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LD Jaccob Slavin (2012, 120th, CAR)

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Jaccob Slavin was the Canes' best defender in the second half of the season, though was not as amazing as Faulk was in the first half. Not nearly. Slavin definitely outplayed Hanifin defensively. From what I saw of him, and I didn't watch every game, was a guy who is a 2nd pairing defender right now who will grow into a #2 defenseman. That said, he definitely carried the load toward the end of the year, and there were games where Slavin drew top offenses and played 26+ minutes (check out how his TOI increases as the season goes on). His TOI goes down a bit with Faulk's return from injury. It's honestly amazing how few goals were scored against him as a rookie when he really did go up against the Ovechkins of the league for a while. I value him as much as I value Hanifin, or just slightly less.

I could see regression next year, sure, as teams get more of a book on his skating ability. But who knows? He skates and thinks the game extremely well.
 
Stealth JD said:
Pronunciation: slah-vin...or slay-vin? His rookie season looks tremendous, on paper. Need to watch more Canes games though.
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He looked like the real deal last season pretty much as soon as he stepped on the ice. I see him as growing into a very good #3, maybe #2. He's got great gap control, knows when to join the rush, and has a great first few steps when breaking out. He's a good puck mover and uses his size effectively, though he isn't very physical. In some ways he reminds me of TJ Brodie, though obviously not on the same level as him.


E: spelling
 
seafoam said:
Too early to tell. He'll likely regress in his sophomore season.
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Boom Boom Aho said:
Why?
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I should expand on why I asked. Anyone can regress, so Slavin certainly may. But, I was curious why you think it's LIKELY. If it's simply "because some other players regress their 2nd year", then my view is it's just as likely he won't regress as that's not a good reason.

Here are some reasons as to why he may be less likely to regress:

1) Slavin isn't coming into the NHL as an 18 year old or 19 year old like some guys do (ie..Hanifin). After being drafted, he spent a year in the USHL and 2 years in NCAA so he's already 22 and a bit more mature.

2) He's already filled out and is pretty good sized player. He was 180lbs when drafted and is now 205 so he's "grown into" his body.

3) He's pretty well grounded in that he's already married and a religious person. He's not the type that will be going to be going out partying with is new found wealth and fame.

4) Sometimes, guys regress because they get easy matchups as a rookie, but the get tougher matchups in subsequent years. That's not the case with Slavin. When it comes to quality of competition and defensive zone starts, Slavin was 3rd on the team (in terms of more difficult) and only barely trailing Faulk and Hainsey. Plus, when Faulk was injured, it was Slavin that moved to the top pairing (on his off hand side) and stayed on the top pairing for the remainder of the season, even when Faulk returned (Slavin moved to the left). He's not going to get much, if any, harder assignments than he received this year.

5) The type of game he plays, it's kinda "good at most things". He's a good skater, he's a good passer, he's a good puck handler, he's strong, he has good gap control, he's good on both sides, he has good instincts, etc.. His shot is probably his weakest point right now. It's hard to "take 1 thing away" from a guy like that, which can lead to regression.

Of course, there are also reasons he could regress. Maybe the pressure of expectations get to him next year, and maybe teams focus on fore-checking the hell out of him, he was relatively healthy and maybe he gets injured, etc...etc..

I'm not saying he won't regress, as he could. I just don't think there are enough valid reasons to suggest it's "likely".
 
Boom Boom Aho said:
Why?
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A lot of players regress in their second year, and a lot of it is inevitable. Teams accumulate game tape and they target players weaknesses.

That's part of what makes it so hard to play in the NHL. I've seen it enough times to just assume it's going to happen these days, which is why I said I think it's likely.

Don't know if that was the answer you are looking for or not.
 
As the year went on, teams amped up the pressure on the forecheck of the Hurricanes defense. Here's how I think it went:

Faulk: Varied due to injury
Hainsey: Complete ****ing disaster
Murphy Complete ****ing disaster
Hanifin: Complete ****ing disaster
Pesce: Alright I guess
Liles: Good, but was traded
Slavin: Incredibly good at shrugging off forechecking and skating out of the zone while maintaining balance and speed.

Slavin is just good. Rock steady. Can skate, offensive instincts, good gap control, excellent at reading plays, decent skater, size. His one weakness seems to be one-on-one, to be expected for a first time professional player (this was his first professional year, flat out!).

He was so good that I can see a regression, but OTOH he was so good, especially when Pesce and Hanifin, also 1st year professionals, "hit the walls", so to speak. I'm overly optimistic, but I think he's the Hurricanes future #1 LHD to play with Faulk. He can be the rock steady, solid presence while Faulk goes Mike Green, leaving Hanifin to develop into the "Brian Campbell" that his skill set can allow him to be.

He dominated the metrics- was the best possession player on the 'Canes defense despite getting the toughest matchups, was excellent at preventing scoring chances and High Quality Scoring Chances compared to other guys who faced similar matchups (Hanifin, Faulk, Hainsey). He looks good. His metrics were outstanding for a rookie.
 
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I don't know why you go in on Hanifin so much. He wasn't that bad down the stretch at all... let alone a 'complete ****ing disaster'.
 
seafoam said:
A lot of players regress in their second year, and a lot of it is inevitable. Teams accumulate game tape and they target players weaknesses.

