Player Discussion The Slaf Thread - Parabolic Growth Edition

[thebestnic]

Thats how bad he was for the first ~ 40 games.

Also played with the gravity hole known as Josh Anderson

 

[417]

I'm still surprised Slaf only has 39 points. He's been playing so solid for the majority of the season. Feels like he should be at 50.

Why is that surprising considering only his linemates, which he's been with consistently since mid-December (not 100% sure about that), have more than 39pts and the other one is a Dman.

Also played with the gravity hole known as Josh Anderson

It's also simply not true lol it's just a convenient narrative for some folks.

 

[Mrb1p]

Also played with the gravity hole known as Josh Anderson

Yes, but also he was one himself. That was clearly a confidence and execution issue and being put in a position to succeed unlocked his potential.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Yes, but also he was one himself. That was clearly a confidence and execution issue and being put in a position to succeed unlocked his potential.

Also helps to play with Suzuki full time as his center too. I've said it several times now, bouncing around the wingers due to lack of center depth has ripple effects. Combine that with Slaf's lack of confidence/maturity and there you go.

 

[waitin425]

Also helps to play with Suzuki full time as his center too. I've said it several times now, bouncing around the wingers due to lack of center depth has ripple effects. Combine that with Slaf's lack of confidence/maturity and there you go.

Welcome back!

 

[Shutdown]

Yes, but also he was one himself. That was clearly a confidence and execution issue and being put in a position to succeed unlocked his potential.

these are just a few example from a quick search. i'm sure there are more examples. obviously good players create chances and not all of them go in but to say he was a black hole is revisionist.
not saying he was perfect and ringing 5 off the post per game but after a crappy October - except the first couple games - he started putting it together in November but was unlucky.

 

[FrankMTL]

Slaf would be pacing at 26 goals and 38 assists over a full season (82 games) the way he's played the last 41 games.....at 19 years old. That would be a hell of a season for such a young player. Having said that, he's still had a fantastic season so far and there's so much to look forward to with him.

 

[Sorinth]

I'm still surprised Slaf only has 39 points. He's been playing so solid for the majority of the season. Feels like he should be at 50.

He had a small slump production wise not that long ago with 1 point in 8 games. Slaf has often looked good but not been rewarded with points. Part of that is on him just being that half second late or just slightly off target, and part of it is luck.

At the end of the day 50 is still very much within reach, requires 11 points in 12 games which basically just means continuing his current streak to finish the season.

 

[Tabarouette]

these are just a few example from a quick search. i'm sure there are more examples. obviously good players create chances and not all of them go in but to say he was a black hole is revisionist.
not saying he was perfect and ringing 5 off the post per game but after a crappy October - except the first couple games - he started putting it together in November but was unlucky.

i'm an enlightened Slaf superfan now but like, I could do the same exercise with Josh Anderson and show you how good he is by pulling out highlights of all the times he participated in scoring, it's not telling much

 

[Mrb1p]

these are just a few example from a quick search. i'm sure there are more examples. obviously good players create chances and not all of them go in but to say he was a black hole is revisionist.
not saying he was perfect and ringing 5 off the post per game but after a crappy October - except the first couple games - he started putting it together in November but was unlucky.

You can do the same thing for Anderson.

 

[Hannibal]

i'm an enlightened Slaf superfan now but like, I could do the same exercise with Josh Anderson and show you how good he is by pulling out highlights of all the times he participated in scoring, it's not telling much

Anderson? Not at all. The dude sucked all year.

 

[LaP]

You can do the same thing for Anderson.

I dunno i guess you could but you'd have to dig far deeper to achieve the same result. Slaf has always been better than Anderson and it dates back to the world champ in 2022.

 

[Sorinth]

You can do the same thing for Anderson.

Sure but if you were to count the number of such plays for both players I have little doubt that Slafkovsky would have way more then Anderson.

 

[Redux91]

It's also simply not true lol it's just a convenient narrative for some folks.

How in the world is it not true..??

 

[Tabarouette]

No, you can't... The only compilation you could do with Anderson, and it would be several hours long, would be a video compiling his gaffes and him killing plays. It was clear back then that Slafkovsky was getting a lot of chances but he was indecisive with the puck; it led to him not getting as many points as he could have.

He was by no means a black hole offensively à la Josh Anderson. Anyone who believes that seriously need to get their eyes checked.

