Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[Scriptor]

I mean,

At the same age, I have way more concerns regarding Slafkowsky than I ever did with KK.

Don't forget, we did not want to trade KK. It was nice having that big young C, our core was nicely set. This was Bergy's fault, period.

Don't act like all Habs fans are KK haters by default.

WTF are you talking about?

I'm not a KK hater, nor do I think Hab fans are, by default.

Please, compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. KK is 4 years older than Slafkovsky. They didn't call him Bambi in his first few seasons for nothing...

 

[ReHabs]

Here’s my opinion: he doesn’t look out of place but he’s also not producing points. I’d rather he be dominating and getting some scoring under his belt.

I’d send him down to play with Roy. Not because I don’t think he can hack it but because I think it’s be better for him. More ice, more opportunity, more points…

It’s not about dominating for the sake of dominating. It’s more about doing things with the puck (aka “Puck Touches” to use MSL’s term) and learning how to make plays at higher speeds. He doesn’t know how to do it now and can’t learn because he’s so far behind the play every night. It’s mind boggling.

Now we’re told to wait until 2026 for him to turn out good. Seems like nobody can accept the Habs got it wrong with Slaf-in-NHL.

I’ve never seen something like this in my entire life as a fan… if it works out it’ll be such a massive relief.

WTF are you talking about?

I'm not a KK hater, nor do I think Hab fans are, by default.

Please, compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. KK is 4 years older than Slafkovsky. They didn't call him Bambi in his first few seasons for nothing...

KK was better than Slaf at the same age. Better D year, better D+1. KK was awful in his D+2 until he got to the AHL where he was fine… but then he suffered a bad internal injury and didn’t recover his form.

Slaf has not been good in his D+2 and certainly wasn’t good in his D+1.

 

[Kennedys]

It’s not about dominating for the sake of dominating. It’s more about doing things with the puck (aka “Puck Touches” to use MSL’s term) and learning how to make plays at higher speeds. He doesn’t know how to do it now and can’t learn because he’s so far behind the play every night. It’s mind boggling.

Now we’re told to wait until 2026 for him to turn out good. Seems like nobody can accept the Habs got it wrong with Slaf-in-NHL.

I’ve never seen something like this in my entire life as a fan… if it works out it’ll be such a massive relief.


KK was better than Slaf at the same age. Better D year, better D+1. KK was awful in his D+2 until he got to the AHL where he was fine… but then he suffered a bad internal injury and didn’t recover his form.

Slaf has not been good in his D+2 and certainly wasn’t good in his D+1.

Let's hope slaf is a Tage Thompson in the making.

 

[Nipsey]

Management needs to put their ego aside and put him in the AHL where he can play all situations. Forget about keeping your 1st overall pick in the line-up and do whats best for his development, the game is just too fast for him to process. He can still be a decent middle six physical piece.

 

[River Meadow]

WTF are you talking about?

I'm not a KK hater, nor do I think Hab fans are, by default.

Please, compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. KK is 4 years older than Slafkovsky. They didn't call him Bambi in his first few seasons for nothing...

Go look at the footage from 2020 playoffs series of KK (D1) and his 2021 playoffs (D2).

KK > Slafkowsky at the same age, not only in terms of perceived skill, etc but KK could also hit quite hard and didn't shy away from that.

I never really understood the 'Bambi' reference tbh, is it because he fell a lot?

 

[ReHabs]

Let's hope slaf is a Tage Thompson in the making.

Tage wasn’t rushed to the NHL. He was allowed to learn what he needed to learn in easier divisions and against easier defenders than literally the world’s best in the sport.

Management needs to put their ego aside and put him in the AHL where he can play all situations. Forget about keeping your 1st overall pick in the line-up and do whats best for his development, the game is just too fast for him to process. He can still be a decent middle six physical piece.

Story of the Habs: Management will not put their egos aside.

I never really understood the 'Bambi' reference tbh, is it because he fell a lot?

Tall, thin, fell over a lot, baby face.

———

Addendum: it could be that many Slaf-in-the NHL supporters think Slaf is actually very good at playmaking and doesn’t need to learn much, he just needs to adapt to NHL speeds.

If that’s your case, I fully understand why you’d support him developing in the NHL.

I just wonder: what makes you certain he’s a good playmaker?

