Player Discussion The Slaf Thread - Parabolic Growth Edition

[yianik]

Good point. Passkovsky was pegged as a playmaker, but suddenly Snipekovsky is scoring one-timers. He's not just reaching his potential, he's rewriting it.

He is Slaf of the Borg, he assimilates.

 

[Gustave]

He's looking so good out there right now, so so good. We might've gotten this one right!

He's on a tear out there. What a run.

 

[Redux91]

Not to re-ignite the debate because, IMO, it no longer exists.

But is it fair to wonder if he would have applied himself the same way he has in the NHL, had he gone to the AHL and had more success in a weaker league where he could get away with doing the things that he just couldn't do in the NHL?

And I'll re-ignite this

I wanted him in the WJC last year, not for development
It was for my own greed and pleasure lol

That Canada Slovak game would of gone up another notch than it already was

 

[HomaridII]

 

[Kennerback]

They shaved the heads of collaborators after WW2, how should we mark those who have unscrupulously reinserted themselves in the ranks here like some of us haven't noticed? I see y'all ...ignore me, but I see y'all.

And i'm still feeling grumpy from my Niners losing the Super Bowl, so i'm bout' that action right now lol

Despite looking lukewarm, I gave secret aid and comfort to the resistants. No head shaving please.

 

[yianik]

I hope he's worthy of being the highest paid player on the team when his contract is up.

That's the importance for me of having your "Star" guys do well during the ELC. If the guy produces then both the player and team should come to an 8 year at $X dollars without a lot of drama. We saw what can go wrong with a 2 year bridge with PK. If it wasn't for Molson becoming involved and PKs love of Montreal he could have arbitrated himself out of here in 2 years as a UFA. That was a fiasco caused by MB, should have just signed him to 8, not 2.

 

[xX SEYF Xx]

I remember posting that Slaf was best in the world at participating in goals without collecting apples, lol

His play was good even in his scoreless games, the breakout in production was somewhat predictable.

While I don't expect him to go near ppg for the remaining games, he's 19 and we totally have the right to be overexcited with the dude, we were so underwhelmed for years

 

[Gustave]

They shaved the heads of collaborators after WW2, how should we mark those who have unscrupulously reinserted themselves in the ranks here like some of us haven't noticed? I see y'all ...ignore me, but I see y'all.

And i'm still feeling grumpy from my Niners losing the Super Bowl, so i'm bout' that action right now lol

Take your W's man, but fandom is what it is and you should embrace the brotherhood/sisterhood of such a place.

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

We were told.......weak draft year.
We were told he was drafted with the intent of being the best player taken to grow into the role of a good NHLer.......not necessarily the best player at that time of the draft.
We were told........be patient with the kid.....

Here we are...guys like Rehabs have deleted their account.
Will there be bumps in the road, of course, the kid is 19
He is the best in his draft class already........wasn't supposed to be for 3-4 years.
I think we can relax a bit now on this pick, and watch HuGo do their thing moving forward.

Our management are light years, ahead of the previous Ship of Fools.

I feel under HUGO, the Habs organization has been brought into the 21st century. Development is visibly a huge investment now. I feel we will see several picks emerge by design and not by “chance” moving forward.

 

[417]

Take your W's man, but fandom is what it is and you should embrace the brotherhood/sisterhood of such a place.

Oh trust me, I LOVE the brotherhood/sisterhood of this place, it's why I been here so long and will continue to post here.

That's not what that was with some folks here the past 12-18 months. They know lol.

 

[Paddyjack]

That's the importance for me of having your "Star" guys do well during the ELC. If the guy produces then both the player and team should come to an 8 year at $X dollars without a lot of drama. We saw what can go wrong with a 2 year bridge with PK. If it wasn't for Molson becoming involved and PKs love of Montreal he could have arbitrated himself out of here in 2 years as a UFA. That was a fiasco caused by MB, should have just signed him to 8, not 2.

In PK's case I suspect there may have been other issues than on-ice habileties that were making management cautious over a long-term contract. Gervais was pretty clear in his book that PK was a distraction in the locker room.

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

Not to re-ignite the debate because, IMO, it no longer exists.

But is it fair to wonder if he would have applied himself the same way he has in the NHL, had he gone to the AHL and had more success in a weaker league where he could get away with doing the things that he just couldn't do in the NHL?

Moving away and living on his own at 14 tells me this kid has a ton of drive and focus. If his goal was to be the best, regardless of where he played, we would have applied himself the same way I believe

 

[Captain Mountain]

Not to re-ignite the debate because, IMO, it no longer exists.

But is it fair to wonder if he would have applied himself the same way he has in the NHL, had he gone to the AHL and had more success in a weaker league where he could get away with doing the things that he just couldn't do in the NHL?

Who knows. Slafkovsky never established consistency in any league play. I think he would have applied himself in the AHL though and it probably wouldn't have hurt his development.

My biggest issue with the AHL debate was more the idea that the NHL isn't a developmental league. Which is technically true, but at the same time ANY league is a developmental league if you prioritize development and NO league is a developmental league if you don't invest in development. Slafkovsky stayed in the NHL in part because St. Louis wanted to keep working with him and management thought they could more easily give him access to the tools to succeed. A lot of fans are still (fairly) miffed because Bergevin's method of development was basically just asking for more effort and putting guys in different positions, without providing development tools or training. Which probably played a part in why guys stagnated in both the NHL and AHL, and why one of the first things HuGo did was build a player development department.

Sometimes scouts miss and sometimes players don't develop the way you'd hope. But it'll probably happen less if you help players identify areas to improve their game and give them tools to make those improvements.

