Tanknation
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- Feb 24, 2012
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GI've
Sounds like he was one of the few that bought a Wright jersey to early.
LW Juraj Slafkovsky - TPS Turku, Liiga (2022, 1st, MTL) Part 2
- Thread starter GermanSpitfire
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I agree he as overhyped but he didn't have an attitude like Wright.
If they bought the jersey to get Wright to sign it and then sell it then they got what they deserved.
River Meadow
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delete if already posted, but great article from our boy Grant.
“I was really impressed with him when Slovakia was in those crunch-time games in crunch-time situations where they were up or down a goal in the last minutes,” noted a scout. “It was amazing to watch the coach keep throwing him out there, and it was amazing watching other players on Slovakia defer the puck to him. You could just tell, and that’s what just kept shining through.”
A major reason why Slafkovsky rose to the top of the draft rankings was that he reminded many of a Mikko Rantanen-type playoff performer in those two 2022 men’s tournaments.
“If he can develop into Mikko Rantanen; he’s better than him at the same age,” said one scout “He may even be better than Rantanen. You see what Rantanen has become and you would take that first overall in this draft, and there are some comparables there but at the same age, Slaf is the better player. Better feet, even nicer hands.
“Imagine being in a seven-game series against this guy and trying to stop him game after game, shift after shift. He’s eventually going to break free and be dangerous.”
recrutes.ca
“I was really impressed with him when Slovakia was in those crunch-time games in crunch-time situations where they were up or down a goal in the last minutes,” noted a scout. “It was amazing to watch the coach keep throwing him out there, and it was amazing watching other players on Slovakia defer the puck to him. You could just tell, and that’s what just kept shining through.”
A major reason why Slafkovsky rose to the top of the draft rankings was that he reminded many of a Mikko Rantanen-type playoff performer in those two 2022 men’s tournaments.
“If he can develop into Mikko Rantanen; he’s better than him at the same age,” said one scout “He may even be better than Rantanen. You see what Rantanen has become and you would take that first overall in this draft, and there are some comparables there but at the same age, Slaf is the better player. Better feet, even nicer hands.
“I think it’s important that as scouts we watch the NHL playoffs to see what matters the most in prospects,” added the scout. “That’s the whole point of drafting; it’s not necessarily drafting the guy who will have the highest point totals, but who’s the guy that actually helps you win games in the NHL playoffs and get you that Cup. I couldn’t help but watch the playoffs and think to myself that Juraj would be the guy. You watched him at the Olympics and the Worlds…he proved himself beyond a shadow of a doubt.
“Imagine being in a seven-game series against this guy and trying to stop him game after game, shift after shift. He’s eventually going to break free and be dangerous.”
Habs Get Last Laugh, Draft Slaf
recrutes.ca
Kudo Shinichi
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I love that Slaf displays his personality in front of cameras. You don't see too many hockey players doing that
ottawa
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You should expect the first overall pick to be an offensive dynamo though.delete if already posted, but great article from our boy Grant.
“I was really impressed with him when Slovakia was in those crunch-time games in crunch-time situations where they were up or down a goal in the last minutes,” noted a scout. “It was amazing to watch the coach keep throwing him out there, and it was amazing watching other players on Slovakia defer the puck to him. You could just tell, and that’s what just kept shining through.”
A major reason why Slafkovsky rose to the top of the draft rankings was that he reminded many of a Mikko Rantanen-type playoff performer in those two 2022 men’s tournaments.
“If he can develop into Mikko Rantanen; he’s better than him at the same age,” said one scout “He may even be better than Rantanen. You see what Rantanen has become and you would take that first overall in this draft, and there are some comparables there but at the same age, Slaf is the better player. Better feet, even nicer hands.
“I think it’s important that as scouts we watch the NHL playoffs to see what matters the most in prospects,” added the scout. “That’s the whole point of drafting; it’s not necessarily drafting the guy who will have the highest point totals, but who’s the guy that actually helps you win games in the NHL playoffs and get you that Cup. I couldn’t help but watch the playoffs and think to myself that Juraj would be the guy. You watched him at the Olympics and the Worlds…he proved himself beyond a shadow of a doubt.
