Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Skip Bayless]

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.​

 

[Habs]

sometimes he looks good in traffic, sometimes he looks like hot garbage. I think a year in the AHL would be great, maybe 6 months even. However I don't think management has the balls to do this and would think of the season ticket holders and what they want on the ice. Fine line in player development and pleasing the fans, gotta warrant those high ticket prices and they seem to love Slaf out there so...

hard to get a read on this kid, but yeah he should be in the AHL

 

[sandviper]

It was the Senators NHL bottom 6 and half their NHL dmen + experienced AHLers/twinners beside Toure playing for a spot on the main team.

And Dach's line dominated them all. That line played like a top 2 NHL line last game or the Sens bottom 6 will be very weak this coming season...

Yeah, not sure exactly what the argument was about this being an AHL team anyways. In that case, you WANT to see Dach and company dominate. You want Slaf to have a strong game. You build from this.

 

[morhilane]

Yeah, not sure exactly what the argument was about this being an AHL team anyways. In that case, you WANT to see Dach and company dominate. You want Slaf to have a strong game. You build from this.

It's the same argument they always bring up "Slaf only dominate weak team". At some point it will turn into "but they aren't McDavids" when he does the same thing against most 1st/2nd NHL lines during the season.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Fully believe in him. I knew many fans were sleeping on what we had on our hands.

Slaf will be terrific throughout his 20s and early 30s, as long as he can avoid becoming injury-prone.

 

[Skip Bayless]

I'm not surprised by what we saw from Slaf last night, gave us various hints of the player he could be in the NHL, but we should take it with some reservation too.

I really liked how RHP and Dach complemented him and allowed him to focus on just getting to open ice and creating off the puck.

I think the challenge with him is finding the right balance between playing off of guys and being a one man army, which is probably the main reason he was drafted. He has the potential to take over shifts by himself.

He's assimilating the teachings of sensei MSL well. He seems like a kid with a head on his shoulders and authentic self-confidence; The confidence that will allow him to keep pushing when things don't go his way.

 

[sampollock]

AHL for the 1st half of the year would be the best course for him
that way the MTL media wont eat him up if he struggles

 

[habdynasty]

NHL all the way. Learn from St. Louis.

 

[Mrb1p]

it's ironic (again) to see you write this, moments after crying foul of personal attacks.

But I mean, sure, the context of where he played would be different...but he'd still be the same player lol.

That's the main point.

Can you at least appreciate that some people dont believe this? What weve seen yesterday is an almost entirely AHL roster, and Slaf had many, many puck touches. Id say, probably more than he ever had in his 39 NHL games.

Do you believe that if he had a whole year of this instead of the 39 games of what ever last year was, he would be the same player today?

 

[Hannibal]

We’re starting to see the force he will become. Let him develop on Dach’s wing. Do not let him rot on a third line or fourth line like kakko or laff in NY

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

10-15 goals and 30-35 points is good growth

Honestly if he can play like that consistently enough AND with Dach I’d be inclined to double those numbers. I can see 50-60 points. Dach’s looking to break out and those guys had instant chemistry.

Those two could wreak havoc in the offensive zone.

Honestly, I just want him to not put himself in vulnerable positions. If he can do that and stay healthy I think his production will take a big leap.

 

[417]

Can you at least appreciate that some people dont believe this?

It's the common thought process...trust me, I appreciate it.

I think i'm in the minority more than anything in terms of how I think if anything. I feel like i'm having to justify to explain my point of view more.

What weve seen yesterday is an almost entirely AHL roster, and Slaf had many, many puck touches. Id say, probably more than he ever had in his 39 NHL games

Yesterday was great, but I don't read into it anymore or any less than what I saw on Monday or the previous 39 NHL games.

Do you believe that if he had a whole year of this instead of the 39 games of what ever last year was, he would be the same player today?

Did you listen to MSL's press conference yesterday? There's a specific quote that he used that I've said on here quite often, see below'

“And growing is not necessarily in a straight line. There’s going to be some dips and stuff, but I’m pretty sure at the end of the season, when we connect these dots, it’s going up. There’s going to be expectations that he has to live with. Sometimes they’re unfair.”

Personally, I try not to get caught up in the high's and low's, because like MSL described in this quote, there's going to be more of them.

I do believe that eventually, down the line...the dots will connect and we'll be able to see how much the process will have driven the results.

So to answer your question, no, I don't believe that had he spent the entire year in Laval and had more puck touches, that he would be an entirely different player today. I do sincerely beleive that there would be more valleys and more peaks to go through, because that's development.

Take last year as a perfect example...the player Juraj Slafkovsky was at the rookie camp, vs the player he was the last games leading up to his injury, are not the same player. I get that for the "results focused" fans, there wasn't any tangible improvement, but from a "process" point of view...he DID improve, significantly. So when you connected the dots at the end of last season, IMO, the arrow pointed up.

Our best player Nick Suzuki STILL has peaks and valleys in his game, why would it be any different for Slafkovsky? Because he happened to be drafted 1st overall?

Hope that answers your question!