 

[Sorinth]

I'm just happy I don't have to see the words "toxic positivity" anymore

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

And posters doubted the pick while simultaneously putting on their Monday morning cleats shouting Cooley

He really is a magician with the puck…..on many occasions, he’s got the puck around his feet while being pressed by two opposing players, then magically, the puck pops out of the pile on a teammate’s stick…..we have ourselves one heluvah player….he will dominate this league by the time he’s 22, so much skill and size!

His puck protection is going to be next level. Already is great. Last night goal when he drove to the outside and set Suzuki up across the crease….. that was pure Jagr

 

[417]

Who knows. Slafkovsky never established consistency in any league play. I think he would have applied himself in the AHL though and it probably wouldn't have hurt his development.

Not saying it would have hurt his development.

But would it have optimized it? Would he be where he's at right now?

It's difficult for me to accept the notion that it would. The NHL is the best league in the world with the best players in the world, there is no better developmental league.

The issue is that not all players have the capacity to skip prior development levels and jump right into the NHL.

My biggest issue with the AHL debate was more the idea that the NHL isn't a developmental league. Which is technically true, but at the same time ANY league is a developmental league if you prioritize development and NO league is a developmental league if you don't invest in development. Slafkovsky stayed in the NHL in part because St. Louis wanted to keep working with him and management thought they could more easily give him access to the tools to succeed. A lot of fans are still (fairly) miffed because Bergevin's method of development was basically just asking for more effort and putting guys in different positions, without providing development tools or training. Which probably played a part in why guys stagnated in both the NHL and AHL, and why one of the first things HuGo did was build a player development department.

Preaching to the choir man lol.

Sometimes scouts miss and sometimes players don't develop the way you'd hope. But it'll probably happen less if you help players identify areas to improve their game and give them tools to make those improvements.

Yeah no doubt.

 

[Apfel Struble]

Even with his crazy production as of late, it's his 200 foot game that impresses me the most. I don't recall ever seeing an <20 yo forward being that good defensively against top opposition

I swear he's is going to break the streak of centers winning the Selke, he's just so damn dominant on the ice. Who was the last winger to win it, Brind'amour? Lehtinen? Slaf can do it

It's what I love the most with him. His points are not empty points where he's a nuisance at even strength like a lot of Sens and Sabres forwards. I can see Slaf snuff the other teams top line offence in a Bo7 while still producing

 

[yianik]

In PK's case I suspect there may have been other issues than on-ice habileties that were making management cautious over a long-term contract. Gervais was pretty clear in his book that PK was a distraction in the locker room.

The Old School NHL is an absolute Grey, and the Habs have been as old school as it gets. Colourful guys like Roy, PK get the Old School backs up. Look at Zegras, there may be a bunch of reasons not to like this guy but part of it is that flashy on ice Michigan stuff he does that offends guys like Torts.

I am not privy of what was going on in the locker room but I would have expected PK to 100% rub MT the wrong way given MT was a twat, and then you would have had uptight straight laced dudes like Patches and Gallagher. So I take PK as the distraction with a grain of salt.

 

[Mrb1p]

One could say that this thread is exponential, even.

My Corey Perry comparison is looking dandy, ngl.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

Slaf 27 pts
PLD 21 pts

 

[Whitesnake]

Not to re-ignite the debate because, IMO, it no longer exists.

But is it fair to wonder if he would have applied himself the same way he has in the NHL, had he gone to the AHL and had more success in a weaker league where he could get away with doing the things that he just couldn't do in the NHL?

Everything is fair to wonder. But nobody has the answer. As it's been done times and times again by tons of different players, he could have played a junior year at 18 or in thie AHL, come in at 19 and flourish just as much. Or...instead of seeing it at 19, we would have seeing it a year later. We don't know.

One thing is SURE. It was NOT a mistake to have him in the NHL at his age. It can't be...he's just great. What we will NEVER know if it would have been a mistake to have him in the AHL at 18.

Obviously, we will only know if it's mistake or not for every decision AFTER the fact. Was it a mistake to have Reinbacher play in Europe this year? Strangely, nobody has an opinion right now....I guess until he comes in and does great or not....

 

[habbubba]

I'm drooling too but lets see how the rest of the month goes and revisit it. You want to see it continue but it won't be easy.

 

[SlafySZN]

We have been to war this summer and we doubled down despite the adversity and a rough first 10 games.

I remember you, @BaseballCoach and @SuzukiSZN and supported by @Pomee.

We were the de Gaulleist of this thread !

I’ll always defend my sons Slaf and CC

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Man, if only folks like Galchenyuk and Kostitsyn had Slafkovsky's drive and attitude.

I will forever defend Galchenyuk, even if he was flawed. But I’ll do it in another thread.

Try this on for size: what if our coach right now was Therrien? What if we had drafted Slaf back when MB ran the show?

 

[donghabs98]

Crazy how talking to lots of Slovaks on other sites outside of HF, they were all very down on Slafkovsky as a player. Almost all of the Slovaks on hf had a similar view on who was clearly the best player of the next generation of Slovak hockey (Juraj) . Nemec, Dvorsky, etc are great players. But Slafkovsky has the power, skill and determination to impact the game in ways very unique.

It was clear for a while View attachment 819346

That poster highlighted a key thing that we have seen before practice and its Slaf's dedication to improving. His shot and using it was a key area of improvement and he's been tackling that with his time with the shooting coach Taylor. On draft day there was no doubt legitimate questions and concerns with the pick. Slaf had the physical and skill tools to be an impactful player, the question was can he get there and from day 1 he's shown a deep commitment to doing so. Its something that seperates him from Galchenyuk and KK, other top picks for us with a good skill set but couldn't get there (although Chucky did give us a short glimpse).