Slafkovsky heating up

[Lafleurs Guy]

Well I guess it's time to plan the parade eh with PPG Salf and 50 goal CC?

All kidding aside it's good to see this progress but I'll be more interested how he and the Habs start next season, injuries and a real lack of depth at the center position really hurts development of wingers.

Dach should return, that will help. Hopefully that guy can stay healthy.

 

[Andy]

He is even putting up points in games where he is "quiet". For me that's such a great sign because it's a quality many star players have. They don't need a million opportunities per game to pick up a point. You give them one or two openings and bam, they make you pay. Slafkovsky is starting to be that type of player. If you give him just a second extra or just an inch more, he will make you regret it.

Also, he's developed a knack for developing a play where there doesn't appear to be one. He just makes simple, smart passes into open ice that you didn't expect to be available, and bam, scoring chance.

His vision and IQ is underrated because he isn't a flashy player in terms of skating and hands. He creates space and time with his frame and then just makes a simple play.

I think he will be difficult to play against when he gets stronger. He's still has room to grow physically.

I'd really encourage non-habs fans to watch a few full games of him player. He has great poise and a good 200 foot game for a 19 year old. He's not skills flashy, but he does all the little things right.

It's really hard to know what his ceiling is. As much as he can top out as a 60 point player, I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up flirting with 90 points. He's an unconventional offensive player.

 

[OpenIceHit]

I've rarely seen a player improve this quickly. I was ready to wait until he is 22 or 23 before making any assessment on this pick. And it's not only points, his defensive game is also getting better. Also, it looks like he suddenly realized that he is bigger than many other guys out there and he's getting a lot more aggressive. Now at 93 hits. I love it!

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

He is even putting up points in games where he is "quiet". For me that's such a great sign because it's a quality many star players have. They don't need a million opportunities per game to pick up a point. You give them one or two openings and bam, they make you pay. Slafkovsky is starting to be that type of player. If you give him just a second extra or just an inch more, he will make you regret it.

Also, he's developed a knack for developing a play where there doesn't appear to be one. He just makes simple, smart passes into open ice that you didn't expect to be available, and bam, scoring chance.

His vision and IQ is underrated because he isn't a flashy player in terms of skating and hands. He creates space and time with his frame and then just makes a simple play.

I think he will be difficult to play against when he gets stronger. He's still has room to grow physically.

I'd really encourage non-habs fans to watch a few full games of him player. He has great poise and a good 200 foot game for a 19 year old. He's not skills flashy, but he does all the little things right.

It's really hard to know what his ceiling is. As much as he can top out as a 60 point player, I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up flirting with 90 points. He's an unconventional offensive player.

The physical tools were always there. I just think there was real doubt about him being able to put it together. It’s funny to hear people starting to talk about his IQ because that was the very thing that was in question a year ago.

Seems to be a very coachable player.

 

[BLONG7]

15 points in his first 40 games. 14 in his next 14. 11 in his last 7.

First ten games he looked lost. He’s improved dramatically ever since. For the next twenty or so games he played really well but just didn’t get the points. Now they’re coming in bunches.

For a player with so many question marks early on, he’s done so well. Great year for him.

For the fans who actually watch the kid, he is progressing very nicely, even on nights where he doesn't get a point.
The Habs have a good young player on their hands, it's just that simple, but for some reason hard for fans of other teams are having a tough time with it.....
Good on this kid for showing the league, he can play.

 

[Halakitlikethat]

I thought if he scored 30 points this year that would be just fine. He’s going to crush that.

 

[BLONG7]

We were the most annoying fanbase in the league when a 19 year old Elias Pettersson put up 10 goals in 10 games to start his career.

We all knew this was going to be a special player..............good on him! EP has been great out of the gate..............for us, Slaf not so much, but the GM told us, he was a project, and we are now seeing some great progression....
I rarely notice other teams fans being excited for their guy, it makes sense actually. You wont see me with a hate on for a young player, who can back it up...................but man the main board can be a hilarious cesspool of hate, when it comes to certain players, and certain teams.....

Playoffs.................is when fans become over the top from my perspective.

 

[The Don Hughes]

Loving it, exceeding my expectations

 

[BLNY]

If he retired tomorrow does he make the HoF?

SlaHoFsky! of course!

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Since the Monahan trade and Slaf emergence, Main board Habs haters have been in a tailspin.

I feel bad for them. No one should have to eat that much crow in such a short period of time.

Where is the humanity?

 

[vlady]

I said in his draft year when people compared him to Jagr (whether in jest or as a stylistic comparison) that I see him more as a new Hossa and that he could have a similar kind of career. I was told it was unrealistic to expect a Hossa-like career.

