- Jun 22, 2018
- 8,953
- 21,210
Could the Habs have f***ed this up any worse? And now they’re playing themselves out of picking a sure fire franchise player in this draft… yikes!
LW Juraj Slafkovsky (2022, 1st, MTL) Part 3
- Thread starter GermanSpitfire
- Start date
Egresch
Registered User
- Jul 10, 2022
- 1,044
- 1,446
Why do people point out Gorton when there is Hughes, St.Louis, Lecavalier, Ramage, Lapointe. They are probably all part of the decision process.
Breakers
Make Mirrored Visors Legal Again
I mean who could've possibly seen a guy with poor IQ and a mediocre Liiga season coming into the NHL and being awful? Who could've possibly known he's simply not an NHLer yet? Just a complete shocker.
MichaelFarrell
Registered User
I don’t think he was awful. I think he did better than I thought he would. I never would’ve guessed he would have more points than Dylan Holloway or Kirill Marchenko lol
JohnLennon
Registered User
- Mar 26, 2011
- 5,811
- 1,588
I really like that we need to specify "top 5 picks" here, because it lets us have a smaller sample size and ignore the other players he and his staff have developed well, such as K'Andre Miller, Nils Lundkvist, Zac Jones, Braden Schneider, etc. We can also ignore that he ran the 2006 Draft for the Bruins, which produced Kessel, Lucic and Marchand. Isn't Phil Kessel a top 5 pick? He had a decent career.
It's also easy to argue the Rangers are currently successful thanks in part to Gorton and his staff's building, so I wouldn't hang my hat on Kakko and Lafreniere at the expense of everything else he's done in terms of drafting, developing, and building teams.
Heck, it seems he made the right call on Justin Barron this year when sending him down, and the other youth on the Habs such as Guhle, Harris, Xhekaj, Dach, etc. are thriving under his leadership and the tutelage of the staff he has surrounded himself with.
I was thinking this as well. It's funny how, when things go wrong, we often blame the GM, but when things go right, people credit the player. Rarely do you see the inverse. Jack Hughes went from "rushed to the NHL" to "never mind he's just an amazing player" as soon as last year. We always have such a desire to simplify things and create a set of rules, when each situation is more nuanced and has more factors, and people, in play.
I know it's because Gorton is Executive VP, but it's also funny that we are ignoring that Kent Hughes is the General Manager, and he's the one who gave that press conference today.
The top 5 for the 2022 draft was very weak. These prospects basically need the absolute best development to turn into good NHLers. So for Montreal to handle this kid this way, yeesh
I do not forsee him turning out any better than KK
Note to self, do not draft a Finnish forward in the top 5. Kotkaniemi, Kakko, JP, Slaf. Even Laine to a degree has been meh after 2 good seasons
It seems like the last one who reached potential was Barkov. Rantanen did as well, but he wasnt top 5
I do not forsee him turning out any better than KK
Note to self, do not draft a Finnish forward in the top 5. Kotkaniemi, Kakko, JP, Slaf. Even Laine to a degree has been meh after 2 good seasons
It seems like the last one who reached potential was Barkov. Rantanen did as well, but he wasnt top 5
Slafkovsky's problem isn't his nationality of what league he came from as much as it is he never produced like a top tier prospect until he got hot one week in a one off tournament and had his draft stock inflated as much because Wright was disappointing as his own merit.
I really hope he at least can develop into an NHL calibur forward but he needs to first show he has any real role besides being tall.
I really hope he at least can develop into an NHL calibur forward but he needs to first show he has any real role besides being tall.
Your expectations were probably way too high... elite shooter, elite passer, elite IQ, you were really expecting him to show any of that in his first year at 18?
Last edited:
Slafkovsky isn't Finish.
I'd bet you a dollar he'll end up better then KK.
deca guard
Registered User
lost gm brings an 18 year old kid up into nhl jungle so he ends up getting injured because playing at a level hes not ready for . and getting criticized already by lost fans that dont factor in his age
You do know Hughes was a player agent for nearly a quarter century right? He's seen a lot of prospects succeed and fail. He might have picked up some knowledge in that time. He may have consulted some of these former and current players about this decision.
Maybe not.
