Juraj Slafkovsky - Year Two

[DAChampion]

View attachment 795650

 

[waitin425]

Holy crap....Slaf thread was on the second page. What's going on?

Hey everyone who said....Slaf was skating with his head down and injury prone...therefore AHL for him.....did you check out Bedard last night? Do the same rules apply to him? A friend wants to know.

 

[Jaaanosik]

Holy crap....Slaf thread was on the second page. What's going on?

Hey everyone who said....Slaf was skating with his head down and injury prone...therefore AHL for him.....did you check out Bedard last night? Do the same rules apply to him? A friend wants to know.

These are 'mind' games.
I hope Bedard does not have a concussion.
He will have to adjust 'his mind' otherwise more hits will come.

All young players have to adjust, Slaf included, hopefully he's learned...

 

[Nicko999]

I was looking at Sebastián Aho draft year Liiga stats trying to figure out why the dude fell to the 2nd round and they are similar to Slaf's.
Doesn't mean Slaf will ever be as good as Aho but it's an interesting observation.

 

[SlafySZN]

I was looking at Sebastián Aho draft year Liiga stats trying to figure out why the dude fell to the 2nd round and they are similar to Slaf's.
Doesn't mean Slaf will ever be as good as Aho but it's an interesting observation.

It always depends how many minutes they get and their role as 17 years old. Plus liiga is a defensive league. Aho probably had limited ice time on the bottom lines like Slaf for most the season

 

[le_sean]

For the record, I wasn't suggesting Slafkovsky was as good as Eric Lindros, in case that wasn't clear. Few players in history were as good as young Lindros.

Still, it's so rare to see a teenager have an impact physically in the NHL, and Slafkovsky is already there.

He’s definitely turned the corner a lot quicker than most thought. It took KK until he got to Carolina to stop looking like Bambi on the ice. Slafkovsky did it in less than a full season.

We even saw it with Dach last year. He wasn’t falling over everywhere, but there was a clear revelation in his head at one point where he seemed to say “damn I’m stronger than these guys” and looked like a new player.

 

[LesCanadiens]

He’s definitely turned the corner a lot quicker than most thought. It took KK until he got to Carolina to stop looking like Bambi on the ice. Slafkovsky did it in less than a full season.

We even saw it with Dach last year. He wasn’t falling over everywhere, but there was a clear revelation in his head at one point where he seemed to say “damn I’m stronger than these guys” and looked like a new player.

Yeah, it was all about the timing of the game, IMO. And I believe that is the main reason they kept him in the NHL. They saw that he had the IQ already. And could make really quick decisions. He needed to get used to how fast NHL'ers can close the gap and lay a hit, so he could brace himself and/or take his head out of target range. I think they also realized how dedicated he was to learn and that he was quick to learn. For all those reasons, I believe they didn't think AHL playing time would help him one iota. He was already physically mature enough, smart, strong and skilled enough to play vs NHL'ers.

 

[Kennerback]

These are 'mind' games.
I hope Bedard does not have a concussion.
He will have to adjust 'his mind' otherwise more hits will come.

All young players have to adjust, Slaf included, hopefully he's learned...

I don’t buy into the fact taking hard hits automatically means a player is not NHL ready. You learn to adjust. Hockey is a contact sport. What’s more worrisome in his case is that he broke his jaw. 99 times out of 100 it doesn’t happen on that type of hit. It’s pure bad luck.

 

[Jaaanosik]

I was looking at Sebastián Aho draft year Liiga stats trying to figure out why the dude fell to the 2nd round and they are similar to Slaf's.
Doesn't mean Slaf will ever be as good as Aho but it's an interesting observation.

This is BS.
As good as ... in what?

 

[SlafySZN]

 

[Nicko999]

This is BS.
As good as ... in what?

Lol... Aho had 49 pts in the NHL in his rookie season at age 19.

He's been a PPG forward for the past couple of years and he seems to have taken an extra step this season.

He is also a very good 2 way center.

Slaf has long ways to go. Slaf reaching Aho's level would be amazing but we need to be realistic as it's likely he might not.

 

[Jaaanosik]

Lol... Aho had 49 pts in the NHL in his rookie season at age 19.

He's been a PPG forward for the past couple of years and he seems to have taken an extra step this season.

He is also a very good 2 way center.

Slaf has long ways to go. Slaf reaching Aho's level would be amazing but we need to be realistic as it's likely he might not.

Do you have a crystal ball?

 

[KevSkillz4]

Lol... Aho had 49 pts in the NHL in his rookie season at age 19.

He's been a PPG forward for the past couple of years and he seems to have taken an extra step this season.

He is also a very good 2 way center.

Slaf has long ways to go. Slaf reaching Aho's level would be amazing but we need to be realistic as it's likely he might not.

