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

[Forge]

I think its perfectly fine to describe an at times invisible/lackadaisical player or someone who isn't always engaged with the play as being a perimeter player if you are describing how they sometimes play.

This is also a dumb and unrelated conversation and everyone involved (including me) should be ashamed of themselves.

So back on topic what do people think the likelihood Juraj jumps to the pros next year?

I personally don't think I'd have him in the NHL..but I wouldn't leave him in Liiga if I can help it. I'm fine with putting him in the AHL. Maybe he gets his 9 games but I just don't think he's full time NHL ready.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

I'd like to see Slafkovsky in Erie so he can get used to the North American game, on North American Ice,

 

[Hisch13r]

I'd like to see Slafkovsky in Erie so he can get used to the North American game, on North American Ice,

I think you’re better off just putting him in the AHL like what happened with Rantanen

 

[tmlmatus]

I'd like to see Slafkovsky in Erie so he can get used to the North American game, on North American Ice,

This would be pretty pointless for him. I'm hoping that whoever drafts him; gives him ton of time in the AHL.

 

[thomast]

I personally don't think I'd have him in the NHL..but I wouldn't leave him in Liiga if I can help it. I'm fine with putting him in the AHL. Maybe he gets his 9 games but I just don't think he's full time NHL ready.

He should play in the AHL unless he really impresses at the training camp.

Here i have few points:

First point is about uncertainty of his role in his Liiga club. Heiskanen and Lundell for example had pretty clear role for the D+1 season, but with Slafkovsky there is a lot of fog.

Why not to play him in the AHL in big role without much uncertainty about his ice time, especially when NHL team can have key developement people around him all year. AHL is also stylistically closest to NHL.

In clear majority of cases european prospects chooses to stay in their respective leagues and country because of the shock of moving to totally different country, with different language and away from home. In clear majority of the cases, it’s first time outside of their parents influence as well. It’s a lot to handle for young players and there are huge risks involved. Slafkovsky moved to Finland when he was 15 year old. He have already experienced those barriers involved in moving to new country, being in much tougher situation.

Because of the uncertainty of his role next year in TPS and much smaller risk to move him into AHL, this should almost be nobrainer. At this point risk is much lower if he moves.

 

[BKarchitect]

Full year in the AHL - I think that's the best option. Rantanen route.

 

[Kibe]

I think its perfectly fine to describe an at times invisible/lackadaisical player or someone who isn't always engaged with the play as being a perimeter player if you are describing how they sometimes play.

This is also a dumb and unrelated conversation and everyone involved (including me) should be ashamed of themselves.

So back on topic what do people think the likelihood Juraj jumps to the pros next year?

Well since he already made the jump to pro hockey this year, going back to junior would be a huge backwards move.
So likelihood of Juraj playing pro is 100%

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I think you’re better off just putting him in the AHL like what happened with Rantanen

Full year in the AHL - I think that's the best option. Rantanen route.

While I agree with this route, I feel like the comparisons to Rantanen should end there. They are both big, smooth skating wingers with surprising elusiveness, but beyond that Rantanen played a much more cerebral and patient game.

Stylistically, I think Puljujarvi is a much better comparison (that doesn't mean that Slafkovksy can't be much better in the NHL, and I think Slafkovksy's puck skills were better than JP's). But Puljujarvi was definitely rushed and I think it impacted his development, and even still he's turning into a solid 20-25 goal 40-50 point PWF. Whoever takes Slafkovksy should be as patient as possible to allow his offensive game to mature.

 

[Jukurit]

Points per 60 in regular season by first round picks (+ Aho, just for fun) in Liiga since 2015:

Kakko 2.79
Laine 2.49
Lundell 2.41
Puljujärvi 2.23
Kemell 2.18
Aho 2.12
Kotkaniemi 1.96
Rantanen 1.85
Kupari 1.78
Slafkovsky 1.36
Lambert 0.86

It just doesn't look very good for Slafkovsky. Only player he outscored was Lambert, and of course, he has very much sucked in Liiga. I think Lambert will still be a first rounder, and that's why I'm listing him here.

Sidenote: Aho produced actually quite well in his draft year.

 

[Siludin]

Points per 60 in regular season by first round picks (+ Aho, just for fun) in Liiga since 2015:

Kakko 2.79
Laine 2.49
Lundell 2.41
Puljujärvi 2.23
Kemell 2.18
Aho 2.12
Kotkaniemi 1.96
Rantanen 1.85
Kupari 1.78
Slafkovsky 1.36
Lambert 0.86

It just doesn't look very good for Slafkovsky. Only player he outscored was Lambert, and of course, he has very much sucked in Liiga. I think Lambert will still be a first rounder, and that's why I'm listing him here.

Sidenote: Aho produced actually quite well in his draft year.

In my EHM save Joakim Kemell scored at an Ovechkin pace and Slafkovsky became something akin to Jere Lehtinen and that is my expert analysis.

 

[HeartAttack]

Points per 60 in regular season by first round picks (+ Aho, just for fun) in Liiga since 2015:

Kakko 2.79
Laine 2.49
Lundell 2.41
Puljujärvi 2.23
Kemell 2.18
Aho 2.12
Kotkaniemi 1.96
Rantanen 1.85
Kupari 1.78
Slafkovsky 1.36
Lambert 0.86

It just doesn't look very good for Slafkovsky. Only player he outscored was Lambert, and of course, he has very much sucked in Liiga. I think Lambert will still be a first rounder, and that's why I'm listing him here.

