Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[SlafCaufield]

He reminds me of Dach early last season. You can tell he has the skills but is still a bit timid.

When the puck is on his stick good things usually happen, and he wins a lot of puck battles along the boards.

He just needs to move his feet more and attack the net. It will come though.

its a shame Dach got hurt because I think that would have helped Slaf a lot having him in front of him

i truly see Slaf having a Thornton like projection where he starts slow and then takes off

 

[DinosaurBones]

Its a god damn shame Slaf got drafted to an organization with a bunch of lunatics... End of the day hes been playing great hockey, with no help after bye bye Dach. The "1st overall needs to be better' thing I think is probably mostly used from guys who arent watching the games, but are stat watching, OR for some wild reason expect us to have like four 80pt guys, and a norris winner, along with a playoff showing this year.
IMO hes showing great hockey and improvement towards the player that for the future we will want/need him to be. The points mean nothing to me right now. Overall hockey is what you want to see improvement in, and its there. As an organization, the fans will ruin him. It wont be him cause hes doing his thing.

 

[SlafySZN]

Slaf said Dach is helping him and is giving him advices.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I for one blame the other team's goalies. It's a little bit mean and petty to stop all of Slafkovsky's shots, ngl seems a bit insecure smdh.

 

[HabzSauce]

if Anderson had some finish, Slaf would have had two assists last game

Slaf has also hi a few posts and made a few other players in previous games that would have resulted in points if his linemates had some finish

adding those up he would basically be at a point per game right now and people would be eating crow

its a game of inches and id be worried if he wasnt making plays that SHOULD result in points but he is and he should have many more points than he does and thats not his fault if others cant finish his rushes

This is mesar logic. Ridiculous

 

[HabzSauce]

its a shame Dach got hurt because I think that would have helped Slaf a lot having him in front of him

i truly see Slaf having a Thornton like projection where he starts slow and then takes off

Me too. He looks like such a gamer.

And his game looks so raw still even despite the improvements. We havent seen anything yet

 

[Habssince89]

There are countless examples of how players need time to grow into themselves, and so many of the habs growing impatient. I'm glad Slaf isn't a C or else he'd be toast. I think he'll become an absolute monster (skilled power playmaking winger with decent goal scoring) by his early 20s and I think he'll end up having his stats bumped up by the players he'll end up playing with.

 

[ReHabs]

IMO hes showing great hockey

No he’s not.

its a shame Dach got hurt because I think that would have helped Slaf a lot having him in front of him

i truly see Slaf having a Thornton like projection where he starts slow and then takes off

Does Slaf have Thornton-like prospect pedigree? Did Slaf demonstrate Thornton-like skills as a prospect?

 

[Bushero]

There are countless examples of how players need time to grow into themselves, and so many of the habs growing impatient. I'm glad Slaf isn't a C or else he'd be toast. I think he'll become an absolute monster (skilled power playmaking winger with decent goal scoring) by his early 20s and I think he'll end up having his stats bumped up by the players he'll end up playing with.

Yes, and those who grew into themselves had some talent to begin with.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

No he’s not.


Does Slaf have Thornton-like prospect pedigree? Did Slaf demonstrate Thornton-like skills as a prospect?

people fishing for examples that happens once in 25 years are simply crazy.

Joe Thornton had 10x the skills slaf had at the draft.

 

[RationalExpectations]

The problem is we drafted him as a project. He was raw when he picked him and he's still very raw. But we tend to forget/ignore that fact for some reason...

We're an impatient bunch. Half this board was writing him off after a whopping 39 games last year!! It's ridiculous lol. Project players take time I think we need to lower our expectations for now and enjoy the little things he improves on. As sad as that is lmao.

Next year though the pressure is on. That will be his D3 season at age 20. Not expecting a PPG player but I hope we see a BIG improvement, not just tiny ones. I'm gonna lose it if I still see people celebrating that one nice pass he made from 10 games ago haha

What is a „project“ ? I hate this word. Every kid drafted is a project, nothing is certain. I don t see why the expectations in a D+2 should be lower for Slaf than for Cooley because he is a project while he has actually been playing with pros for a longer time.

By the way I don t think he is a bust (just like I was defending KK in his D+3) because I believe development can take a long time.

 

[River Meadow]

That's crazy we are blaming other players for slaf lack of success.

How about he make his own plays or finish a play before we blame his linemates lmao

Put Slafkowsky next to a prime Mario Lemieux and watch how good he would be...

 

[DinosaurBones]

No he’s not.

Good talk coach

 

[River Meadow]

people fishing for examples that happens once in 25 years are simply crazy.

Joe Thornton had 10x the skills slaf had at the draft.

You're being too nice...