“Imagine being in a seven-game series against this guy and trying to stop him game after game, shift after shift. He’s eventually going to break free and be dangerous.”
Habs Get Last Laugh, Draft Slaf
Slafkovsky also played in Liiga playoffs where he was largely invisible, especially in the finals. So it is a bit funny to me that when making a point about how his play translates to playoffs, his play in playoffs wasn't mentioned.
Martinez89
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Invisible, especially in the finals, right? And who wasn´t when in the finals it was "hockey" with literally no scoring opportunities on both sides. Nobody stands out in that type of "hockey". Thanks god he´s leaving Finnish league because watching games here was martyrdom for me. TPS scored 4 goals in the 5 final series games if I remember correctly, Slafkovsky was 1+1 there. I don´t know what you expected in these kind of matchups...
In other play-offs games at the Olympics or WC Slafkovsky was the best player of his team almost every game he played so I think his game translated to the playoffs quite well.
Jukurit
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I thought he was pretty invisible in that Ilves series too and that series had decent amount of goals scored in it.
River Meadow
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He should be a serviceable, big grinding 4th liner who is able to chip in 10 to 12 goals a year and cycle and protect the puck well.
ReimanSum1908
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I don't know if you're serious, but that is legitimately closer to his actual projection as a third line complementary 15-20 goal scoring winger than the ridiculous 100 point season prognostications. A twenty-five to thirty goal season with some exceptional luck isn't out of the question, of course, but the stars will have to align for him.
alko
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Last one that did was Subban...and he got shipped out of Montreal for it lol
Mesar had a very good language teacher. He speaks very good english. Slafkovsky is clear, he was in Finland many years. But Mesar was still in Slovakia.
Jukurit
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I think the main reason why Juraj Slafkovsky wasn't better in Liiga is Juraj Slafkovsky.
I think all the talk about TPS being a defensive team, Liiga being tough to score, linemates, icetime, is mostly just excuses.
I think all the talk about TPS being a defensive team, Liiga being tough to score, linemates, icetime, is mostly just excuses.
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Jukurit
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Him going #1 overall mostly has to do with his play with Slovak NT. In Liiga he was definitely underwhelming.
Outside of maybe Cooley, not one player in this draft really screams dynamic offensive talent. And, to be honest neither Wright nor Cooley's offensive production is particularly impressive in comparison to recent draft picks from their respective leagues. It's not like Wright had Marner or Tavares OHL numbers this year, let alone McDavid or Patrick Kane, or Cooley had J. Hughes, Matthews or Eichel level numbers in the USNTDP.
An offensive dynamo will probably emerge, but no one in this draft projects as a clear-cut likely one. Unless you really want to heavily value a season that happened over 2 years ago, in a year where the OHL (especially OHL east) saw ridiculous scoring rates.
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ottawa
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His offense is there against peers that are his own age, that's a good sign. I imagine most scouts had him at 1 because they believe he can learn how to produce at the NHL level.
Jukurit
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KevSkillz4
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Agree with that. Shane Wright have high potential and going to be a great NHL player, but when you looks on Juraj Slafkovsky tools, that's very impressive, he have more potential than any forwards in NHL draft 2022... and play with passion, being in appartment at 14 years old it's a crazy thing... I don't think most of people, prospects at 14 years old can be in a appartment at this age. (Even me i'm a 26 years old guy with my parents lol), that's a very impressive thing to know about Slafkovsky.
Great pick by Habs and he will fit perfectly with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, they needed a player like Slafkovsky.
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Jukurit
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?
I said I would be worried. I don't think huge, skilled guy like Slaf producing against kids is really that impressive.
ottawa
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Good news then, you needn't worry about Slaf.
He's shown he can also produce against men as well as he did in the olympics when he's given the icetime and proper linemates.
Again, there's a reason why most scouts had this kid at #1...these are paid professionals employed by the best hockey league in the world, they draft based on how they think he'll progress if he's developed properly...it's up to Slaf and the habs now to make sure he reaches his potential.
Jukurit
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