO.

If guys like Suzuki, Caufield and Dach are more consistent on a night to night basis, then it will trickle down to the team.

But that's supposed to flow downwards, not the other way around.

In the team’s internal dressing room pecking order he’s a top-9 on the bubble. No time on the ice with an open net, no time on the ice in OT. Before he can pry himself into those spots, he’s no more than a de facto secondary player, an afterthought in a mild pressure situation.

A game like yesterday once in a while, will not change shit to that reality. I expect more from him.

 

[Miller Time]

Yes. Indeed. I would even argue a more offensive Adam Engqvist at this point.

How about a taller Terry Ryan...

Or a skinnier Latendresse...

 

[Frankenheimer]

And that's what happens when you learn to breath at 19 . Good things happen. Imagine when he starts eating solids.

 

[the]

I thought yesterday was his best game in the NHL. Hopefully we have many of those going forward. Really liked the way he played.

 

[Redux91]

And that's what happens when you learn to breath at 19 . Good things happen. Imagine when he starts eating solids.

Imagine when he learns to walk!

 

[LaP]

Don’t want to offend anybody, but he needs to show he’s more than a better skating Pierre Dagenais. If he is indeed, last night should be the baseline.

Come one that's one of the most ridiculous thing i've read on this board. There's absolutely 0 comparison to be made between Slaf and Dagenais. Dagenais was a 2nd round pick who spent lot of time in the AHL and simply did not have the skills. Dagneais did only 30 points in the AHL as a 20 years old. He never spent a full season in the NHL. He basically was AHL talent. The only people you offend by this statement is yourself cause yeah it's that ridiculous of a statement.

 

[salbutera]

He's still a long way from making the most of his potential... but at 19, what we've seen so far gives lots of reason for optimism.

That was true when he got hurt last year, when he started camp, and emphatically so as we sit after game 1 of his 19-year old season... and it will still be true when he goes through the almost inevitable cold stretches this season has in store for the kid...

at which point a bunch of posters will inevitably jump right back on their complain train & roll out the poorly grounded "development mistake" & "wrong player picked" narratives as nauseum... to je to.

For now though, nice to see so many finally allowing themselves to enjoy what we have for a moment

Future is bright



If you expect him to be a ppg player at 19, you will be disappointed. Fair warning

Yup - If the legendary 2003 draft class magnified in spades…. slow & steady wins the race.

As HuGo stated on draft day, paraphrasing, they drafted the core player Slaf was going to be in 5-years not D+1.

 

[Kennerback]

Come one that's one of the most ridiculous thing i've read on this board. There's absolutely 0 comparison to be made between Slaf and Dagenais. Dagenais was a 2nd round pick who spent lot of time in the AHL and simply did not have the skills. Dagneais did only 30 points int he AHL as a 20 years old. He never spent a full season in the NHL. He basically was AHL talent.

He was way too slow. He had a nose for the net. He was huge. If his skating didn’t hold him back, he would have had a full NHL career.

The point is there’s good skill there with Slaf, but he should still take it a notch higher right now. Unlike every other young player, there’s no filling in to do. He’s there. He should take the ball and run with it.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

He was way too slow. He had a nose for the net. He was huge. If his skating didn’t hold him back, he would have had a full NHL career.

The point is there’s good skill there with Slaf, but he should still take it a notch higher right now. Unlike every other young player, there’s no filling in to do. He’s there. He should take the ball and run with it.

He's 19...........doesn't even have his man strength yet.. a little patience please

 

[Kennerback]

He's 19...........doesn't even have his man strength yet.. a little patience please

Seriously. I think there’s too much babying him in this thread. “He’s not a 23 year old man yet, he’s still in diapers, he doesn’t have his big boy pants on yet”... Slaf happens to be a 240 pound baby that was drafted 1st and has no outside pressure yet because there was otherwise only Unhurried and Unhurrier to draft. I think this is legit expectations.

 

[Miller Time]

In the team’s internal dressing room pecking order he’s a top-9 on the bubble. No time on the ice with an open net, no time on the ice in OT. Before he can pry himself into those spots, he’s no more than a de facto secondary player, an afterthought in a mild pressure situation.

