Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

Where would you prefer Slaf spend his 23-24 season?


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Estimated_Prophet

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While we are at it; he keeps his head up while controling the puck and skating with it. I love that trait.
Not only does Roy do that but his body is so quiet and provides very few tells for goalies and defenders. He can pass, shoot or deke at any time and this is a trait that all great offensive players have. You can just see that the kid is organically just a natural scorer and he knows it.
 

Jaaanosik

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Slaf had some Slovak fans in the stands tonight.

1697943429427.png
 

Frank Drebin

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No really,

Instead of watching him playing 2nd line and PP2, racking 30-40 points in the NHL.

I would rather see him have 100 points in the AHL with Maillet and Andersson.

Surely that will make him a better player in the long run.
You want slaf to play in the ahl for three years just so he can score 100 points?
 
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Pazucha

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Apr 3, 2023
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I think this one was probably his worst game of the season including pre-season. Nothing bad but also nothing special.

At this point I am convicted that Anderson makes every line he plays on worse.

They took Anderson of the first line and Suzuki and Caufield looked like stars again.


Honestly I am loosing faith in this management with Dach and Guhle injuries this team has no chance at making anything this season so why does Slafkovsky play only 13 min per game?

The 2PP unit has a nice segment of plays and draws penalty and they send 1PP back on the ice at that point I knew Caps will score 2 goals to tie the game..

I was convinced that Slaf could get close to 40 pts this season with Dach playing 18-20 minutes per game. But if he has to play with Anderson 13 min per game than I am sure he is gonna break some records for the least scoring 1OA in the history.
 
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MadMslm

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Jun 16, 2018
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I think this one was probably his worst game of the season including pre-season. Nothing bad but also nothing special.

At this point I am convicted that Anderson makes every line he plays on worse.

They took Anderson of the first line and Suzuki and Caufield looked like stars again.


Honestly I am loosing faith in this management with Dach and Guhle injuries this team has no chance at making anything this season so why does Slafkovsky play only 13 min per game?

The 2PP unit has a nice segment of plays and draws penalty and they send 1PP back on the ice at that point I knew Caps will score 2 goals to tie the game..

I was convinced that Slaf could get close to 40 pts this season with Dach playing 18-20 minutes per game. But if he has to play with Anderson 13 min per game than I am sure he is gonna break some records for the least scoring 1OA in the history.

I honestly don’t agree with your take on his performance last night.

I often criticize his play because he doesn’t look convincing enough even when he is having success, but tonight he was so assertive.

It’s the first time I see him handle the puck like that in such a convincing manner.

Normally he will look weak or lucky when he wins battles for the puck, but tonight he looked so good in those instances. Never seemed to panic or think, every play he made worked out and seemed intentional. And those were all made quickly.

I think it’s his strongest game after his first one of the season, and I even felt like he looked better. Got less scoring chances, but he looked in control. Still has some problems without the puck where he often stops skating, but tonight most of those were in his zone. I found him surprisingly active in the neutral and offensive zone.

I do wish he was put on the first PP instead of Anderson, it would have been a good reward for a good performance. He needs a little push in a more offensive setting.

This is really the first time I felt he looked like an NHL player. If he plays like that constantly, he will easily get on the scoresheet.
 
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26Mats

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I honestly don’t agree with your take on his performance last night.

I often criticize his play because he doesn’t look convincing enough even when he is having success, but tonight he was so assertive.

It’s the first time I see him handle the puck like that in such a convincing manner.

Normally he will look weak or lucky when he wins battles for the puck, but tonight he looked so good in those instances. Never seemed to panic or think, every play he made worked out and seemed intentional. And those were all made quickly.

I think it’s his strongest game after his first one of the season, and I even felt like he looked better. Got less scoring chances, but he looked in control. Still has some problems without the puck where he often stops skating, but tonight most of those were in his zone. I found him surprisingly active in the neutral and offensive zone.

I do wish he was put on the first PP instead of Anderson, it would have been a good reward for a good performance. He needs a little push in a more offensive setting.

