Player Discussion What went wrong with Galchenyuk's and Kotkaniemi's development and progress that won't go wrong with Slafkovsky's?

[DAChampion]

I swear there was a similar thread about Kotkaniemi in 2018 and people saying he's different than Galchenyuk. People saying similar things, different player, no such thing as rushing, etc. Hopefully Slafkovsky doesn't join this duo...it really will be a heartbreak as a Habs fan.

What Habs do with Slaf will give us a glimpse of whether things will actually change/stay the same. I really hope we are going to see something different but too jaded to believe it before seeing some results.

For me, I don't care if he looks NHL ready in preseason (same with Guhle/Barron). That's not enough...we have already seen this with other guys. Unless he's actually playing like a top 6 player, he should be sent down to AHL after a 9 game stint. Let the ELC slide and let him carry Laval to playoff success. I want Guhle/Slafkovsky/Barron/Primeau/Mysak/Heineman/Ylonen/Xhekaj/Norlinder/etc all to have success together and build chemistry. Perfect world, Slaf/Guhle/Primeau all compete for best player in their position in AHL and Laval has deep run winning Calder Cup.

Truth.

 

[Kennerback]

I swear there was a similar thread about Kotkaniemi in 2018 and people saying he's different than Galchenyuk. People saying similar things, different player, no such thing as rushing, etc. Hopefully Slafkovsky doesn't join this duo...it really will be a heartbreak as a Habs fan.

What Habs do with Slaf will give us a glimpse of whether things will actually change/stay the same. I really hope we are going to see something different but too jaded to believe it before seeing some results.

For me, I don't care if he looks NHL ready in preseason (same with Guhle/Barron). That's not enough...we have already seen this with other guys. Unless he's actually playing like a top 6 player, he should be sent down to AHL after a 9 game stint. Let the ELC slide and let him carry Laval to playoff success. I want Guhle/Slafkovsky/Barron/Primeau/Mysak/Heineman/Ylonen/Xhekaj/Norlinder/etc all to have success together and build chemistry. Perfect world, Slaf/Guhle/Primeau all compete for best player in their position in AHL and Laval has deep run winning Calder Cup.

Because of Galchenyuk and Kotkaniemi in the past, I think the bar to start in the NHL wIll be higher.
If he’s not good enough send him down. However, during scrimmages, no one will need to be focusing on subtle signs of readiness, skill and upside like KK or Galchenyuk.

Slafkofsky’ll always be the biggest and strongest guy on the ice + he plays like a bull in a China shop. He’s always in the play. He either has the puck or he’s near to puck. Does a professIonal team send down a guy if they feel he’ll really help right now?

 

[dcyhabs]

Naw they were actively campaigning against him. I need to stop discussing the two of them. The more I think about what they did to this franchise the more angry I get.

For the first time in my life I couldn’t watch the Therrien coached Habs. I went from watching every single game for years to a handful under this group. It started with Therrien and ended with Bergevin. I got back into a bit when Julien returned because I was excited to have anyone aside from Michel running the team, but I found Julien to be more of the same except well meaning and respectful. Bergevin nearly ruined my Habs fandom forever. I didn’t switch to another team. I just jumped on the Raps/Jays bandwagon because they were at least fun to watch. MSL and Hugo have me excited to be Habs fan again. At least we know they have a plan and will pick a direction. Whether it works remains to be seen, but they’re going to do their best and they’re all smart dudes.

I generally agree, but I watched most of the cup run. The playoffs were fun and the vets were probably coaching more than Ducharme. Not the most watchable hockey, though, unless you like goaltending.

The organization either has to be fun and likable or win. Both would be good, but they spent so much time being neither, "the NHL isn't a development league and only winning counts" except that they didn't win.

I think Galchenyuk needed help outside of hockey more than on the ice, at least prior to his NHL knee injury. He was putting up points prior to that and he might have actually learned and listened to the coaches if they'd been able to get him to act and learn like a pro off the ice. Hughes and Gorton have spoken about addressing these issues. He lost a step after that injury and it really downgraded his game that was already one dimensional.

KK was a reach with disastrous development. I don't think any correct decisions were made about him in his time with the habs from picking him, to playing him in the NHL post draft, to messing with him later, to destroying the relationship so that he left.

Slaf can't possibly be as badly developed as KK. As a 1OA he's not going to be benched or played far down the lineup, and he has the 1OA status to fall back on if his confidence flags. We'll see if he's a top play driving winger or an Armia clone 3rd liner but he shouldn't bust. If he's good it won't matter too much how he compares to Cooley, Nemec, or Wright. If he ends up being only fair it could be a problem.

 

[Wats]

Because of Galchenyuk and Kotkaniemi in the past, I think the bar to start in the NHL wIll be higher.
If he’s not good enough send him down. However, during scrimmages, no one will need to be focusing on subtle signs of readiness, skill and upside like KK or Galchenyuk.

Slafkofsky’ll always be the biggest and strongest guy on the ice + he plays like a bull in a China shop. He’s always in the play. He either has the puck or he’s near to puck. Does a professIonal team send down a guy if they feel he’ll really help right now?

Both Galchenyuk and Kotkaniemi showed much more than subtle signs of being NHL ready. Both showed they were ready to be at least 3rd liners. Both were in fact decent/good 18 year olds in the NHL. The problem was after 18 and lack of being able to progress with that experience.

This shouldn't have been enough to make the team. A professional team can just play Pezzetta if they want a guy to go around hitting and playing high energy with mediocre/bad defense. Slafkovsky is supposed to be a guy who can be 50, 60, 70+ point guy. If he's not carrying the play/creating offense, he has no business being in NHL. If Habs want him to be a bull in China shop type 3rd liner as a 18 year old without ever proving he can produce offense in a league, then we are headed towards another KK/Galch IMO.

 

[OldCraig71]

Both Galchenyuk and Kotkaniemi showed much more than subtle signs of being NHL ready. Both showed they were ready to be at least 3rd liners. Both were in fact decent/good 18 year olds in the NHL. The problem was after 18 and lack of being able to progress with that experience.

This shouldn't have been enough to make the team. A professional team can just play Pezzetta if they want a guy to go around hitting and playing high energy with mediocre/bad defense. Slafkovsky is supposed to be a guy who can be 50, 60, 70+ point guy. If he's not carrying the play/creating offense, he has no business being in NHL. If Habs want him to be a bull in China shop type 3rd liner as a 18 year old without ever proving he can produce offense in a league, then we are headed towards another KK/Galch IMO.

A big part of the problem had to do with the fact that we didn't allow them to make 18-year-old mistakes in the NHL. Our management team and coaching staff punished them because the focus was to make the playoffs where anything can happen. I read the recent comments from Ducharme about how he treated/used young players and it became obvious that the same mentality was at play. It cost Ducharme his job but he was probably following orders that lead us down the same path that Julien and Therrien followed. It will be interesting to see how Hughes/Gorton/MSL handle things. I can't wait for October.

 

[CHwest]

The truth is, every player is different. Some respond to being challenged, some respond to being stroked, a good coach will recognize and provide the correct stimulation. I've has a lot of working dogs in my time on this earth and I can say for sure what one will respond to will ruin another. People are the same, all different and respond to different stimuli. Fungus toe had one approach and the guys that could not respond with an I'll show him were screwed.