The hubris from hf posters who have never set foot in an nhl dressing room is almost too much sometimes.
"Lost". Sure.
Marc the Habs Fan
Moderator
If you are deemed to be ready and good enough to be playing in the NHL at age 18, you should be at least showing consistent flashes of some of those things. Otherwise, what is the point? Only special, elite players should be in the NHL at that age.
But it's not the kid's fault he was a) picked 3-4 picks too high and b) put in this basically impossible situation of playing in the best league in the world as a raw 18 year old.
If he's a 4th overall pick, he would have very, very likely spent this season in the AHL or the Liiga.
You just need to look at the facts:
Slafkovsky did not earn a spot in training camp with his play, yet he made the team.
They had several opportunities to send him to the AHL throughout the fall (especially when they were routinely sitting out veteran wingers) or send him to the World Juniors and it did not happen. They kept him in the NHL the whole time.
It was clear from the get go that in their minds Slafkovsky was playing in the NHL this season, you don't come to that decision as a group unless you feel the player is ready.
Strange comparison, Marchenko has more than twice as many goals and only one less point in 19 less games. Marchenko is scoring at a pretty absurd rate. He has one of the highest shooting percentages in the NHL on the worst team in the league. 9g in 21 games.
But yeah, technically he has one less point.
deca guard
Registered User
do you know theres plenty of lost nhl brass that have been around over a quarter century ?
BenchBrawl
Registered User
- Jul 26, 2010
- 31,062
- 13,993
No one with a clue was expecting him to become a franchise player.
There were no sure-fire franchise players in the 2022 draft. I'm sure a random guy will become one, but you can't predict who.
There were no sure-fire franchise players in the 2022 draft. I'm sure a random guy will become one, but you can't predict who.
You do realize how absurd it sounds that a random hf poster thinks he is more knowledgeable than a TEAM of nhl execs , all with decades of experience.
And the kicker is, he was injured by a career ahl defenseman. This wasn't Radko gudas here, this is a 28 year old defenseman with less than 200 nhl gp.
Slafkovsky would have played against a Ben harpur in the ahl or in Europe
deca guard
Registered User
you realize theres a difference in physical and mental development between a 28 year old an 18 year old ????????
Breakfast of Champs
Registered User
- Apr 15, 2007
- 3,062
- 3,177
Crickets ? Go to the Habs board and you'll find dozens of posters complaining since early Dec to send him down, definitely not crickets.
Even bergy had his defenders too, this isn't much different
We have to be patient with big guys, they often take time to develop. I think lost of Habs fans were pushing to have him in the AHL to adapt to NA style slowly. I really don’t think he was NHL ready
Breakfast of Champs
Registered User
- Apr 15, 2007
- 3,062
- 3,177
I don't necessarily agree with the deployment or strategy fully , but pouring it on now is stupid - he is a raw 18 year old who almost nobody expected to be a true impact player until 21-22.
There's still a lot of time , lots of examples of big guys taking time to develop, even some who played NHL long before they were good NHL players , we need to wait.
Those saying "hughes ruins prospect who woulda thought?". Might be seeing "counting a player out at 18 too early? Who woulda thought?" In a few years time.
A lot of it will also be on the player , I still firmly believe that the actual player has a lot to do with their own development not just the organization. If he gets better, he will become a solid player, and if not, he won't. The player's work is not over when they get drafted and suddenly it's all up to their org to "develop" them. If someone is truly gifted and hard working enough they will overcome bad management, and likewise if a player isn't good enough nor willing to work, no "development plan" will make them a star
There's still a lot of time , lots of examples of big guys taking time to develop, even some who played NHL long before they were good NHL players , we need to wait.
Those saying "hughes ruins prospect who woulda thought?". Might be seeing "counting a player out at 18 too early? Who woulda thought?" In a few years time.
A lot of it will also be on the player , I still firmly believe that the actual player has a lot to do with their own development not just the organization. If he gets better, he will become a solid player, and if not, he won't. The player's work is not over when they get drafted and suddenly it's all up to their org to "develop" them. If someone is truly gifted and hard working enough they will overcome bad management, and likewise if a player isn't good enough nor willing to work, no "development plan" will make them a star
