Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Miller Time]

No one, would be the correct answer.

 

[BaseballCoach]

We need to stop focusing on other players and making sure own players become very good contributor.

LOL, strange sentence.

The CLUB staff, not FANS, focus on making sure our own players become very contributors. So when you say "we", I assume you are part of the Habs' Player Development group.

But then the CLUB also has a department that focuses on other teams' players, called Pro Scouting. They provide information that helps Kent Hughes in making trades, signing UFAs and evaluating waiver pickups. So when you say "we" , should I assume you are also part of the Pro Scouting group?

Who exactly is the "we" that is in both groups, besides yourself?

 

[Heffyhoof]

A bleh game. Didn't really implicate himself too much, but also didn't fail too much. Still too early for a real assessment.

 

[NORiculous]

Logan Cooley with 2 assists in his first NHL game. It's gonna be hard but I think he'll outproduce Slaf this year, but Slaf's ceiling will take longer to reach but the reward might be better too. I'm confident in Slaf's progression. What do you all think?

I think it’s pretty clear Cooley has higher offensive upside but Slafkovsky brings a big body. We will see how that plays out since their outcome are totally unclear at this point.

 

[sandviper]

I think it’s pretty clear Cooley has higher offensive upside but Slafkovsky brings a big body. We will see how that plays out since their outcome are totally unclear at this point.

I think over the course of their careers, Cooley will be a more prolific scorer than Slaf. Slaf could still end up the better player overall despite this when you take all situations into account, plus his unique profile.

Of course, Cooley or somebody else could end up being the best player from the draft.

Either way, Slaf was picked first but we all know he’s not a generational player. He is going to take longer to develop to hit his max potential, which really should be expected so sometimes the hate he gets I find unwarranted at times.

It’d be different If he had attitude problems and is uncoachable but by all accounts, he’s receptive and puts in the work.

 

[BLONG7]

He had a decent game, but way too many penalties kept him off the ice.
The game had no flow, with the refs making themselves the 1st star.

Some of the fans need to look up the definition of patience...this kid is going to be fine....No, he will not become McDavid unfortunately.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

LOL, strange sentence.

The CLUB staff, not FANS, focus on making sure our own players become very contributors. So when you say "we", I assume you are part of the Habs' Player Development group.

But then the CLUB also has a department that focuses on other teams' players, called Pro Scouting. They provide information that helps Kent Hughes in making trades, signing UFAs and evaluating waiver pickups. So when you say "we" , should I assume you are also part of the Pro Scouting group?

Who exactly is the "we" that is in both groups, besides yourself?

We, as fans.

We have to support our own players.
We have no control in player development but we do have control in players confidence/support. If we start booing our own players, it can have a negative effect on their performance/mental.

I have seen way too many times the same scenario, we always see other prospects we could have selected and start complaining forgetting the bigger picture, we can still have a good player on our hand.

I remember the pre draft chat, Slafkovsky drawed some comparison to Nichushkin, the reality is that it took a longtime before Nichushkin asserted himself as a decent NHL player and he was considered a failure at some point.

Slaf might not be the better player now or next season but he can become a key player for us in winning a stanley cup in the long run. He will most likely not become the best player in his draft class but if he can become a 60 pts power forward, it would be a great success for us and not as negative as some people will make it seems.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

The flow of the game was gone. Juraj didn't have a strong game, but hard to read too much into a game like this. No one is gloating after this one, interesting.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Yeah not his best game but he wasn't bad still one of our better forwards , I'd like to see him with Monahan I believe he was playing with Newhook as C alot but then again MSL was shuffling the lines all game

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Yeah not his best game but he wasn't bad still one of our better forwards , I'd like to see him with Monahan I believe he was playing with Newhook as C alot but then again MSL was shuffling the lines all game

I hope Dach isn’t out long term. Looked like him Juraj and Newhook were developing strong chemistry. Without Dach, Juraj looked invisible imo, Newhook was a bit better, but both benefit from Dach’s presence.

The flow of the game was ruined early, so Slaf gets a pass from me on this one. Didn’t have a strong game, but not really his fault.