Of course there is still a long way to go, but I firmly believe he is better than Hossa was at this point in his career. Nobody knows what the future holds, but I never quite understood those who predicted a 60-70 point guy and ridiculed anyone who suggested 100 point potential.

Write him off at your own peril. I'm just delighted he is putting Slovak hockey back on the map along with Nemec and hopefully more guys will follow soon.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

SlaHoFsky! of course!

JurHoF HoFHoFsky

 

[Junohockeyfan]

JurHoF HoFHoFsky

Let's compromise:

BustHOFsky.

 

[LeafGrief]

Glad that the Habs have something to cheer about, since "Cinquante Buts Pour Caufield - ce n'est pas si fou!" turned out to be tres fou after all.

Two Leafs-Habs games in Montreal coming up. Old time Saturday night matchups. If he can torch the Leafs, maybe even throw a clapper into an empty net, I think it will be safe to say that he's fully arrived.

 

[Baksfamous112]

Glad that the Habs have something to cheer about, since "Cinquante Buts Pour Caufield - ce n'est pas si fou!" turned out to be tres fou after all.

Two Leafs-Habs games in Montreal coming up. Old time Saturday night matchups. If he can torch the Leafs, maybe even throw a clapper into an empty net, I think it will be safe to say that he's fully arrived.

I want to see Xhekaj throw a clapper into an empty net against Toronto

 

[Goalfield13]

JurHoF HoFHoFsky

Going from worst 1OA ever to HOF in a few weeks! What a Chad.

 

[Whoot Whoot]

First look at this kid last night, he has some neat ideas. He will be fine once he grows into his frame a bit

 

[River Meadow]

Of course he’ll slump. Nobody is predicting a 100 point season next year. But he’s taken a lot of bullets and it’s nice to see some progression. It’s certainly not meant as a bragging thread, I mean his point production is only fairly recent.

He is notable because he was number one in a weird draft. Even from that perspective he’s an interesting player to track.

As far as giving ammo to people- suck it up bud. It’s a message board.

Galchenyuk scored over 30 goals, and look what happened...

Latendresse was looking like a stud as an 18yr old and look what happened...

The list goes on.

With the Habs luck, the clock will strike midnight for Slafkovsky at some point and he will turn into Bustkovsky.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Galchenyuk scored over 30 goals, and look what happened...

Latendresse was looking like a stud as an 18yr old and look what happened...

The list goes on.

So what?

With the Habs luck, the clock will strike midnight for Slafkovsky at some point and he will turn into Bustkovsky.

And if he tanks, so be it.

Right now he's playing really well after some initial struggles. He's a first overall and this is worthy of discussion. Previous threads like (is he the worst pick ever and others citing him as a mythical unicorn) had a silly premise to them. This isn't a predictive thread nor is it a braggy one. We are simply tracking how he's doing. At this moment in time he's on an upward climb. No doubt there will be droughts to go along the way. That's how things work.

As for previous players... Unlike previous prospects he's under a regime that takes development seriously and his odds of success will be a lot higher. Imagine trying to develop under Michel Therrien who's sole instruction was to 'grind!' Of course there was a high failure rate. The Montreal Canadiens were one of the worst run organizations in the league for decades.

Slaf has access to a coach who's shown success at develompment, he has access to skills and shooting coaches. None of that existed under Bergevin because he was a total moron. Moreover Slaf has shown that he WANTS to learn. He's highly coachable. If anything this is probably his superpower.

I'm not sitting here predicitng he'll be a star. Even if I was though - so what? I'd much rather hear from people who speak their mind than those who are worried that they may be providing 'ammo' for nameless people on a message board. If you predict something and you're wrong... big deal. At least you gave your opinion. As an example, I thought Caufield was going to score 40+ goals this year. Coming into this season he'd scored 48 in his previous 82. That was a reasonable prediction but he cacked the bed for two months. The shots were there but the goals weren't. Oh well... I was wrong. I still think he'll get 40+ next year and will eventually crack 50. I base it on the data at hand. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. So what?

Btw, my prediction for him next year is 60 points. I base that on his overall play and his youth. Maybe he'll be better or worse but I think that's a reasonable goal.

 

[Ducer]

Glad that the Habs have something to cheer about, since "Cinquante Buts Pour Caufield - ce n'est pas si fou!" turned out to be tres fou after all.

Two Leafs-Habs games in Montreal coming up. Old time Saturday night matchups. If he can torch the Leafs, maybe even throw a clapper into an empty net, I think it will be safe to say that he's fully arrived.