Marc Dumont wasn't compiling video highlights of the first 30 games where Slaf was looking like that

I think we all need to meet at La Cage for a special night where we rewatch our first 20 games of the season together for 70h straight tbh because the real revisionism is people thinking he was always good

 

[Redux91]

i'm an enlightened Slaf superfan now but like, I could do the same exercise with Josh Anderson and show you how good he is by pulling out highlights of all the times he participated in scoring, it's not telling much

Ok
Pull up all 18 videos of his points, and then find the videos of his 'near-chances' that he, get this, messes up himself
We'll wait

I'm sure they are the same player.

 

[Tabarouette]

Ok
Pull up all 18 videos of his points, and then find the videos of his 'near-chances' that he, get this, messes up himself
We'll wait

I'm sure they are the same player.

Nobody is saying they're the same player. Take this precious time to reflect on your reading comprehension instead

 

[Mrb1p]

Sure but if you were to count the number of such plays for both players I have little doubt that Slafkovsky would have way more then Anderson.

I dont think so lol, not for early in the season.

Regardless, its rewriting history to say that Slaf was always this good. Hes looking like a legit top line forward now. You don't go from looking like he does to a 10 points pace. Thats a ridiculous notion.

 

[Kosseca]

He had a small slump production wise not that long ago with 1 point in 8 games. Slaf has often looked good but not been rewarded with points. Part of that is on him just being that half second late or just slightly off target, and part of it is luck.

At the end of the day 50 is still very much within reach, requires 11 points in 12 games which basically just means continuing his current streak to finish the season.

He had a small slump? The guy started the season so poorly that there where talk of sending him to Laval!!! only MSL saved that from happening. He was bad... real bad for the first 20 or so games. I'm not sure what happen, but he turned a corner in a decisive way and he's started to dominate the puck (with no point to show for) in December-ish and stated to put up points in January. His point production is reflective of the fact that he's playing well only recently, not all year.

 

[LaP]

I dont think so lol, not for early in the season.

Regardless, its rewriting history to say that Slaf was always this good. Hes looking like a legit top line forward now. You don't go from looking like he does to a 10 points pace. Thats a ridiculous notion.

It's a ridiculous notion than a kid can go from a 4th line guy to a 1st line guy in the span on 20 games of developement too. Reality is in between. He does look better but it's mostly because he plays with better player which made him more confident.

 

[Tabarouette]

Honestly?
Learn how to watch Hockey first, then maybe start posting on message boards like you have some kind of idea of what youre talking about, simple as that lmao

I watch all my games on my apple watch while scrolling tiktok, like everyone else

 

[Sorinth]

He had a small slump? The guy started the season so poorly that there where talk of sending him to Laval!!! only MSL saved that from happening. He was bad... real bad for the first 20 or so games. I'm not sure what happen, but he turned a corner in a decisive way and he's started to dominate the puck (with no point to show for) in December-ish and stated to put up points in January. His point production is reflective of the fact that he's playing well only recently, not all year.

The slump I was talking about was from Feb 21st to March 7th, he had 1 point in 8 games playing with Suzuki and Caufield.

As for the start of the season he didn't play poorly and he was far from being bad. He was making great plays all season long, not getting rewarded with points early on. Plenty of posters were saying he was playing good to start the season and that the fundamentals were much improved and it was just a matter of time/luck/opportunity before the points started to show up and that's exactly what happened. The reason you don't know what happened for him to "turn a corner" is because he didn't magically turn a corner and become good, he's simply now being rewarded when making good plays.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Sean Farrell, Cole Caufield & Juraj Slafkovsky. The future is bright

 

[Rapala]

The slump I was talking about was from Feb 21st to March 7th, he had 1 point in 8 games playing with Suzuki and Caufield.

As for the start of the season he didn't play poorly and he was far from being bad. He was making great plays all season long, not getting rewarded with points early on. Plenty of posters were saying he was playing good to start the season and that the fundamentals were much improved and it was just a matter of time/luck/opportunity before the points started to show up and that's exactly what happened. The reason you don't know what happened for him to "turn a corner" is because he didn't magically turn a corner and become good, he's simply now being rewarded when making good plays.

People forget he got bumped off that line for a few games. It didn't last long.

 

[vlady]

People forget he got bumped off that line for a few games. It didn't last long.

that was before. he played a couple of games with Monahan just before he got traded and he did get points in those games.

Those two had some chemistry as well. Too bad Marty didn't play them together after Dach got hurt. Instead Moneyhands had to carry Gally and Pearson on his back, while Slaf was stuck with donkey (and Newhook)