 

[Andy]

Was an uneventful game. Didn’t play bad, just didn’t do much. Created a couple of chance and mostly cycled the puck. That’s about it.

 

[BaseballCoach]

We, as fans.

We have to support our own players.
We have no control in player development but we do have control in players confidence/support. If we start booing our own players, it can have a negative effect on their performance/mental.

I have seen way too many times the same scenario, we always see other prospects we could have selected and start complaining forgetting the bigger picture, we can still have a good player on our hand.

This is hilarious.

I'm all for cheering our own players, it's part of cheering for your team.

But no, the fans have no control over the players becoming as good as they can become. Maybe .05% of influence. Or less. But "control"? you must be kidding.

I am pretty sure the booing last night will not affect how Bedard develops.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

This is hilarious.

I'm all for cheering our own players, it's part of cheering for your team.

But no, the fans have no control over the players becoming as good as they can become. Maybe .05% of influence. Or less. But "control"? you must be kidding.

I am pretty sure the booing last night will not affect how Bedard develops.

Contraire, it had huge effect on MANY former great prospect we had. We have not the most patient fanbase and we still have a bad reputation as one of the toughest place to play. It's way easier to develop in Arizona than under the spotlight in Montreal.

We almost got rid of Price at some point and if the decision was made by the fans and not the GM, they would have 100% shipped him out and kept Halak.

I will give you one stats, in the last 30 years we have developed 3 players that we can label them as success in the first round. Price, Pacioretty and Caufield. All other prospects failed and under performed and were shipped out or developed elsewhere (McDonagh and Sergachev). I know part of the blame is the scouting team but I also believe that the environment is also not favorable for top prospect to perform because of the added pressure by the fanbase and their expectations. I also believe that the management also take that in consideration when they decide on which player to draft.

Montreal will eat you alive at any misstep. No doubt that if Slafkovsky would have been drafted anywhere but Montreal, he would not feel that added pressure. I am sure Kotkaniemi is happy to be out of Montreal and not have to feel like he is the worst player ever because he is not Brady Tkachuk or Quinn Hughes.

 

[BaseballCoach]

We almost got rid of Price at some point and if the decision was made by the fans and not the GM, they would have 100% shipped him out and kept Halak.

Are you serious? You state that the Habs did not listen to the fans then you say the fans "almost" got rid of Price.

I'm done shining the light on your ridiculous statement that "we" should not focus on other players but should focus on developing our own.

Admit you stated it badly, and that what you meant is that as fans of the Habs, we should not be focused no whether other prospects would have been better to have, but rather to cheer our own and hope that our management team develops them the best they can.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Are you serious? You state that the Habs did not listen to the fans then you say the fans "almost" got rid of Price.

I'm done shining the light on your ridiculous statement that "we" should not focus on other players but should focus on developing our own.

Admit you stated it badly, and that what you meant is that as fans of the Habs, we should not be focused no whether other prospects would have been better to have, but rather to cheer our own and hope that our management team develops them the best they can.

obviously fan have no direct impact on players development, what more can I tell you? but the fact remain that expectations in Montreal are greater than elsewhere for a top prospect.

A majority of the fans were angry that they traded Halak.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Contraire, it had huge effect on MANY former great prospect we had. We have not the most patient fanbase and we still have a bad reputation as one of the toughest place to play. It's way easier to develop in Arizona than under the spotlight in Montreal.

We almost got rid of Price at some point and if the decision was made by the fans and not the GM, they would have 100% shipped him out and kept Halak.

I will give you one stats, in the last 30 years we have developed 3 players that we can label them as success in the first round. Price, Pacioretty and Caufield. All other prospects failed and under performed and were shipped out or developed elsewhere (McDonagh and Sergachev). I know part of the blame is the scouting team but I also believe that the environment is also not favorable for top prospect to perform because of the added pressure by the fanbase and their expectations. I also believe that the management also take that in consideration when they decide on which player to draft.

Montreal will eat you alive at any misstep. No doubt that if Slafkovsky would have been drafted anywhere but Montreal, he would not feel that added pressure. I am sure Kotkaniemi is happy to be out of Montreal and not have to feel like he is the worst player ever because he is not Brady Tkachuk or Quinn Hughes.