Seriously. I think there’s too much babying him in this thread. “He’s not a 23 year old man yet, he’s still in diapers, he doesn’t have his big boy pants on yet”... Slaf happens to be a 240 pound baby that was drafted 1st and has no outside pressure yet because there was otherwise only Unhurried and Unhurrier to draft. I think this is legit expectations.

With takes like these, you are in for a long, frustrating few years

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Seriously. I think there’s too much babying him in this thread. “He’s not a 23 year old man yet, he’s still in diapers, he doesn’t have his big boy pants on yet”... Slaf happens to be a 240 pound baby that was drafted 1st and has no outside pressure yet because there was otherwise only Unhurried and Unhurrier to draft. I think this is legit expectations.

Why are you trying to put pressure on the kid to be good now? We don't need him to be at his best right now whatsoever. The fact he's playing in our top 6 and looks good is really impressive for a 19 year old you understand he is not crosby bedard hughes matthews right?

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

He was way too slow. He had a nose for the net. He was huge. If his skating didn’t hold him back, he would have had a full NHL career.

The point is there’s good skill there with Slaf, but he should still take it a notch higher right now. Unlike every other young player, there’s no filling in to do. He’s there. He should take the ball and run with it.

I think it’s possible. I don’t know how probable at this point but it might not be far fetched. Especially if this line sticks together. All 3 of them have great Upside and a lot to prove. It could be a coming out party for all of them.

I don’t know why it’s written in stone on here that we have to wait 2 more years for him to get something like 60 points or whatever the ‘reasonable’ expectation is.

Maybe that tough year was good for him unlike Galch and KK and he can judo it into an expectation busting sophomore season. I wouldn’t be shocked personally.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I’m going to play devil’s advocate here though I think you’re right but maybe he just hits the ground running and it’s more like 4 steps one step back.

Maybe he just has a great season and never looks back. I think he still has a lot of room to improve but maybe just maybe he has bigger potential than many of us think.

I’m not saying either way what will happen this year but I think there’s an opportunity where he blows away our conservative estimates for him this year. I get that we’re operating from the idea (one of many) that bigger guys take longer which is obviously sensible but I can see him just starting to take the bull by the horns and really impressing sooner than later. It’s a possibility at least

You could absolutely be right. None of us knows. But I’d be very happy with the scenario I ourlined above. Anything beyond that and I’d be ecstatic.

 

[Kennerback]

Why are you trying to put pressure on the kid to be good now? We don't need him to be at his best right now whatsoever. The fact he's playing in our top 6 and looks good is really impressive for a 19 year old you understand he is not crosby bedard hughes matthews right?

Look I don’t expect him to be Bedard, I expect Bedard to be better than Slaf even if it’s only his 2nd NHL game because he’s generational. But I still don’t want Bedard to steal his lunch money and then stuff him in a locker. Slaf’s a #1 pick and it’s his second season, is that too much to ask?​

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I don’t expect a point every night. He could have exploited some of his puck carries better. He could have had an even better night. He needs to get more pucks on net.

If he has any consistency, he should give us what he gave us last night with some better games and a very rare worst game once in a while. He’s a big guy with a very long wing span that can get puck touches easier than the next guy. I think theses are basic expectations.

This is insane. I don't even believe you're that good at your own job or set that standard for yourself, bro.

 

[japhi]

But his IQ

The IQ thing was always weird. Puck follows him around, which is a sign of IQ, he is in the right place a lot of the time. He was, and is, struggling with timing, Which has nothing to do with IQ, most young players go through it.

I think the folks saying he has low IQ can't interpret what they are seeing on the ice.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

He looked good. I was watching with Leafs fans and they were remarking how good he looked and that he looked like a number 1 overall pick.

The IQ thing was always weird. Puck follows him around, which is a sign of IQ, he is in the right place a lot of the time. He was, and is, struggling with timing, Which has nothing to do with IQ, most young players go through it.

I think the folks saying he has low IQ can't interpret what they are seeing on the ice.

He’s had a habit of making high risk low reward passes instead of taking the easy play at times. I don’t think that is what we refer to as hockey IQ though. I think he will learn to take the plays that are there and seemed to do that perfectly yesterday.