LW Juraj Slafkovsky - TPS Turku, Liiga (2022, 1st, MTL) Part 2

[Tobias Kahun]

One thing you always worry about with these kids is the weight.

Like they get obsessed with gaining weight and becoming stronger.
They add 10-15 lbs in one summer and then you look at them skate in the mud and wonder what happened.

Happened to way too many Finnish skaters who weren’t the best of skaters to begin with.

Gaining real muscle/strenght will take years when done properly. Just be smart about it.

Don’t fall in love too much with weight gain in one summer and instead put more focus on skating with pro’s.
Something I wish so many more Finns would have done

adding 10-15 pounds in a single summer is way too much, alot of useless weight there.

 

[nbwingsfan]

lol wishful thinking or overreaction after two preseason games? kid is 18. hater

The Habs GM is a hater of Habs prospects he picked?

 

[HuGo Sham]

The Habs GM is a hater of Habs prospects he picked?

does anyone on here know how to read? Did you selectively forget the beginning of that sentence? He was dominant in the rookie camp games and less so in his first two pro exhibition games, essentially playing with some stiffs and non-C's driving his line.
Hughes shouldn't have said it because as we can now see, it put big pressure on him and things are being taken out of context by hab fanatics, or in your case haters lol

 

[nbwingsfan]

does anyone on here know how to read? Did you selectively forget the beginning of that sentence? He was dominant in the rookie camp games and less so in his first two pro exhibition games, essentially playing with some stiffs and non-C's driving his line.
Hughes shouldn't have said it because as we can now see, it put big pressure on him and things are being taken out of context by hab fanatics, or in your case haters lol

All the guy did was re post what YOUR GM said without adding any of his own feelings.

How is that being a hater

 

[Xirik]

I find it hilarious that people think that Slafkovsky put on all that muscle weight without any input from Habs management.

 

[BB88]

adding 10-15 pounds in a single summer is way too much, alot of useless weight there.

Yep.

Yet too many get obsessed by it when they hesr ”need to get stronger”

Been talking about this for years with Finnish prospects.

Not saying anything about how Slaf will end up or he’s a bust but I just don’t get this type of training, especially with prospects like him

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

adding 10-15 pounds in a single summer is way too much, alot of useless weight there.

If they keep their speed then I'm all for it. Force trumps all in all sports.

 

[Andrei79]

As I wrote many times during his draft season I see Slaf as a Malkin/Rantanen hybrid as a prospect. For better comparision let´s see how they were doing when they were in his age.

RANTANEN - he was almost year older because of his late b´day, started season after draft basically as a 19 y.o.

Draft season : Liiga 56 games / 28 points, without international success
D+1 season : NHL : 9 games / 0 points and -7, AHL : 52 games / 60 points

MALKIN

Draft season : KHL : 34 games / 3 goals (12 points)
D+1 season : KHL : 57 games / 12 goals (36 points)

Even Malkin or Rantanen didn´t look like NHL ready or better players than Slafkovsky in that age. So I don´t know why this impatience...
In my opinion, Rantanen´s route looks like the best option for Slaf. It wasn´t the shame if he´ll develop his game in AHL with some NHL taste in 18. Be calm, Slafkovsky is absolutely OK.

Rantanen had the same production as Slaf in Liiga over his first 30 games (10 points, 1 goal), then exploded after the WJC and a team firesale.

 

[Gold Standard]

He has to deal with it sooner or later, can't hide it from him forever. It's no big deal if he isn't ready yet, I'm sure they will do what they think is best for him and the team, it's not just him that has to develop, the whole team is going to be a work in progress for the next few years. He will be o.k whether he plays in Montreal, Laval or Finland, he just needs more experience.

It's going to be a fun year.

 

[FlyguyOX]

adding 10-15 pounds in a single summer is way too much, alot of useless weight there.

You either peaked in high school or don’t understand the maturation of boys to men in those years 18-22

 

[TGWL]

adding 10-15 pounds in a single summer is way too much, alot of useless weight there.

Those that train all the time (and if you look at Slaf, it's obvious this isn't his first off-season in a gym), don't usually gain 15 pounds of pure muscle in an off-season. It's much easier to gain 15 pounds of muscle mass when you're a beginning. They can call it 15 pounds of muscle but it usually isn't.

