Player Discussion The Slaf Thread - Parabolic Growth Edition

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

That was like a month ago bruh

Ahhh that was an old tweet

 

[ReHabs]

He's the ultimate Project. 1OA but a project. I never would've thought to see such a thing.

Things are going well, more or less, but those who said it would take time were right: he's incredibly raw and makes bad decisions. Bad decisions can be masked by a player who carries a good frame and skates as well as Slaf. But if he's as quick a learner as the Habs organization says he is (and they invested big-time in him, so I trust they know for sure) then we will see a lot of incredible things from him in due course as he matures and approaches the game with more professionalism and efficiency.

 

[JianYang]

It's a bit disappointing that he hasn't continued his encouraging progression from last year into this year, especially given the contract he received.

He's clearly not yet able to be the engine on a line and is falling back into bad habits we saw at the beginning of his sophomore season.

Yet this is a player who has shown he can take leaps forward mid season. Leave him with Suzuki where he has shown the most progress.

I was warning people about this last year. He will be back, but it's all part of the evolution that players go through especially the bigger guys.

I was encouraged what I saw last year, but the road is not a smooth linear path.

 

[the]

He’s just been eating too much McDonald’s BBQ Chicken poutine. He will be alright.

 

[Habs]

I didn’t watch much of the last game did he get benched for a bit by Marty ‘little man syndrome’ St. Louis ? Lol

 

[Miller Time]

He's the ultimate Project. 1OA but a project. I never would've thought to see such a thing.

Apparently you weren't following the NHL when any of :

MacKinnon
Hischier
Lafreniere
Hughes

Let alone most of the dmen drafted 1OA, Etc etc were drafted?

It's actually quite common for NHLers drafted 1OA to take a few years to develop consistency to their game. Nothing surprising, uncommon or "unseen" about Slaf's development curve at all...

 

[ReHabs]

Apparently you weren't following the NHL when any of :

MacKinnon
Hischier
Lafreniere
Hughes

Let alone most of the dmen drafted 1OA, Etc etc were drafted?

Terrible take. Bottom shelf. None of them were considered projects at the time of their draft, they just took longer to get going -- completely different.

It's actually quite common for NHLers drafted 1OA to take a few years to develop consistency to their game. Nothing surprising, uncommon or "unseen" about Slaf's development curve at all...

I appreciate that you've reiterated my assertion.

 

[Egresch]

I dont mind benching Slaf as it was deserved. He made a stupid, irresponsible play and he learned his lesson, but really hate the double standard from MSL.
We are tiptoeing around Dach who has been atrocious, but he still plays top6 and PP1. Same applies to Newhook. I am not even talking about our amazing vet group.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I dont mind benching Slaf as it was deserved. He made a stupid, irresponsible play and he learned his lesson, but really hate the double standard from MSL.
We are tiptoeing around Dach who has been atrocious, but he still plays top6 and PP1. Same applies to Newhook. I am not even talking about our amazing vet group.

Dach has actually gotten benched or demoted in game.

It's Dvorak, Matheson and Armia who are beyond reproach with Marty.

 

[Artaud]

I was warning people about this last year. He will be back, but it's all part of the evolution that players go through especially the bigger guys.

I was encouraged what I saw last year, but the road is not a smooth linear path.

I'm not worried about Slaf. He's still so young and raw. One step back, two step forward as you say.

It would have been nice to see him keep going where he left off, but for what it's worth, it's also very encouraging that he manages to produce despite playing relatively poorly.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Not worried still a baby , if he puts up like 30-40 points than ok yeah we can worry

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Many will castigate you for this perspective, but, really, if you watch Slafkovsky play absent bias and the natural desire to see him perform well to justify his selection, his performance this year has been radically sub-par. There have been precious few standout moments or demonstrations of skill; eleven points in seventeen games with only a single goal is radically disappointing in the extreme, particularly when he's generating no scoring chances and rarely seems to even be able to get off a shot, averaging just over one per game.

Frankly, the conclusion to his previous year is looking more like a fluke statistical anomaly considering how poor his hockey sense and decision making has been from the outset - one of his great deficiencies that led him to taking so many massive hits in the first year.

He didn't play 17 games. He missed 2 iirc. It's 1 goal, 11 assists, for 12 pts in 15 games, which is not subpar.

At the time you made your post, he was at 12 pts in 14 gms.

He definitely needs to score more and be more consistent and look alive, but his ppg is right where you would expect it to be.

 

[Doom Bot]

Slaf will figure it out. We need to be able to handle growing pains and ups and downs as fans. Start looking at the long term trend, not week to week. People here would have been freaking out with MacKinnon being a ~50 pt guy still in year 3 and 4.

At the very least we've seen Slaf CAN be a force, which is the biggest thing for me. Now it's about dialing in the consistency and decision making, which comes with experience for everyone but the very very elite.

Hutson is going to have rough moments too and there's gonna be the same stuff happening, too small, can't handle a full season grind, etc.