Jonathan Drouin did not fail here because he was booed.

Jonathan Drouin got booed, a little, AFTER years of failure. Then the booing stopped after the mental health issues became public, and Drouin still failed on the ice.

The fans have little control over development! We are not that important.

Kotkaniemi was never once booed or crapped on by fans. He was of course negatively affected by the pressure FROM HIS NEANDERTHAL COACHES, not the fans, while the GM supported the ineffective tactics of the coaches. Andf maybe he was also partly responsible for is own stagnation due to working less hard than guys like Caufield and Suzuki and Harvey-Pinard at getting better.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Thought he was okay. Created some chances but didn’t stand out.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Jonathan Drouin did not fail here because he was booed.

Jonathan Drouin got booed, a little, AFTER years of failure. Then the booing stopped after the mental health issues became public, and Drouin still failed on the ice.

The fans have little control over development! We are not that important.

Kotkaniemi was never once booed or crapped on by fans. He was of course negatively affected by the pressure FROM HIS NEANDERTHAL COACHES, not the fans, while the GM supported the ineffective tactics of the coaches. Andf maybe he was also partly responsible for is own stagnation due to working less hard than guys like Caufield and Suzuki and Harvey-Pinard at getting better.

I think you underrate the impact of the pressure of the fanbase/media, especially when you are not the best player drafted. I think Caufield had less pressure on his shoulder because there are no player selected behind him that is clearly better than him, otherwise you would still have some fans complaining. The fans always expect every pick to have been the best possible player. I remember when KK was still with the Habs, you would listen to the media and fans on the radio and they would destroy him. He cannot skate, not physical enough, a bad pick. Every player are responsible for their success/development but in Montreal you also have to consider the pressure of the fanbase. It does affect the players, it's not normal to have that many failed in the first round pick and it's not just scouting or development.

 

[sampollock]

I really hope the look at Slaf close, in the next 30 days. should he go the rocket

 

[SlafySZN]

He had a good give and go with suzuki and newhook and created another chance for newhook but yeah kind of a weird game for pretty much everyone to get into.

 

[Kennerback]

When he has an opportunity to go to the front of the net from behind the net, he needs to take it.
He needs to use his body more effectively to shield the puck. Monahan does a better job than him.
He needs to generally drive the net and shoot much more.

 

[sampollock]

When he has an opportunity to go to the front of the net from behind the net, he needs to take it.
He needs to use his body more effectively to shield the puck. Monahan does a better job than him.
He needs to generally drive the net and shoot much more.

He is young. which means he needs to be taught how to use his huge frame to his advantage

 

[HankyZetts]

When he has an opportunity to go to the front of the net from behind the net, he needs to take it.
He needs to use his body more effectively to shield the puck. Monahan does a better job than him.
He needs to generally drive the net and shoot much more.

19 years old. it's coming

 

[Kennerback]

He is young. which means he needs to be taught how to use his huge frame to his advantage

It’s things I don’t expect from Suzuki or Caufield, it’s not their makeup. But it’s absolutely Slaf’s, and he’s really putting a ceiling on his effectiveness if he doesn’t.

19 years old. it's coming

Some of it is psychological. You either force yourself to the net with the puck or you don’t.

 

[Sorinth]

It’s things I don’t expect from Suzuki or Caufield, it’s not their makeup. But it’s absolutely Slaf’s, and he’s really putting a ceiling on his effectiveness if he doesn’t.


Some of it is psychological. You either force yourself to the net with the puck or you don’t.

A lot of the psychological aspect could be attributed to not wanting to create a turnover. And we also see a lot of that with his forechecking, he isn't pressuring as hard or finishing his checks like we would want and it looks like it's a case of not wanting to take himself out of position. So yeah he needs to impose himself more and drive the net with the puck, but it's something that will probably come with experience. Let's not forget when playing in Finland where it was all about playing the trap, that don't cause a turnover is what was being driven into him. It simply takes time to unlearn/adjust to a different style of play.