This is really the first time I felt he looked like an NHL player. If he plays like that constantly, he will easily get on the scoresheet.

I also liked his game tonight. He was winning many puck battles - not all but many. He's skating well. You can see the hands and he makes a lot of good passes.

But, I'm not sure he's ready to play the bumper on the pp on the first unit. He may be better served playing the half wall on the second unit. I'd like to see RHP or Newhook play the bumper on the first unit...

Slaf has a lot of tools. I for sure think he's an NHLer. But what kind of NHLer will he be? Will he be a Pavel Zacha? A big guy who took until 25 to pit all his tools together to be able to produce? Or more? Or less? I would have rathered he work more on his game playing big minutes at a lower level.
 
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ReHabs

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This is really the first time I felt he looked like an NHL player.
Inconsistency in game-to-game performance is a sign that he's not suited to play in the NHL at this time.

If he's struggling to keep his head above water, as a skill player he'll never be able to be relied on to produce and impact a game.

Of course contrarians will insist that we just want to see him put points up in a lesser league because it'll stroke our egos... but far from it, how can he improve his game and develop his skills if one game he looks like an NHLer and the other he doesn't? That's not an NHLer!!

MSL says Puck Touches but doesn't give him more TOI. What's the problem here? Is it his stamina or is it that he's really inconsistent out there and MSL, in the heat of the game, doesn't feel like leaning on him?

I withhold my own analysis and commentary until Game 10 of the season. We need enough games to see a trend, so absent production it's too early to say he's improved not (imo).
 

MadMslm

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I also liked his game tonight. He was winning many puck battles - not all but many. He's skating well. You can see the hands and he makes a lot of good passes.

But, I'm not sure he's ready to play the bumper on the pp on the first unit. He may be better served playing the half wall on the second unit. I'd like to see RHP or Newhook play the bumper on the first unit...

Slaf has a lot of tools. I for sure think he's an NHLer. But what kind of NHLer will he be? Will he be a Pavel Zacha? A big guy who took until 25 to pit all his tools together to be able to produce? Or more? Or less? I would have rathered he work more on his game playing big minutes at a lower level.

He doesn’t necessarily need to be the bumper. They could try him at the same spot where he plays on the second wave. Even then, playing him in different roles on the PP can only be a good thing. It’s chance to get meaningful time on the ice and to discover what areas are more suited for him.

Inconsistency in game-to-game performance is a sign that he's not suited to play in the NHL at this time.

If he's struggling to keep his head above water, as a skill player he'll never be able to be relied on to produce and impact a game.

Of course contrarians will insist that we just want to see him put points up in a lesser league because it'll stroke our egos... but far from it, how can he improve his game and develop his skills if one game he looks like an NHLer and the other he doesn't? That's not an NHLer!!

MSL says Puck Touches but doesn't give him more TOI. What's the problem here? Is it his stamina or is it that he's really inconsistent out there and MSL, in the heat of the game, doesn't feel like leaning on him?

I withhold my own analysis and commentary until Game 10 of the season. We need enough games to see a trend, so absent production it's too early to say he's improved not (imo).

Feels like contrarians rather insist those people see him as a bust, when most just want to see him develop properly.

Progression isn’t always linear, even established players around the league have bad stretches and consistency draws the line between the truly elite players of the league.

Even in performances where people are chanting his praises in this thread, even though plays he should be expected to make, I still see many problems in his game.

Tonight, I’m left surprised. Whenever he’s on the ice, all my attention is on him. Often left disappointed with multiple area of his game, but that’s something I can say after last night’s game.

I felt he looked really good and NHL worthy. It’s entirely possible he won’t look like this on Monday, but seeing the confidence and the control he displayed was a breath of fresh air.

Will see where he stands after the 10 game mark, and he will definitely need to get on the score sheet here and there.
 
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26Mats

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He doesn’t necessarily need to be the bumper. They could try him at the same spot where he plays on the second wave. Even then, playing him in different roles on the PP can only be a good thing. It’s chance to get meaningful time on the ice and to discover what areas are more suited for him.



