Player Discussion The Slaf Thread - Parabolic Growth Edition

[LaP]

The goal he scored yesterday is a goal very good players score only. Very rare to see a grinder score a goal like that.

 

[Kennerback]

Guys, his progression is ‘’frail’’ lol

This thread has been reduced to fawning adulation. No superlative is enough. If I say I love him, I really do, but don’t want to be intimate everyday of the week it’s heresy.

 

[le_sean]

This thread has been reduced to fawning adulation. No superlative is enough. If I say I love him, I really do, but don’t want to be intimate everyday of the week it’s heresy.

Damn imagine a thread of adulation in a Habs forum about a Habs 1st overall breaking out and showing true potential.

Of course every single subject on the internet will always have those that are contrarian just for the sake of it.

 

[Supersonic]

Just a lesson in on ice awareness for a youngster. You shouldn’t try that pass to begin with, but you definitely shouldn’t be taking risks like that when Reinhart and Barkov are on the ice.

What’s nice about that mistake and Marty is that Slaf stayed on the PP afterward and kept being played with the shortened bench after that happened.

 

[bcv]

This thread has been reduced to fawning adulation. No superlative is enough. If I say I love him, I really do, but don’t want to be intimate everyday of the week it’s heresy.

What a change from the non-stop negativity and bust talk that was going on all of last year, all of the offseason and the first few weeks of this season.

Both sides are exactly the same, so you, and all other posters who says the same thing, should stop whining about it.

 

[vlady]

He had a MUCH better game against Florida. Nice bounce back after a tough stretch. Time to start another hot streak.

 

[Kennerback]

Damn imagine a thread of adulation in a Habs forum about a Habs 1st overall breaking out and showing true potential.

Of course every single subject on the internet will always have those that are contrarian just for the sake of it.

Contrarian? I just wasn’t aware that this was the thread that prohibited any critique. Maybe the thread title could have a warning to make sure you have your safe space.

 

[le_sean]

Contrarian? I just wasn’t aware that this was the thread that prohibited any critique. Maybe the thread title could have a warning to make sure you have your safe space.

Yeah, contrarian for the sake of it. And when that doesn’t work (since he looks great), we then complain that there’s some type of positive mob mentality

But of course we all had to sit here and read the garbage negativity over and over again because he didn’t put up McDavid numbers. But hey, at least you stick to your convictions unlike some that just change their username and pretend to not exist anymore.

 

[Kennerback]

Yeah, contrarian for the sake of it. And when that doesn’t work (since he looks great), we then complain that there’s some type of positive mob mentality

But of course we all had to sit here and read the garbage negativity over and over again because he didn’t put up McDavid numbers. But hey, at least you stick to your convictions unlike some that just change their username and pretend to not exist anymore.

I’m not a contrarian. The player is 19 years old. He’s not a finished product. He has things to work on. He played worse in the 4 game stretch than the games before. I think posters don’t believe any different, it just pisses people off that I post something that’s not hagiographic.

Edit: And to all the shy sycophant(s?) that keep posting laughing emojis while keeping a safe distance from the thread: grow up.

 

[Heffyhoof]

I’m not a contrarian. The player is 19 years old. He’s not a finished product. He has things to work on. He played worse in the 4 game stretch than the games before. I think posters don’t believe any different, it just pisses people off that I post something that’s not hagiographic.

Edit: And to all the shy sycophant(s?) that keep posting laughing emojis while keeping a safe distance from the thread: grow up.

I'll chime in. You and posters like you made the thread a whiny unreadable mess for almost a year, and it constantly spilled over into every other major thread. Now the pendulum is swinging and your still crying but about how mean the happy people are now. You even tried to use the 4 game slump to restart the whining. Grow up.

 

[G0bias]

Really liked how despite being the first time Marty uses him in OT, he didn't hesitate a second to challenge Ds and overpower them to get himself in scoring positions.

We don't have anyone that can really do that.

 

[Saundies]

He had a bit of a rough stretch for a couple of games (especially with taking penalties) but against Florida he looked similar to how he's been most of the season. Before his goal, he got robbed of one on a rebound, so it was great to see him put that one in last minute.

He did give the puck away on Reinhart's goal, but that wasn't what caused the goal IMO. There was plenty of runway for guys to get back and even for Monty to save it. Just a nice shot by a guy who has 42 this year. Those happen.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I’m not a contrarian. The player is 19 years old. He’s not a finished product. He has things to work on. He played worse in the 4 game stretch than the games before. I think posters don’t believe any different, it just pisses people off that I post something that’s not hagiographic.

Edit: And to all the shy sycophant(s?) that keep posting laughing emojis while keeping a safe distance from the thread: grow up.

He hadn’t really played well lately. I think most people acknowledged that.

As for speaking in superlatives- I mean, why wouldn’t you? This guy who started off with all kinds of question marks at the start of the year has shot straight up. What’s not to like?

We criticize him for not keeping his head up - he fixes it. Doesn’t shoot enough - fixes it. All he’s done is improve.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I'll chime in. You and posters like you made the thread a whiny unreadable mess for almost a year, and it constantly spilled over into every other major thread. Now the pendulum is swinging and your still crying but about how mean the happy people are now. You even tried to use the 4 game slump to restart the whining. Grow up.

Hall of Fame post. This applies to way more than just who Heffyhoof is quoting, too.