Its a god damn shame Slaf got drafted to an organization with a bunch of lunatics... End of the day hes been playing great hockey, with no help after bye bye Dach. The "1st overall needs to be better' thing I think is probably mostly used from guys who arent watching the games, but are stat watching, OR for some wild reason expect us to have like four 80pt guys, and a norris winner, along with a playoff showing this year.
IMO hes showing great hockey and improvement towards the player that for the future we will want/need him to be. The points mean nothing to me right now. Overall hockey is what you want to see improvement in, and its there. As an organization, the fans will ruin him. It wont be him cause hes doing his thing.

Sadly,

It's not based on stats at all.

It's based on how he looks on the ice.

 

[ReHabs]

Good talk coach

Well, he’s not playing well with the Eye Test, or in his Analytics, or with his basic scoring stats.

So maybe the emperor doesn’t have new clothes and you’ve been looking at something that isn’t there?

 

[cave troll]

What is a „project“ ? I hate this word. Every kid drafted is a project, nothing is certain. I don t see why the expectations in a D+2 should be lower for Slaf than for Cooley because he is a project while he has actually been playing with pros for a longer time.

By the way I don t think he is a bust (just like I was defending KK in his D+3) because I believe development can take a long time.

We drafted so many busts in last years that even when we draft 1st OA some people use terms like project, possibility, uncertainity. That's cause people fear we drafted the new Wickenheiser, Stefan or Yakupov.

 

[cave troll]

if Anderson had some finish, Slaf would have had two assists last game

Slaf has also hi a few posts and made a few other players in previous games that would have resulted in points if his linemates had some finish

adding those up he would basically be at a point per game right now and people would be eating crow

its a game of inches and id be worried if he wasnt making plays that SHOULD result in points but he is and he should have many more points than he does and thats not his fault if others cant finish his rushes

How many points would have Slaf's teammates had now if he was capable of getting into scoring chances? What's the percentage of scored breakaways on hockey that you put the blame on Josh Anderson for not scoring a certain goal and robbing Slaf of few points?
How many other players are "robbed" like that in hockey?

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Needs a half dozen games in Laval

 

[BaseballCoach]

Needs a half dozen games in Laval

If we send him down, his cap hit after he returns will be $4,450,000

 

[DinosaurBones]

Well, he’s not playing well with the Eye Test, or in his Analytics, or with his basic scoring stats.

So maybe the emperor doesn’t have new clothes and you’ve been looking at something that isn’t there?

His basic stats for sure arent appealing. He's creating opportunities, hes using his body, and hes learning each game. Dach would have been massive to his development this year. Anderson doesnt make anyone better on the team, hes a straight line getter done type of player. That doesnt benefit him at all. Ive liked the strides hes made as a player, hes in a bad position on a team with terrible depth to help him. So eye test I definitely disagree. Itll come if he keeps playing this way

 

[cave troll]

So.
Josh Anderson
Kirby Dach
Terrible team
Lack of depth

What else?

 

[Walrus26]

His basic stats for sure arent appealing. He's creating opportunities, hes using his body, and hes learning each game. Dach would have been massive to his development this year. Anderson doesnt make anyone better on the team, hes a straight line getter done type of player. That doesnt benefit him at all. Ive liked the strides hes made as a player, hes in a bad position on a team with terrible depth to help him. So eye test I definitely disagree. Itll come if he keeps playing this way

Good observations and I agree.

MSL needs to resist the temptation to blenderise the Slaf - Newhook - Anderson line and instead give them a brief to be (even more) north/south and direct. Slaf definitely needs to be more confident about using the body and, for all his warts, Anderson's physicality may spark some more of that in Slaf.

 

[River Meadow]

So.
Josh Anderson
Kirby Dach
Terrible team
Lack of depth

What else?

The latest is RHP is worse than Jordan Weal and last year was a complete fluke, the guy sucks, etc.

EDIT: I guess you're talking about things that directly affect Slafkowsky... in that case.. you summed it up pretty well.

 

[River Meadow]

Slafkowsky struggled in Liiga and now the Habs are trying to immediately crowbar him into the NHL when he's clearly not ready and would likely be much better served by playing top minutes in the AHL in all situations.

To be clear this isn't Slafkowsky's fault.

It is 100% on management.

 

[cave troll]

Slafkowsky struggled in Liiga and now the Habs are trying to immediately crowbar him into the NHL when he's clearly not ready and would likely be much better served by playing top minutes in the AHL in all situations.

To be clear this isn't Slafkowsky's fault.

It is 100% on management.

Yes. We drafted one of the weakest 1OA in decades so we use terms like project and possibility instead of game changer.
I don't know who in management thought this guy is ready for NHL. They probably think his big frame is enough.
But like I said, the kid needs to show some balls and start to "eat the ice" cause he'll become redundant soon if he doesn't progress. New draft picks will come since we'll be a bottom feeder in next years and the focus will shift of them, while he'll become the next Kravtsov or Andersson.
Pro sport is not forgiving.