Habs have way more class for a clapper into a empty net or it would of been done in the 50's 60's 70's 80's 90's winning the cup is the only thing they are building towards.

 

[River Meadow]

So what?

And if he tanks, so be it.

Right now he's playing really well after some initial struggles. He's a first overall and this is worthy of discussion. Previous threads like (is he the worst pick ever and others citing him as a mythical unicorn) had a silly premise to them. This isn't a predictive thread nor is it a braggy one. We are simply tracking how he's doing. At this moment in time he's on an upward climb. No doubt there will be droughts to go along the way. That's how things work.

As for previous players... Unlike previous prospects he's under a regime that takes development seriously and his odds of success will be a lot higher. Imagine trying to develop under Michel Therrien who's sole instruction was to 'grind!' Of course there was a high failure rate. The Montreal Canadiens were one of the worst run organizations in the league for decades.

Slaf has access to a coach who's shown success at develompment, he has access to skills and shooting coaches. None of that existed under Bergevin because he was a total moron. Moreover Slaf has shown that he WANTS to learn. He's highly coachable. If anything this is probably his superpower.

I'm not sitting here predicitng he'll be a star. Even if I was though - so what? I'd much rather hear from people who speak their mind than those who are worried that they may be providing 'ammo' for nameless people on a message board. If you predict something and you're wrong... big deal. At least you gave your opinion. As an example, I thought Caufield was going to score 40+ goals this year. Coming into this season he'd scored 48 in his previous 82. That was a reasonable prediction but he cacked the bed for two months. Oh well... I was wrong. I still think he'll get 40+ next year and will eventually crack 50. I base it on the data at hand. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. So what?

Btw, my prediction for him next year is 60 points. I base that on his overall play and his youth. Maybe he'll be better or worse but I think that's a reasonable goal.

I admire the optimism, bless you.

I'm glad he's playing well, and it's a HUGE 180 compared to how lost he looked at the beginning of the season, but I will personally wait a bit more to pump the tires on him.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I admire the optimism, bless you.

I'm glad he's playing well, and it's a HUGE 180 compared to how lost he looked at the beginning of the season, but I will personally wait a bit more to pump the tires on him.

Is it pumping the tires to think he'll do 60 points next year or is it a realistic prediction?

His play has improved dramatically. He's on the first line and he's been producing around a point per game for around 20 games now. His goals are up... Should we just lowball what we think a player will do? No. That doesn't make any sense at all.

Tell us what you think he'll do next year. 10 points? 20?

 

[BLONG7]

So what?

And if he tanks, so be it.

Right now he's playing really well after some initial struggles. He's a first overall and this is worthy of discussion. Previous threads like (is he the worst pick ever and others citing him as a mythical unicorn) had a silly premise to them. This isn't a predictive thread nor is it a braggy one. We are simply tracking how he's doing. At this moment in time he's on an upward climb. No doubt there will be droughts to go along the way. That's how things work.

As for previous players... Unlike previous prospects he's under a regime that takes development seriously and his odds of success will be a lot higher. Imagine trying to develop under Michel Therrien who's sole instruction was to 'grind!' Of course there was a high failure rate. The Montreal Canadiens were one of the worst run organizations in the league for decades.

Slaf has access to a coach who's shown success at develompment, he has access to skills and shooting coaches. None of that existed under Bergevin because he was a total moron. Moreover Slaf has shown that he WANTS to learn. He's highly coachable. If anything this is probably his superpower.

I'm not sitting here predicitng he'll be a star. Even if I was though - so what? I'd much rather hear from people who speak their mind than those who are worried that they may be providing 'ammo' for nameless people on a message board. If you predict something and you're wrong... big deal. At least you gave your opinion. As an example, I thought Caufield was going to score 40+ goals this year. Coming into this season he'd scored 48 in his previous 82. That was a reasonable prediction but he cacked the bed for two months. The shots were there but the goals weren't. Oh well... I was wrong. I still think he'll get 40+ next year and will eventually crack 50. I base it on the data at hand. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. So what?

Btw, my prediction for him next year is 60 points. I base that on his overall play and his youth. Maybe he'll be better or worse but I think that's a reasonable goal.

Habs will gladly take a 60-70 pt player....in a heartbeat....

 

[Ducer]

I admire the optimism, bless you.

I'm glad he's playing well, and it's a HUGE 180 compared to how lost he looked at the beginning of the season, but I will personally wait a bit more to pump the tires on him.

Yeah it must be easy to play in the NHL at 19 and not be from north america also.

 

[waitin425]

After a slow start Slafkovski has 22 points in his last 25 games.

Discuss.