 

[JoelWarlord]

I’m not a contrarian. The player is 19 years old. He’s not a finished product. He has things to work on. He played worse in the 4 game stretch than the games before. I think posters don’t believe any different, it just pisses people off that I post something that’s not hagiographic.

You didn't say "he has things to work on" though. You said his progression is frail. That's a very different sentiment than "he has things to work on".

 

[KevSkillz4]

Great game yesterday, I really liked what I see in OT from him!

 

[Kennerback]

He hadn’t really played well lately. I think most people acknowledged that.

As for speaking in superlatives- I mean, why wouldn’t you? This guy who started off with all kinds of question marks at the start of the year has shot straight up. What’s not to like?

We criticize him for not keeping his head up - he fixes it. Doesn’t shoot enough - fixes it. All he’s done is improve.

The head up thing or the fact he wasn’t strong enough was never something I took seriously. He never shunned contact like some of his draftmates. And he’s not the one that ended up being decapitated this season.

The shooting is a problem. He has it in him. But he’s not stepping up.

 

[Kennerback]

You didn't say "he has things to work on" though. You said his progression is frail. That's a very different sentiment than "he has things to work on".

Why frail? Because he plays better when he shoots and drives the net. He can do it. He showed it in a recent stretch of games. But the fact he falls back playing in the periphery shows me it’s not yet second nature.

 

[Redux91]

This thread has been reduced to fawning adulation. No superlative is enough. If I say I love him, I really do, but don’t want to be intimate everyday of the week it’s heresy.

Yeah but come on bud
'his progression looks frail' because the team stunk a couple games and he's still getting accustomed to an 82 game pro schedule as a teenager and he didn't score 4 goals in 4 games..?

There's fair critiquing, and then there's the stuff you and a couple others do.. which is disingenuous.

You always complain about the 'lovefests' and seemingly by nature you want to go against the grain on that and that's fine, you do you
but at least be 'good' at your negative assessments of him

 

[dcyhabs]

He hadn’t really played well lately. I think most people acknowledged that.

As for speaking in superlatives- I mean, why wouldn’t you? This guy who started off with all kinds of question marks at the start of the year has shot straight up. What’s not to like?

We criticize him for not keeping his head up - he fixes it. Doesn’t shoot enough - fixes it. All he’s done is improve.

He's 19 and at his worst this season he looks much more like he belongs in the NHL than he did at any point last season. He had a good stretch before his last half dozen games or so. At 19 the progress is good. Gives a lot of hope for what he can do in a year or two.

I was really worried about Slaf coming into this season but now he looks exactly like what the habs were missing and what Hughes was looking for, a big, physical player with puck skills who can push opposing players around, force them to pay attention to him, and open space for the rest of his line. They need at least a couple more players in the same mold.

 

[Miller Time]

Great game yesterday, I really liked what I see in OT from him!

It was a strong game, but still too often he's looking to make a play vs just power it in... When he finally flips that switch and goes shoot first with every touch, he's going to be downright unstoppable because with his vision and hands, he'll make opponents pay when they pressure him too much or when they give him space...

 

[Tabarouette]

Yeah but come on bud
'his progression looks frail' because the team stunk a couple games and he's still getting accustomed to an 82 game pro schedule as a teenager and he didn't score 4 goals in 4 games..?

There's fair critiquing, and then there's the stuff you and a couple others do.. which is disingenuous.

You always complain about the 'lovefests' and seemingly by nature you want to go against the grain on that and that's fine, you do you
but at least be 'good' at your negative assessments of him

I positively think his shot and decision making are still looking subpar and it's a good learning experience that he took 2 horrible penalties 2 games ago smiley face

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

He's 19 and at his worst this season he looks much more like he belongs in the NHL than he did at any point last season. He had a good stretch before his last half dozen games or so. At 19 the progress is good. Gives a lot of hope for what he can do in a year or two.

I was really worried about Slaf coming into this season but now he looks exactly like what the habs were missing and what Hughes was looking for, a big, physical player with puck skills who can push opposing players around, force them to pay attention to him, and open space for the rest of his line. They need at least a couple more players in the same mold.

Once they gave him more playing time his play really improved. It took a while for the points to catch up but he's been playing well since about game 10 of this year.

And like I said, he seems to work hard on improving his weaknesses. The coachibility is really helping him.

 

[Kennerback]

Yeah but come on bud
'his progression looks frail' because the team stunk a couple games and he's still getting accustomed to an 82 game pro schedule as a teenager and he didn't score 4 goals in 4 games..?

There's fair critiquing, and then there's the stuff you and a couple others do.. which is disingenuous.

You always complain about the 'lovefests' and seemingly by nature you want to go against the grain on that and that's fine, you do you
but at least be 'good' at your negative assessments of him

Since we’d drafted him I’ve had more fully positive posts about him than posts with any hint of negativity. And it’s not disingenuous to say i didn’t like the way he played.

We could have drafted skilled players that linger in the periphery and live to feed Caufield and Suzuki. It’s a waste of his capabilities.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

The head up thing or the fact he wasn’t strong enough was never something I took seriously. He never shunned contact like some of his draftmates. And he’s not the one that ended up being decapitated this season.

The shooting is a problem. He has it in him. But he’s not stepping up.

I'm not sure what you mean. He absolutely is stepping up. His shot volume is significantly better than it was and the goals have come with it.

First 35 games: 49 shots - avg 1.4 per game 4 goals
Last 25 games: 52 shots - avg 2.1 per game 9 goals