 

[rahad]

He didn't play 17 games. He missed 2 iirc. It's 1 goal, 11 assists, for 12 pts in 15 games, which is not subpar.

At the time you made your post, he was at 12 pts in 14 gms.

He definitely needs to score more and be more consistent and look alive, but his ppg is right where you would expect it to be.

What is strange is Slaf goals numbers..... Did we not draft him for his ability to score and his size. Only goal is not looking good for him.

 

[Egresch]

What is strange is Slaf goals numbers..... Did we not draft him for his ability to score and his size. Only goal is not looking good for him.

No, he has always been a playmaker, people got fooled by the Olympics.
There are couple reasons behind his low goals:
- Shooting %, his expected goals are at 3,8 while reality is just 1. Normally, he would have 4G and 10A in 15GP.
- PP1 he was moved from right circle, so he cannot use his one-timer anymore. He is sacrifising his own production for the benefit of his team. Look at Matheson goal vs. CBJ, he literally did "The Job".

 

[rahad]

No, he has always been a playmaker, people got fooled by the Olympics.
There are couple reasons behind his low goals:
- Shooting %, his expected goals are at 3,8 while reality is just 1. Normally, he would have 4G and 10A in 15GP.
- PP1 he was moved from right circle, so he cannot use his one-timer anymore. He is sacrifising his own production for the benefit of his team. Look at Matheson goal vs. CBJ, he literally did "The Job".

What are you talking about. His whole career he had great numbers of goals. Not just Olympics.
Last year, he had 20 goals.

Juraj Slafkovský at eliteprospects.com

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Juraj Slafkovský, 2004-03-30 Kosice, SVK Slovakia. Most recently in the NHL with Montréal Canadiens. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

I think size/athleticism was always his best trait, not hockey IQ. That's what made him the ultimate project. The question was always if he could be elite offensively - but even if he ends up with 2nd line skills he will still be a physical beast that can play on the top line

Not to baby him but if he just had a bit more luck and potted a couple extra goals this year, his projections would be just fine - still on pace for 50 assists.

 

[vlady]

No, he has always been a playmaker, people got fooled by the Olympics.
There are couple reasons behind his low goals:
- Shooting %, his expected goals are at 3,8 while reality is just 1. Normally, he would have 4G and 10A in 15GP.
- PP1 he was moved from right circle, so he cannot use his one-timer anymore. He is sacrifising his own production for the benefit of his team. Look at Matheson goal vs. CBJ, he literally did "The Job".

This is very frustrating for me to watch. I am not sure it's for the benefit of the team either. I think by putting Slaf in front of the net, they are taking away his best asset, which is his playmaking. He is barely touching the puck on the PP. I would swap him and Dach on the PP. Slaf did very well in that position last year. Dach has done f*** all from there.

 

[Habs]

Funny how Dvorak and Armia never get benched, but our young core does lol

 

[Egresch]

This is very frustrating for me to watch. I am not sure it's for the benefit of the team either. I think by putting Slaf in front of the net, they are taking away his best asset, which is his playmaking. He is barely touching the puck on the PP. I would swap him and Dach on the PP. Slaf did very well in that position last year. Dach has done f*** all from there.

I am totally ok with it. PP has improved this season and his net front presence is key contributor.
A- of young core, he is by far the best in net front play, Gally is ok in PP2. In the future, I can see Kapanen there.
B- in near future, Hutson will replace Matheson and Demidov Dach on PP1, but nobody will question Slaf's role.
Hutson, Demidov, Suzuki, Slaf, Caufield/Laine could become one of the best PP in whole league.

 

[Habs]

Not worried still a baby , if he puts up like 30-40 points than ok yeah we can worry

It's unusual how much goal scoring is down among the 'snipers' in the NHL this year. From Stamkos, to Bedard, Crosby, Malkin , Matthews (hurt I know) Mackinnin, McDavid... Petterson.. Marner.. goals are tough to come by for some reason this year

 

[Artaud]

His feet are a bit slow this season. If he could just lay off that Mcdonald's smoked BBQ poutine for a while, he would be beyond dominant.

 

[Tyson]

His feet are a bit slow this season. If he could just lay off that Mcdonald's smoked BBQ poutine for a while, he would be beyond dominant.

A sophomore slump in his 3rd season

 

[OldCraig71]

I didn’t watch much of the last game did he get benched for a bit by Marty ‘little man syndrome’ St. Louis ? Lol

He dropped a loud F-bomb that could be heard on the tv broadcast and posters speculated that was the reason he got benched. I don't know if that was the reason or not.

 

[OldCraig71]

Terrible take. Bottom shelf. None of them were considered projects at the time of their draft, they just took longer to get going -- completely different.

I appreciate that you've reiterated my assertion.

Slaf needs to find more consistency and focus more on keeping his feet moving and when he does the points will accumulate. He was projected to be a good second-liner and that's fine, not all drafts are equal. It would have been cool to get a Matthews or a Mackinnon but that wasn't our luck.