Anyway, when I hear that somebody put on 15 pounds of muscle, I always imagine it to be "They're going to come back tougher to knock off the puck" as if those 15 pounds went straight to their legs. But not everybody has Crosby/Marty work-horse legs, and just adding muscle doesn't always indicate improvements.

 

[jj cale]

It's going to be a fun year.

Let the losses pile up!! it's tanking hard for Bedard.

Highly unlikely we will get the first overall again but we wil be giving it the old college try..

 

[Captain97]

Habs GM today on Slafkovsky:

-His two exhibition games have been "slightly underwhelming", however he was highly impressive in rookie tournament and scrimmages
-Slafkovsky led all Habs players in scoring chances by a "significant margin" throughout all intrasquad scrimmages
-Struggling a bit with consistency thus far overall, but has mostly looked really good
-Will do what's best for player, including sending him to AHL if necessary

Baser on what I've been able to watch this sounds accurate imo.

And I like that they are open to Laval but not committing one way or the other yet. Give the kid his shot and see what needs to be done for his development.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Those that train all the time (and if you look at Slaf, it's obvious this isn't his first off-season in a gym), don't usually gain 15 pounds of pure muscle in an off-season. It's much easier to gain 15 pounds of muscle mass when you're a beginning. They can call it 15 pounds of muscle but it usually isn't.

Anyway, when I hear that somebody put on 15 pounds of muscle, I always imagine it to be "They're going to come back tougher to knock off the puck" as if those 15 pounds went straight to their legs. But not everybody has Crosby/Marty work-horse legs, and just adding muscle doesn't always indicate improvements.

I know how it works.

If he has newbie gains its possible to put on significantly more weight than if you've been working out for awhile, but as a hockey player thats already been drafted, hes probably been working out since he was 13 or even earlier.

the 15 points comes down to some muscle tissue, water weight, and fat.

Id be surprised if even 3 pounds of that was useful weight.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Yeah, I really don't understand the obsession with weight. NHL is fast league. Being fast is more important than weighing a lot.

you don't see a lot of 160 pound skaters out there, weight is important so you aren't constantly getting muscled off the puck and losing every puck battle

 

[BB88]

You either peaked in high school or don’t understand the maturation of boys to men in those years 18-22

I do and that’s just stupid.

Every offseason we see this happen

you don't see a lot of 160 pound skaters out there, weight is important so you aren't constantly getting muscled off the puck and losing every puck battle

You don’t have to be 220-240 on draft summer.

Guys who need skating help need to skate and work on their skating.
Not spent their whole offseason off the ice

 

[WarriorofTime]

I do and that’s just stupid.

Every offseason we see this happen



You don’t have to be 220-240 on draft summer.

Guys who need skating help need to skate and work on their skating.
Not spent their whole offseason off the ice

He should be doing both.

 

[FlyguyOX]

I do and that’s just stupid.

Every offseason we see this happen



You don’t have to be 220-240 on draft summer.

Guys who need skating help need to skate and work on their skating.
Not spent their whole offseason off the ice

I guess you don’t understand all that goes into skating power. If you want to jump higher so you can dunk you don’t spend all summer jumping at the rim trying to dunk. You do tons of deadlifts and other power training to increase your explosion.

 

[Jukurit]

you don't see a lot of 160 pound skaters out there, weight is important so you aren't constantly getting muscled off the puck and losing every puck battle

Yeah, makes sense to add weight if you're light. But Slafkovsky is already a large human being. Why does he need more weight? Should get faster.

 

[majormajor]

I'm also suspicious that Slaf put on too much weight but the corrolary of that isn't that he should spend less time in the gym. You can get significantly stronger in the gym without gaining any weight at all* and that's where his focus should be (after a good weight cutting period) and alongside skating training. I don't believe he ever stopped skating training, every prospect should be doing it year round now.

*The protocol for weight training for mass is different from the protocol for weight training for speed or strength or power.

 

[BB88]

I guess you don’t understand all that goes into skating power. If you want to jump higher so you can dunk you don’t spend all summer jumping at the rim trying to dunk. You do tons of deadlifts and other power training to increase your explosion.

I’ve been following Finnish athletes training for years and had this issue with them.

& just listened Artturis’ father ranting about the same issue on the most popular Finnish podcast.

I understand this very well and it bothers the hell out of me.

He should be doing both.

Sure, but that weight gain/strenght programming should be done with longterm view in mind.

& actually learn skating.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Had a great game

 

[HuGo Sham]

Had a great game

looked much better tonight playing with better line mates