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Player Discussion Will Slafkovsky better last years stats

Will Slafkovsky have better numbers this year, over last year?

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I’m a bit hard on Cooley because we have Suzuki who’s that guy in our lineup. Pushing Suzuki or Cooley as 2nd C is not ideal, and with Laine, Demidov, Caufield, Hutson, Suzuki is the guy on the bubble. Add Cooley, and one of the 2 is moving to 2nd Pp. It’s a zero sum game and either Suzuki or Cooley will take a big hit in production.
 
Habs draft Cooley @ 1OA (we don’t know about Hutson yet). Slaf goes to Utah @ 3OA. We love Cooley because he’s a Hab. Demidov’s still in Russia. We decided to put Suzuki as net front and we give Cooley the right half wall so he can use his one timer. We pump Cooley’s tires on the main board but we get pushback because Slaf will be better because everyone wants to smack down Habs fans there. I’m excited about Cooley but I have few concerns.

1- You don’t compare Cam Neely on a point by point basis to a lightweight center. We’re talking about apples and oranges. Big guys develop slowly. If Slaf brings his game up slightly more this might be a disaster for us.

2- Lightweight point producer historically disappear in the playoffs if they’re not goal scorer. Scoring is way down. Refs practically leave their whistles at home. I’m giving Cooley the benefit of the doubt but I’m still concerned.

3- Because Slaf is in Utah, he has as many goals as Cooley because he can now use his right half-wall one-timer from last year. Slaf can’t use it this season because they first gave half-wall to Dach and now it’s Suzuki, Caufield and Hutson by Commitee.

4-I love Cooley, his numbers are very good but not exceptional for a smaller top-center. There’s nothing particularly special about him. Being 92th in goals in the NHL is a bit worrisome. His points look a lot like if Newhook could leverage his speed and make a tape-to-tape pass. Plus centers usually add a couple of assists by way of simply taking draws.
 
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Kennerback said:
Habs draft Cooley @ 1OA (we don’t know about Hutson yet). Slaf goes to Utah @ 3OA. We love Cooley because he’s a Hab. Demidov’s still in Russia. We decided to put Suzuki as net front and we give Cooley the right half wall so he can use his one timer. We pump Cooley’s tires on the main board but we get pushback because Slaf will be better because everyone wants to smack down Habs fans there. I’m excited about Cooley but I have few concerns.

1- You don’t compare Cam Neely on a point by point basis to a lightweight center. We’re talking about apples and oranges. Big guys develop slowly. If Slaf brings his game up slightly more this might be a disaster for us.

2- Lightweight point producer historically disappear in the playoffs if they’re not goal scorer. Scoring is way down. Refs practically leave their whistles at home. I’m giving Cooley the benefit of the doubt but I’m still concerned.

3- Because Slaf is in Utah, he has as many goals as Cooley because he can now use his right half-wall one-timer from last year. Slaf can’t use it this season because they first gave half-wall to Dach and now it’s Suzuki, Caufield and Hutson by Commitee.
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Your hypothetical is interesting but I don't know what you're trying to get at. Cooley is listed as 6'0" and 191lbs. He's definitely below average but he's not a lightweight pipsqueak. I think you're leaning on that "lightweight centre" thing too much and it hurts your analysis. Similarly, the implied comparison of Slafkovsky to Cam Neely is even more imprecise because their games are nothing alike.

Cooley has 15 PPP in 42pts this year, that's 35% of his points. Slaf has 7 PPP in 28pts, 25% of his points. NHL's top5: Mackinnon has 28% PPP, Drai 27%, Kucherov 41%, Marner 33%, and McJesus has 30%. Cooley's points don't seem particularly inflated but it's clear as a sophomore he isn't as good at EV as he would be as a 3rd year vet and further.
Kennerback said:
4-I love Cooley, his numbers are very good but not exceptional for a smaller top-center. There’s nothing particularly special about him. Being 92th in goals in the NHL is a bit worrisome. His points look a lot like if Newhook could leverage his speed and make a tape-to-tape pass. Plus centers usually add a couple of assists by way of simply taking draws.
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Hold on, Slafkovsky was 139th in goals in the NHL as a sophomore. If a sophomore being 92th in goals is a bit worrisome then a sophomore being 139th is more worrisome, right? This year Slafkovsky is tied with 248th in goals in the NHL with 7. How much further are you going to stretch the "big guys take longer" shield if you're going to express concern for Cooley's "a bit worrisome" goal scoring?
 
Cooley was drafted at 5:10 just like Michkov. Now they say he’s 6:00. I don’t know how accurate it is. To me, to say he’s a middleweight center is stretching it.

Making everything about stats is limiting. In my eyes, to have the same value as a big Center like Barkov, he needs to produce a lot more than Barkov.

I pray that having drafted Cooley at 1OA, he bucks the trend of peripheral passers melting away in the playoff. I know that Slaf will be a bull in a china shop. He’ll just plow through and make things happen. I draft my players to win Cups not to have the team with the most cumulative offence in the regular season.
 
Kennerback said:
Habs draft Cooley @ 1OA (we don’t know about Hutson yet). Slaf goes to Utah @ 3OA. We love Cooley because he’s a Hab. Demidov’s still in Russia. We decided to put Suzuki as net front and we give Cooley the right half wall so he can use his one timer. We pump Cooley’s tires on the main board but we get pushback because Slaf will be better because everyone wants to smack down Habs fans there. I’m excited about Cooley but I have few concerns.

1- You don’t compare Cam Neely on a point by point basis to a lightweight center. We’re talking about apples and oranges. Big guys develop slowly. If Slaf brings his game up slightly more this might be a disaster for us.

2- Lightweight point producer historically disappear in the playoffs if they’re not goal scorer. Scoring is way down. Refs practically leave their whistles at home. I’m giving Cooley the benefit of the doubt but I’m still concerned.