 

[Kennedys]

Habs have to keep him in the NHL because...1st OA. "See, we don't suck at drafting. The kid is in the NHL already". This is sad

 

[Bushero]

Management needs to put their ego aside and put him in the AHL where he can play all situations. Forget about keeping your 1st overall pick in the line-up and do whats best for his development, the game is just too fast for him to process. He can still be a decent middle six physical piece.

They don't dare to do that because they are afraid that Bustlafski won't get anything done in the farm either. It would make too much noise. I would send him to europe.

 

[Heffyhoof]

Still too early in the process for a proper call. He seems to be doing okay overall and has improved in a number of areas from last year. Kinda the exact same things that are being said after every game.

That said, the process needs to produce results eventually. A point next game would have him on pace for last year's total so hopefully the next one he gets puts a pep in his step.

 

[CoopersFalls]

He seems to look decent every game, just not getting results. Doesn't help losing Dach, that's for sure. I would give him a shot with Caufield and Suzuki considering no one else has worked beside them this year anyway.

 

[waitin425]

He seems to look decent every game, just not getting results. Doesn't help losing Dach, that's for sure. I would give him a shot with Caufield and Suzuki considering no one else has worked beside them this year anyway.

Yeah.....I think he has looked like he belongs, but I am starting to lose patience.

Try him with Suzuki and Caufield. Put him on the #1 PP and kick Anderson to the curb on that.

Give him the next 3 games with the big dogs. If he doesn't produce...go ahead and send him down for a 10 game stint. Confidence is a fragile thing. It contributes to momentum either way. He needs to at some point this year have a super boost in production and effectiveness.

Slaf - Suzuki - Caufield
Anderson - Money - Newhook
RHP - Dvorak - Gally
Pezz - Evans - Ylonen

 

[Hannibal]

I wasn’t a fan of how the Rangers played Lafreniere on their bottom lines early in his career, but patience is starting to pay off as Lafreniere is looking like a star early this season.

 

[HeussLenfoire]

Yeah, 4 points in 7 games, what a star, crazy

 

[Jamaican Patty]

Yeah, 4 points in 7 games, what a star, crazy

He actually has 12 points in 6 games. He missed the second game due to diarrhea.

 

[Hannibal]

Yeah, 4 points in 7 games, what a star, crazy

Watched 2 Rangers game and he looked very good. He’s finding his game back. Dangerous most of the time.

 

[Pazucha]

Yeah.....I think he has looked like he belongs, but I am starting to lose patience.

Try him with Suzuki and Caufield. Put him on the #1 PP and kick Anderson to the curb on that.

Give him the next 3 games with the big dogs. If he doesn't produce...go ahead and send him down for a 10 game stint. Confidence is a fragile thing. It contributes to momentum either way. He needs to at some point this year have a super boost in production and effectiveness.

Slaf - Suzuki - Caufield
Anderson - Money - Newhook
RHP - Dvorak - Gally
Pezz - Evans - Ylonen

MSL should have tried that much earlier like after third or fourth game when he looked great and played with confidence. And on the other hand Nick and Caufield struggled in 5v5.

I believe he missed the perfect timing.

 

[Hisch13r]

I wasn’t a fan of how the Rangers played Lafreniere on their bottom lines early in his career, but patience is starting to pay off as Lafreniere is looking like a star early this season.

No he doesn’t lol. 10 shots in 7 games is bad and he doesn’t playmake. He’s not going to continue to shoot 40% all year. He’s a decent passenger finisher playing with an elite playmaker. Maybe he’ll be a complimentary 2nd liner one day but he likely isn’t a star

 

[Hannibal]

No he doesn’t lol. 10 shots in 7 games is bad and he doesn’t playmake. He’s not going to continue to shoot 40% all year

Have you watched a Rangers game this season or just stat watching?

 

[SnapVirus]

Slafkovsky probably wouldn’t even profuce in the ahl. He has abilities and hell be a nhler. But he wont ever become a 1st line forward.

 

[calder candidate]

KK showed some significant improvement after going down to the AHL, even if he had the injury… Can’t see why Slaf couldn’t benefit from a few games in the AHL.
He isn’t making any mistake but we want a player that can have a impact not just be reliable.

 

[Habricot]

Wow people are a bit harsh on this kid. He could easily be sitting at 4-5 assists by now had Anderson been able to convert any of these chances. Its all about confidence for him. There is progression, he is starting to throw is weight around a bit which he was not doing last year. His line was dominant yesterday but did not manage to score. Everyone here is preaching patience and at the same time they are reluctant to see the progression and potential.