 

[waitin425]

Honestly if he can play like that consistently enough AND with Dach I’d be inclined to double those numbers. I can see 50-60 points. Dach’s looking to break out and those guys had instant chemistry.

Those two could wreak havoc in the offensive zone.

Honestly, I just want him to not put himself in vulnerable positions. If he can do that and stay healthy I think his production will take a big leap.

Agreed....the main thing that might hold him back is not being on the PP as often as Dach. But if we anchor him to Dach for the year he could certainly do something like 25-25. I hope for Dach to reach 70.

Unless of course we ended up with a PP consisting of.......

Suzuki, Caufield, Matheson, Dach, Slaf

That would be a dream!

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Have people stepped off the ledge at least temporarily?

He's a 19-year-old kid and still growing into his body, the speed of the NHL, etc.

I heard something a while back about not being able to call a kid a bust until they're at least the legal drinking age in the USA, and for power forwards the development curve takes even longer.

Will he live up to the 1st overall selection? Time will tell.

Will he be a good contributor at the NHL level at the very least? I believe so. A lot of that also comes down to him having a great coach for young players in Marty St. Louis.

 

[salbutera]

Have people stepped off the ledge at least temporarily?

He's a 19-year-old kid and still growing into his body, the speed of the NHL, etc.

I heard something a while back about not being able to call a kid a bust until they're at least the legal drinking age in the USA, and for power forwards the development curve takes even longer.

Will he live up to the 1st overall selection? Time will tell.

Will he be a good contributor at the NHL level at the very least? I believe so. A lot of that also comes down to him having a great coach for young players in Marty St. Louis.

My rule of thumb: Some are early bloomers, some late… 5-years post draft is good window to evaluate the draft pick

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I won’t bother to check who they are, but they need to exist. The board was 80some% wanting Wright before the draft and Cooley was just an afterthought. The people that don’t like the Slaf pick will give an alternative pick, and now the big name is Cooley.

Nonetheless, I strongly defend the idea that Management is completely responsible if they missed with Cooley. Just as much as Wright. When you have 3, maybe 4 forwards to keep track of, you don’t f*** up. It’s an error you can’t make.

I wanted Wright. I flipped between Cooley, Nemec for awhile because I didn’t expect to get 1OA. Once we got 1OA, I wanted Wright. Nothing has changed for me.

I had it
Wright
Cooley
Nemec

Jiricek

Slaf

Still love Nemec a lot. We will see how it ends up. I’ve got a ton invested in Slaf and hope he succeeds. I think our approach to his development has been terrible.

 

[BenchBrawl]

NHL all the way.

 

[Habs]

btw this team has a lot to prove in developing prospects so it's hard to get excited about anyone new to this system.

 

[Zorro]

AHL for the 1st half of the year would be the best course for him
that way the MTL media wont eat him up if he struggles

After seeing him in these 2 games, that's what i'm thinking would be the best for him. He still seems to be a step or 2 behind and taking an extra second.

 

[Kimota]

Really great flashes last game.

 

[Twisted Sinister]

Have people stepped off the ledge at least temporarily?

He's a 19-year-old kid and still growing into his body, the speed of the NHL, etc.

I heard something a while back about not being able to call a kid a bust until they're at least the legal drinking age in the USA, and for power forwards the development curve takes even longer.

Will he live up to the 1st overall selection? Time will tell.

Will he be a good contributor at the NHL level at the very least? I believe so. A lot of that also comes down to him having a great coach for young players in Marty St. Louis.

Really great flashes last game.

Welp, Slaf had a good game. That's it. Ça sent la coupe, les boys.

 

[ReHabs]

btw this team has a lot to prove in developing prospects so it's hard to get excited about anyone new to this system.

Agreed. This is strongly the subtext of my cautious and pessimistic approach to everything Habs but I understand how many fans hate to not have faith in their team, and hate when others don’t have faith.

Personally, it rankles me when people propose nutty optimism and rationalizations (eg Head Hunting Orcs in the AHL means NHL is safer for Slafkovsky) but it comes with the territory.

 

[Scriptor]

Agreed....the main thing that might hold him back is not being on the PP as often as Dach. But if we anchor him to Dach for the year he could certainly do something like 25-25. I hope for Dach to reach 70.

Unless of course we ended up with a PP consisting of.......

Suzuki, Caufield, Matheson, Dach, Slaf

That would be a dream!

Not happening. PP will consist of Canfield, Suzuki, Monahan, Matheson and Dach.

Monahan really helped the PP last season.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

btw this team has a lot to prove in developing prospects so it's hard to get excited about anyone new to this system.

Since new management has come you can see the difference. It’s night and day.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

btw this team has a lot to prove in developing prospects so it's hard to get excited about anyone new to this system.

No no no. Don't you know you can't possibly think Hughes or Gorton can make any mistakes. It's heresy.


It's almost a religion now. A sect.

Yet, they still haven't proven much.

Since new management has come you can see the difference. It’s night and day.

Yeah, but replacing an idiot and doing better than him is not a tall order.

The yardstick shouldn't be Bergevin. The yardstick is winning it all.