3- Because Slaf is in Utah, he has as many goals as Cooley because he can now use his right half-wall one-timer from last year. Slaf can’t use it this season because they first gave half-wall to Dach and now it’s Suzuki, Caufield and Hutson by Commitee.

4-I love Cooley, his numbers are very good but not exceptional for a smaller top-center. There’s nothing particularly special about him. Being 92th in goals in the NHL is a bit worrisome. His points look a lot like if Newhook could leverage his speed and make a tape-to-tape pass. Plus centers usually add a couple of assists by way of simply taking draws.
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If the Habs don't draft Cooley, Slafkovsky is either on Hischier or Hughes' wing. The Devils wanted him.
 
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Kennerback said:
Cooley was drafted at 5:10 just like Michkov. Now they say he’s 6:00. I don’t know how accurate it is. To me, to say he’s a middleweight center is stretching it.

Making everything about stats is limiting. In my eyes, to have the same value as a big Center like Barkov, he needs to produce a lot more than Barkov.

I pray that having drafted Cooley at 1OA, he bucks the trend of peripheral passers melting away in the playoff. I know that Slaf will be a bull in a china shop. He’ll just plow through and make things happen. I draft my players to win Cups not to have the team with the most cumulative offence in the regular season.
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Not sure how he bucks that trend, he was as soft as butter in the sun in July when we played them. Did you see him get out of the way and slightly reach his stick towards Dach when he scored? He was afraid to break a nail.
 
ReHabs said:
He's definitely shown that this season, right.
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I’ve seen enough to take the bet that that’s what will happen in the playoffs. Slaf will be able to physically cross the line in a way he can’t now. Stick penalties, interference and roughing that don’t get called in the playoffs go both ways.
 
Kennerback said:
I’ve seen enough to take the bet that that’s what will happen in the playoffs. Slaf will be able to physically cross the line in a way he can’t now. Stick penalties, interference and roughing that don’t get called in the playoffs go both ways.
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So the bull in a china shop giant behemoth Cam Neely type Slafkovsky is currently prevented from crossing the line due to stick interference and roughing from a league in which he is 99th percentile in size? Do I have that right?
 
ReHabs said:
So the bull in a china shop giant behemoth Cam Neely type Slafkovsky is currently prevented from crossing the line due to stick interference and roughing from a league in which he is 99th percentile in size? Do I have that right?
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He’s not prevented to. I’m very happy about his physical board work and him taking physical abuse in front of the net.

I’ve always criticized him for not driving the net with the puck and shooting. I still do. He’s hurting his line by always deferring to Suzuki and Caufield. I would be much more extreme in curving these behaviours than MSL.

With that said, playoffs is a different dynamic. Both teams fall in a defensive shell and they let nothing through. You try to force open that shell by repeated offensive drives. If Suzuki and Caufield fail, it becomes so natural for the big guys to act as a battleram.
 
Kennerback said:
I’ve seen enough to take the bet that that’s what will happen in the playoffs. Slaf will be able to physically cross the line in a way he can’t now. Stick penalties, interference and roughing that don’t get called in the playoffs go both ways.
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He will suddenly become a physical player in the playoffs? I’ll believe that when I see it
 
Kennerback said:
He’s not prevented to. I’m very happy about his physical board work and him taking physical abuse in front of the net.

I’ve always criticized him for not driving the net with the puck and shooting. I still do. He’s hurting his line by always deferring to Suzuki and Caufield. I would be much more extreme in curving these behaviours than MSL.
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So he'll switch it around come playoff time, because the refs swallow their whistles? I'm trying to understand your argument here.
Kennerback said:
With that said, playoffs is a different dynamic. Both teams fall in a defensive shell and they let nothing through. You try to force open that shell by repeated offensive drives. If Suzuki and Caufield fail, it becomes so natural for the big guys to take the helm.
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Slaf doesn't force through during the less-defensive regular season, but against 50th percentile and higher opposition who are (generally) at maximum effort, you think he'll be able to force his way through?
 
LaP said:
Yes and no. Some guys had played in the NHL in the past. A depth role yes but still most of the guys at the OG are solid AHL pro European league players. He was 17 years old and he was playing against men.
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Given his size he should be bullying guys out there

I don’t understand what the issue is tbh it’s gotta be mental right?
 
ReHabs said:
So he'll switch it around come playoff time, because the refs swallow their whistles? I'm trying to understand your argument here.

Slaf doesn't force through during the less-defensive regular season, but against 50th percentile and higher opposition who are (generally) at maximum effort, you think he'll be able to force his way through?
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Yes for your first paragraph. I’ll get in more details another time but suffice to say. I believe’s he’s not physically driving the net not because he can’t physically and mentally. There are other factors at play including the coach not insisting on it and Suzuki, on public record, wanting him to act as the line’s playmaker.

In the playoffs, the way Suzuki wants to play will not translate. You try one thing after another until something works. What works will be Slaf crashing the net with the puck.
 
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ReHabs said:
I remember Galchenyuk and Kostitsyn developed at their own pace. I prefer the pace Brady Tkachuk and Logan Cooley developed, personally, but it’s a matter of taste.

Thank GOD Lane Hutson chose to develop a quicker rate than Slafkvosky. I respect players who develop faster — again this is just a matter of taste. I won’t be able to convince you the Hutson-pace is better for the Habs than the Slafkvosky-pace.

I haven’t watched full games this past week but I appreciate Slafkvosky is almost on pace to beat his PPG from last year. A flat development trajectory is better than a negative one, I always say.
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Tkachuk scored 44 points in his 20 years old season and had a worse PPG than Slaf has now, in his season after at 21.

He wouldn't have been good enough for you.
 
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