Slaf at 18 years old play in NHL.
Aho at 18 years old play in SM-Liigaa.

After 77 games in NHL, Slaf have 24 points. Sooo it's really a big difference?!?!

 

[HabbyGuy]

Slaf at 18 years old play in NHL.
Aho at 18 years old play in SM-Liigaa.

After 77 games in NHL, Slaf have 24 points. Sooo it's really a big difference?!?!

To be fair, it's in reality twice as many points as Slaf in their first respective full seasons, seems like a big difference to me.

That said I don't even care if Slaf puts up the same totals as Aho over the course of his career, I'm more intrigued by everything else he brings to the table, ontop of a solid point base.

 

[waitin425]

View attachment 797480

Is Slaf our Pajama Boy?

 

[le_sean]

 

[Nicko999]

Do you have a crystal ball?

Nobody has a crystal ball but Aho at age 19 had 49 pts, Slaf at age 19 is on pace for 30 pts. Speaking of crystal ball, how comes you are so sure Slaf becomes better than Aho? Because that is what you quoted me originally.

Slaf at 18 years old play in NHL.
Aho at 18 years old play in SM-Liigaa.

After 77 games in NHL, Slaf have 24 points. Sooo it's really a big difference?!?!

Aho at age 19: 49 pts
Slafkovsky at age 19: 30 pts pace

I don't why see people are so defensive over anything related to Slaf. Aho is one of the best players in the NHL, there is no shame in not being as good as him.

 

[LesCanadiens]

What is it now...3-4 times in recent games he's danced around defenders using his reach and quick feet/stick to go in all alone when there was ZERO play to make? Last young prospect his size that showed that skilled, PF dash to the net was Leclair. And he didn't show it until he was 22.

 

[Jaaanosik]

Nobody has a crystal ball but Aho at age 19 had 49 pts, Slaf at age 19 is on pace for 30 pts. Speaking of crystal ball, how comes you are so sure Slaf becomes better than Aho? Because that is what you quoted me originally.
...

I did not say that.
You made a categorical statement and I am pointing out you don't know.
I do not know, nobody knows, only God knows.

 

[Kennerback]

What is it now...3-4 times in recent games he's danced around defenders using his reach and quick feet/stick to go in all alone when there was ZERO play to make? Last young prospect his size that showed that skilled, PF dash to the net was Leclair. And he didn't show it until he was 22.

I agree he’s a monster at creating scoring opportunities. What then typically happens is he doesn’t pocket his guaranteed shot on net that he instead passes off to a player that inevitably can’t shoot. Result: Habs repeatedly squander a 100% guaranteed shot on goal and leave the zone with nothing, not even that guaranteed shot on net. After squandering a couple dozen shot opportunities this same way on an offensively starved team, you’d think he’d learn. Let’s hope someone addresses this issue with him one day.

 

[LesCanadiens]

I agree he’s a monster at creating scoring opportunities. What then typically happens is he doesn’t pocket his guaranteed shot on net that he instead passes off to a player that inevitably can’t shoot. Result: Habs repeatedly squander a 100% guaranteed shot on goal and leave the zone with nothing, not even that guaranteed shot on net. After squandering a couple dozen shot opportunities this same way on an offensively starved team, you’d think he’d learn. Let’s hope someone addresses this issue with him one day.

Yeah, for sure. I agree. I just get the feeling he's on the verge of another big growth spurt in his play where we'll see him converting those plays into a bushel of goals/assists. So fun to watch.

 

[Kennerback]

Yeah, for sure. I agree. I just get the feeling he's on the verge of another big growth spurt in his play where we'll see him converting those plays into a bushel of goals/assists. So fun to watch.

I hope so. Going from churning out scoring opportunities to actually converting them might be a big step to make. Even bigger than the step he took from being a non-factor to looking very good.

 

[Guess]

I hope so. Going from churning out scoring opportunities to actually converting them might be a big step to make. Even bigger than the step he took from being a non-factor to looking very good.

I'm not sure about that, since it's something that can easily be worked on in the offseason with technique and repetition, whereas a lot of what Slaf has improved on has required video and in game reps.

I'd imagine by next season he should have improved at least somewhat as a shooter and become less hesitant to rip it.

On a somewhat unrelated note, if Caufield doesn't have any lingering injury to his shoulder I think he will work on his shot mechanics in the offseason and be back to his usual self next season as well.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

He was a beast again last night against the Rangers guy is all over the ice...so impactful.

 

[billy piton]

What is it now...3-4 times in recent games he's danced around defenders using his reach and quick feet/stick to go in all alone when there was ZERO play to make? Last young prospect his size that showed that skilled, PF dash to the net was Leclair. And he didn't show it until he was 22.

slaf could become better skating version of mark stone. puck possesion, two way monster.