Feels like contrarians rather insist those people see him as a bust, when most just want to see him develop properly.

Progression isn’t always linear, even established players around the league have bad stretches and consistency draws the line between the truly elite players of the league.

Even in performances where people are chanting his praises in this thread, even though plays he should be expected to make, I still see many problems in his game.

Tonight, I’m left surprised. Whenever he’s on the ice, all my attention is on him. Often left disappointed with multiple area of his game, but that’s something I can say after last night’s game.

I felt he looked really good and NHL worthy. It’s entirely possible he won’t look like this on Monday, but seeing the confidence and the control he displayed was a breath of fresh air.

Will see where he stands after the 10 game mark, and he will definitely need to get on the score sheet here and there.

While that's true, I wouldn't take Suzuki out of the right halfwall position or Caufield out of the left half wall position. So that only leaves the bumper or the front of the net. It would be great if one day he could play the top of the diamond, as a 5th forward. He's got the shot. But I don't think he's ready to be the last man back.

Maybe 5 on 3? It would be refreshing to have someone back there who's always looking to shoot, whether through one timers or snappers.
 
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ReHabs

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Feels like contrarians rather insist those people see him as a bust, when most just want to see him develop properly.
Not one regular commentator has said they want him to bust or think he's a bust, and yet a few posts above yours there is someone saying "He didn‘t get any points though so he’ll get bashed at some point between tonight and Monday despite the good game and us winning."...

Progression isn’t always linear, even established players around the league have bad stretches and consistency draws the line between the truly elite players of the league.
I agree but once a player is established as bonafide NHL quality, you tend to not worry about such things. Also... they can't be sent down, so that door is blocked!

Slaf can be sent down and there is nothing wrong with sending him to the AHL at this phase in his hockey career. That the Habs won't do it has been re-affirmed multiple times but it doesn't mean we should accept it as the final word. We know the Habs make mistakes all the time, this could be one of them.

As for bad stretches, If Suzuki is on a bad stretch, we should be able to say "he's on a bad stretch, I hope he breaks out soon". If Slafkovsky is on a bad stretch, we should be able to say "this is bad for his development, we have an easy out -- let's send him down for the time being" and it could be right or wrong but it's certainly not bashing to say so.

We were saying it last year but many thought it was against the rules to criticise the Habs organization's handling and management of Slafkovsky so they complained about us and made us out to be haters who want our own prospects to fail. Now they insist that last year was actually good and we would see the results this year. Like you say in the rest of your post: we expect some more production while we wait to review progress at gp10.

I think I've come to terms with the notion that the Habs will belligerently not send Slafkovsky down no matter what so I won't be repeating my folly of last year. I don't like game-by-game recaps either but the gloating and sneering after game 1 has all but died down... how so very expected.

How about no gloating, sneering, or being snotty after any game, good or bad? We celebrate the good and critically assess the not-so-good.
 
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Habbietat

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Jul 1, 2022
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Does anyone think this is appropriate for anyone in the NHL?
No ability to create or beat a man 1v1
Falls in the corner everytime he goes to get the puck
Please send him down, or else he's ****ed

Screenshot 2023-10-22 073245.png
 

Naslundforever

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I think this one was probably his worst game of the season including pre-season. Nothing bad but also nothing special.

At this point I am convicted that Anderson makes every line he plays on worse.

They took Anderson of the first line and Suzuki and Caufield looked like stars again.


Honestly I am loosing faith in this management with Dach and Guhle injuries this team has no chance at making anything this season so why does Slafkovsky play only 13 min per game?

The 2PP unit has a nice segment of plays and draws penalty and they send 1PP back on the ice at that point I knew Caps will score 2 goals to tie the game..

I was convinced that Slaf could get close to 40 pts this season with Dach playing 18-20 minutes per game. But if he has to play with Anderson 13 min per game than I am sure he is gonna break some records for the least scoring 1OA in the history.
Completely disagree with you take, looked really comfortable to me last night and much more so than last year.