Sidenote: Aho produced actually quite well in his draft year.

how many times you will kick into Slafkovsky? we know you dont like him and now leave for god sake

 

[Rusty7550]

Points per 60 in regular season by first round picks (+ Aho, just for fun) in Liiga since 2015:

Kakko 2.79
Laine 2.49
Lundell 2.41
Puljujärvi 2.23
Kemell 2.18
Aho 2.12
Kotkaniemi 1.96
Rantanen 1.85
Kupari 1.78
Slafkovsky 1.36
Lambert 0.86

It just doesn't look very good for Slafkovsky. Only player he outscored was Lambert, and of course, he has very much sucked in Liiga. I think Lambert will still be a first rounder, and that's why I'm listing him here.

Sidenote: Aho produced actually quite well in his draft year.

Everything looks good for him. No player showed progression like Slafkovsky over the year.

 

[Quinning]

He looks like an absolute Chad

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

how many times you will kick into Slafkovsky? we know you dont like him and now leave for god sake

This is a player many of you think is the best player in the draft. Why can’t facts about his season be discussed?

 

[HeartAttack]

This is a player many of you think is the best player in the draft. Why can’t facts about his season be discussed?

Discussion isn't when you repeat same bs over and over...search his posts and you will find this repeating annoying

If you want to develop discussion then add something new like how he was doing on NHL draft combine...from what i've read he's most ready prospect to jump into NHL, he was overflowing with selfconfidence and shown signs of maturity

 

[VictoriaJetsFan]

This thread has taught me more about Joel Armia, Shane Wright, Jesse Pulijarvii and maybe Simon Nemec than its taught me about Slafkovsky. This is terrible.

 

[thomast]

Everything looks good for him. No player showed progression like Slafkovsky over the year.

Kakko was one of the most dominant players in entire league if not most dominant after his progression during the season after slow start. Laine also stepped up his game after WJC’s and progressed a lot. We can say same about Rantanen too.

Kemell at top 5 proves, that staring stats isn’t always best thing to do. While Kemell is a solid prospect, but his upside is not close to Slafkovsky. Slafkovsky put up over a PPG in two tournaments that are much tougher compared to liiga, because he had a chance to play in top line with better players.

 

[scallionjj11]

It wont. Next draft is loaded of big talended centers. Wright is nothing exceptional.

he literally was granted exceptional status for the OHL

 

[Jukurit]

Discussion isn't when you repeat same bs over and over...search his posts and you will find this repeating annoying

If you want to develop discussion then add something new like how he was doing on NHL draft combine...from what i've read he's most ready prospect to jump into NHL, he was overflowing with selfconfidence and shown signs of maturity

Oh, I'm sorry, I thought this was a hockey discussion forum. Instead of talking about player's stats and their play, we should talk about their combine results and confidence. Brilliant.

 

[tmlmatus]

Discussion isn't when you repeat same bs over and over...search his posts and you will find this repeating annoying

If you want to develop discussion then add something new like how he was doing on NHL draft combine...from what i've read he's most ready prospect to jump into NHL, he was overflowing with selfconfidence and shown signs of maturity

where did you read about the combine? i can't really find much info.

 

[RandomTask26]

Discussion isn't when you repeat same bs over and over...search his posts and you will find this repeating annoying

If you want to develop discussion then add something new like how he was doing on NHL draft combine...from what i've read he's most ready prospect to jump into NHL, he was overflowing with selfconfidence and shown signs of maturity

You shouldn’t go to the Shane Wright thread then. It’s wayyy worse there

 

[Doublechin]

I think the odds of ending up with a JVR type of career is the most realistic scenario here. I'd skip with ease before 4.

 

[ninetyeight]

First of all I've always been a big Joel Armia fan, but to suggest that a guy that was mostly ranked around 10-20 range was a better prospect than a guy who is universally considered a top5 pick and even top3 by many, is just false. No matter what the quality of the draft is/was, which in reality we won't find out until few years ahead.

Second I find it pretty surprising that my fellow Liiga watching finns, forget to mention how much more defensive this years TPS was that some of the powerhouses like Laine's and Barkov's Tappara. Not to mention the differences in linemates and ice time.

Third as been mentioned Slaf has been much better this year in Liiga especially after the olympics, and his ppg numbers look way different if you only include 2022 games where he had a bigger role.

But I don't think any of these guys are a sure thing, I'm still very surprised Kakko has struggled as much as he has when he looked like the all time best finnish prospect along with maybe Laine, possibly Barkov. But all these guys are individuals and point production in different leagues isn't the only factor that decides how players will fare in the NHL.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Discussion isn't when you repeat same bs over and over...search his posts and you will find this repeating annoying

If you want to develop discussion then add something new like how he was doing on NHL draft combine...from what i've read he's most ready prospect to jump into NHL, he was overflowing with selfconfidence and shown signs of maturity

That’s the first post I saw about P/60. I found it very informative. His opinion doesn’t matter. The facts were noteworthy.

 

[Frk It]

Points per 60 in regular season by first round picks (+ Aho, just for fun) in Liiga since 2015:

Kakko 2.79
Laine 2.49
Lundell 2.41
Puljujärvi 2.23
Kemell 2.18
Aho 2.12
Kotkaniemi 1.96
Rantanen 1.85
Kupari 1.78
Slafkovsky 1.36
Lambert 0.86

It just doesn't look very good for Slafkovsky. Only player he outscored was Lambert, and of course, he has very much sucked in Liiga. I think Lambert will still be a first rounder, and that's why I'm listing him here.

Sidenote: Aho produced actually quite well in his draft year.

I am sure Raymond wouldn't have the best points/60 of drafted players from the SHL, but he looked pretty damn good this year.

Some of scouting just comes down to evaluating/projecting tools.

Slafkovsky has a very rare blend of size/skill/skating.