That's part of what makes it so hard to play in the NHL. I've seen it enough times to just assume it's going to happen these days, which is why I said I think it's likely.

Don't know if that was the answer you are looking for or not.
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That's what I was looking for, and kinda what I expected. In the end, you may be right, but I don't think it's a very reasonable position to take that a player is "likely" to regress just because others have in the past. For every player you can show me that regressed, I'm betting I can show you an equal number that didn't. If I look at Carolina in recent years, Jeff Skinner kinda did in year 2, but that was concussion related. He had 10G, 22P in 26G in Oct/Nov so before having a concussion in early Dec (so on pace to exceed his rookie season totals). He was concussed, missed most of Dec and Jan and was never the same that season. Justin Faulk, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm are all player recently who didn't show any regression in year 2. Looking broader, Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones, Morgan Rielly, etc.. etc..

I'm not saying Slavin won't regress, he very well could, but to just blanket assume he will without considering his play, playing style and the various factors that could make him likely to regress is a bit unreasonable to me.
 
Brock Anton said:
I don't know why you go in on Hanifin so much. He wasn't that bad down the stretch at all... let alone a 'complete ****ing disaster'.
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That's only in terms of dealing with extended pressure on the forecheck.

I go in on Hanifin....earlier I viewed the perception as people riding his jock and singing his praises, and then I would go to games and see an 18 year old with an excellent skill set making 18 year old bone headed plays and great plays. Including some amazing, "generational skill level" plays and some Aaron Ward GOAT shift level plays.

Also he ran over my dog.
 
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Slavin sees hockey like Neo sees the Matrix.

Seriously though, mentally speaking, he's a step ahead of most players. That's his edge. It just so happens he's also a really good skater too.

Even if he has a sophomore regression, he'll still be pretty solid, but the really smart guys don't tend to have truly "down" seasons. Slavin is one of those smart guys IMO. He's like an on-ice security blanket. It used to be I could watch when a Bret Hedican or Glen Wesley came on the ice and I'd get this warm fuzzy feeling, like nothing bad will happen now. I get that same feeling with Slavin. He's just an incredible player considering his age and experience.
 
So what's the lowdown on Jacob Slavin? I consider myself fairly educated on hockey prospects, but Slavin seems to have slipped right through my prospect knowledge.(and many other posters)

Ive looked a little further and see some canes posters penciling him on the first pairing and some as a 7th D this season...is he that good? Or still developing?

Offensive? Defensive? Two-way?
 
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my name is Bob said:
So what's the lowdown on Jacob Slavin? I consider myself fairly educated on hockey prospects, but Slavin seems to have slipped right through my prospect knowledge.(and many other posters)

Ive looked a little further and see some canes posters penciling him on the first pairing and some as a 7th D this season...is he that good? Or still developing?

Offensive? Defensive? Two-way?
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Basically he stepped from NCAA hockey to just a few games in the AHL to full-time top 4 NHL defenseman this year. He basically was the Canes' #1 for the last few games of the season after Faulk went down. Anyone pencilling him in as a seventh defenseman on CAR seriously has no clue when it comes to the Canes' roster. I'd say at the moment, he's s very solid 2nd pair guy who can play 20mins a night in any situation. He's capable of playing either side as well. At the age of 22, I certainly think he has top 2 potential.

Two way guy, whose positioning and stick work are probably his best defensive assets right now. He's got decent size, but he's not physical. He has a decent first pass and is an above average skater. He played a little bit on the 2nd PP unit this past season. He seems to have a somewhat decent wrister, but I wouldn't ever expect him to put up Faulk-like goal scoring totals.

I personally see him paired with Faulk to start the season at even strength and on the PK, and with Murphy or Pesce on the 2nd PP unit. He was a great pick in the 4th round to say the least.
 
my name is Bob said:
So what's the lowdown on Jacob Slavin? I consider myself fairly educated on hockey prospects, but Slavin seems to have slipped right through my prospect knowledge.(and many other posters)

Ive looked a little further and see some canes posters penciling him on the first pairing and some as a 7th D this season...is he that good? Or still developing?

Offensive? Defensive? Two-way?
Click to expand...

Probably could hold his own right now on the top pairing with a decent #1... which thankfully we have in place with Faulk already.

In college he was an offensive dynamo, though he hasn't really had the opportunity to showcase that too much with the Canes since Faulk and Liles were the go-to guys for the most part on the PP.

Very good skater, not quite Hanifin fast but might actually be a bit better laterally.

Is more of a two-way guy based on what he showed last year, but that's not to say he's incapable of having a dynamic offensive element to his game. He just hasn't really showcased it yet.
 
my name is Bob said:
So what's the lowdown on Jacob Slavin? I consider myself fairly educated on hockey prospects, but Slavin seems to have slipped right through my prospect knowledge.(and many other posters)

Ive looked a little further and see some canes posters penciling him on the first pairing and some as a 7th D this season...is he that good? Or still developing?

Offensive? Defensive? Two-way?
Click to expand...

I don't think you'll find any Canes fans penciling in Slavin as a #7. That was another fan of a different team in a different thread, but most, if not all, Canes fans see him as a top 4 defender based on what he did last year. Of course, he could always regress, but he was pretty impressive last year.
 
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