I would wait another 10 games and if his confidence seems to be down we make a switch with Roy in the AHL and hopefully he increases his confidence.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

He has made big leaps as an athlete this season, but you can tell he still gets a bit overwhelmed mentally. As an actual hockey player, he comes off as super raw. It's to be expected though, he doesn't even have 50 games under his belt yet. I'm willing to give him and our new development staff a bit more time, they got him to be at a pro level conditioning wise, that was a pretty big part of the puzzle.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Didn’t get to watch the game tonight but boy are the reviews ever mixed on Slafkovsky right now. Lol it’s like people are evaluating two different players.

Yeah I don’t think I’ve ever seen it be quite THIS polarized on here.

Haven’t been able to watch much yet this year but what I saw both sides have their merits.

He very well could benefit from AHL time where maybe you COULD expedite the process a bit quicker.

Patches looked like a completely reborn player when he went down and came back up. There’s just about zero chance that transformation would’ve happened as quickly, if at all, had he not advocated for himself to be sent down.

Who knows what would’ve happened if Covid didn’t happen and KK could’ve stayed down and continued to rack up points in Laval.

It CAN be a curse to be just good enough to not be sent down. I think he very well will get to where he needs to be regardless of where he plays, but there’s just a likely probability he could maybe get there a bit faster if he goes to Laval for a bit.

Even if people disagree with the aforementioned, I‘D like to hear a convincing argument on what would be the negatives of sending him down.

I would like to be convinced that there are real dangers in sending him down

 

[Tyson]

Yeah I don’t think I’ve ever seen it be quite THIS polarized on here.

Haven’t been able to watch much yet this year but what I saw both sides have their merits.

He very well could benefit from AHL time where maybe you COULD expedite the process a bit quicker.

Patches looked like a completely reborn player when he went down and came back up. There’s just about zero chance that transformation would’ve happened as quickly, if at all, had he not advocated for himself to be sent down.

Who knows what would’ve happened if Covid didn’t happen and KK could’ve stayed down and continued to rack up points in Laval.

It CAN be a curse to be just good enough to not be sent down. I think he very well will get to where he needs to be regardless of where he plays, but there’s just a likely probability he could maybe get there a bit faster if he goes to Laval for a bit.

Even if people disagree with the aforementioned, I‘D like to hear a convincing argument on what would be the negatives of sending him down.

I would like to be convinced that there are real dangers in sending him down

At this stage I think he can still be salvageable if he is sent to Laval. He needs more seasoning. I am still trying to wrap my head around why this management team is not willing to send him down. Isn't that what the AHL is for? To send players down who aren't quite ready? Even Caufield played in Laval

 

[Habricot]

Yeah I don’t think I’ve ever seen it be quite THIS polarized on here.

Haven’t been able to watch much yet this year but what I saw both sides have their merits.

He very well could benefit from AHL time where maybe you COULD expedite the process a bit quicker.

Patches looked like a completely reborn player when he went down and came back up. There’s just about zero chance that transformation would’ve happened as quickly, if at all, had he not advocated for himself to be sent down.

Who knows what would’ve happened if Covid didn’t happen and KK could’ve stayed down and continued to rack up points in Laval.

It CAN be a curse to be just good enough to not be sent down. I think he very well will get to where he needs to be regardless of where he plays, but there’s just a likely probability he could maybe get there a bit faster if he goes to Laval for a bit.

Even if people disagree with the aforementioned, I‘D like to hear a convincing argument on what would be the negatives of sending him down.

I would like to be convinced that there are real dangers in sending him down

The problem is that we are not with the kid day in day out. Patch was saying I am an offensive guy, if you are going to play me in a defensive role send me back in the AHL and that was a good thing for him. For Slaf its different, the fact he is a 1OA does not help him. Sending him in the AHL may affect his confidence even more. As long as he is progressing keep him in the NHL. Independant of of the stats.

I see progression in his play and the fans in mtl need to remember that you can progress while not be at your best every game. You will have bad games, it does not mean he will not progress. I would have started him in the AHL last year, now keep him up until he hits a plateau in his progression.

At this stage I think he can still be salvageable if he is sent to Laval. He needs more seasoning. I am still trying to wrap my head around why this management team is not willing to send him down. Isn't that what the AHL is for? To send players down who aren't quite ready? Even Caufield played in Laval

3 games, coming in from NCAA without any training camp.