Does anyone think this is appropriate for anyone in the NHL?
No ability to create or beat a man 1v1
Falls in the corner everytime he goes to get the puck
Please send him down, or else he's ****ed

View attachment 756207
Seems perfectly fine?
 

Habbietat

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Jul 1, 2022
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Seems perfectly fine?
So after 10 games and still zeroes across the board, avg 1 shot, eye test showing no creativity, sure he can take a body check every once and a while, bounce off and make a good pass, but this boy needs to get hit, push the guy off and make a move to create a scoring chance for himself, he should practice it in the AHL
 

Andy

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I thought he played very very well yesterday. He and Newhook were very good. Much better than the Wild game.

Interesting the perspectives you get when a player doesn't get any points.

I don't mind calling him out when he has bad games, like the Wild game, but he actually looked really good last night. He made some wicked passes on the PP.
 
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Naslundforever

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So after 10 games and still zeroes across the board, avg 1 shot, eye test showing no creativity, sure he can take a body check every once and a while, bounce off and make a good pass, but this boy needs to get hit, push the guy off and make a move to create a scoring chance for himself, he should practice it in the AHL
It’s been 4 games and is definitely improving since being drafted.. You seem to have a very categorical and biased idea of what success looks like for him which I don’t share, including how pushing guys off on the ahl would be different somehow. He is much more efficient than last year. Last night the speedsters carried the puck and he went to the net, as he should.
 
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Habbietat

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It’s been 4 games and is definitely improving. You seem to have a very categorical and biased idea of what success looks like for him which I don’t share, including how pushing guys off on the ahl would be different somehow. He is much more efficient than last year. Last night the speedsters carried the puck and he went to the net, as he should.
Alright, at a certain point either what you do creates or it doesnt, we shall see. In my opinion hes going to stagenate and the points wont come, not because I have a bias because I was for this player, but because I see what hes doing and the outcome is predictable. If you dont think points matter or it isnt a benchmark for himself than I dont know what to tell you but if he got 1 or 2 assists after 10 games than maybe they should start to look at it
 

SlafySZN

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Habs fans lost patience with Jesperi Kotkaniemi in his third season. They mostly celebrated when Carolina signed "the bum".

Last year, in his 5th season, he had 43 points in 82 games. This year, he has 7 points in 6 games.
Some will never learn.

Patience is not in everyone’s vocabulary. Calling a 19-20 years old a ‘’bust’’ is crazy. Dach was gonna have the same type of season this year, at 22.
 
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Habbietat

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Habs fans lost patience with Jesperi Kotkaniemi in his third season. They mostly celebrated when Carolina signed "the bum".

Last year, in his 5th season, he had 43 points in 82 games. This year, he has 7 points in 6 games.
I dont think fans are at the lost patience phase, just the worried about his development phase, its one thing to say hes going to suck forever and saying he needs different pathway to get to where we all want him to go and think he can get *for me anyways, cant speak to others :)
 
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BLONG7

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So after 10 games and still zeroes across the board, avg 1 shot, eye test showing no creativity, sure he can take a body check every once and a while, bounce off and make a good pass, but this boy needs to get hit, push the guy off and make a move to create a scoring chance for himself, he should practice it in the AHL
10 games?
Habs have played 4 games.............he has been good, as long as you are actually watching the games....
Patience is a virtue...He is not the first 18-19 year old who has been slow out of the gate...
 

Habbietat

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10 games?
Habs have played 4 games.............he has been good, as long as you are actually watching the games....
Patience is a virtue...He is not the first 18-19 year old who has been slow out of the gate...
yes I watch every game, limited skill set which he needs to expand, my opinion is he can expand it with more time and space in AHL, I have no problem with giving him more time in the NHL as its the majority opinion here, but if we get to the point in the future where its discussed, just know people wanted it earlier, if he goes on and doesnt need it then you win, no biggie, amazing how personal people can take opinions
 
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