Player Discussion Juraj Slafkovsky, the high offensive potential edition.

[Naslundforever]

Every trick he learns will have a noticeable impact on his game. Fun to watch. A quicker/more deceptive release would go a long way. Two hands on his stick is still a thing lol

 

[SlafySZN]

Every trick he learns will have a noticeable impact on his game. Fun to watch. A quicker/more deceptive release would go a long way. Two hands on his stick id still a thing lol

It’s a little better i noticed lol but he still does it sometimes

 

[Whitesnake]

Laval. Please. The Rantanen treatment. Why the f*** would we actually rush him? Why? Again?

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Any word on if he’s hurt?

 

[SlafySZN]

Any word on if he’s hurt?

He looked fine in his presser yesterday. No words on anything that would be wrong.

 

[smarties 1]

You have watched and analyzed the player for more than 50 games and you blame him for his strength, training, head up...

And this year, it's his stick ! Everything goes!

Add to that he didn’t finish yesterday’s games !

Last year, he wasn't the one who decided to be the first choice overall, he wasn't the one who decided he"ll stay in Montreal.

They put him in a situation where the pace of the game was to high for his skills, which made him vulnerable to contacts and injuries. Guest what ! 50 games a knee and out...

Bravo!

Who's responsible for the draft, the development, trainings, the management of the hockey opps. Who's responsible for the coherence of that organisations.

It's easy to blame the kid, but the problems are deeper than how he hold his stick!

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

The elite tool is the entire skillset on a 6’4 230lbs forward. Didn’t know this still confused people.

Sadly he doesn't use any of those often

 

[Talik Sanis]

Laval. Please. The Rantanen treatment. Why the f*** would we actually rush him? Why? Again?

Ego. Seriously. That's the reason why they fail to see that their development pathway for him is not conducive to his success - merely the obliteration of his confidence.

 

[Non Player Canadiens]

Ego. Seriously. That's the reason why they fail to see that their development pathway for him is not conducive to his success - merely the obliteration of his confidence.

you see MSL/Hughes/Gorton as ego-driven? not me

 

[Frank Drebin]

Laval. Please. The Rantanen treatment. Why the f*** would we actually rush him? Why? Again?

I mean you can say rantanen was given time to develop in the ahl but could you really see slaf going over ppg in the ahl last season like rantanen did in his d+1 year?

 

[RationalExpectations]

I mean you can say rantanen was given time to develop in the ahl but could you really see slaf going over ppg in the ahl last season like rantanen did in his d+1 year?

Maybe not last year but this year it should be achievable as long as he plays on PP1 with Mailloux and Roy for example.

 

[themilosh]

I think it's fair to ask what Slaf's elite skill, and it's a question I have trouble answering myself. However, I think it's difficult to answer because it asks to evaluate Slaf from a wrong perspective.

Slaf's skill, or his projected skill rather, is the sum of all the parts, not one individual skill. Slaf has a rare combination of size and skill. No individual attribute is elite, but his above average (and I'm being conservative with that term) skating, agility, hands, vision, and shot combined with his rare frame is Slaf's elite skill.

I do feel like people are underrating his vision. Going back to last season, I recall being wowed by a number of passing plays that showed great vision. He also has a very good shot, anyone denying this is just being a contrarian. Yesterday we saw three occasions where he used his speed ala Anderson to blow-by the defender on the rush (only failing to cut the middle after he did so).

People are really overlooking (deliberately or accidentally) how rare it is to have this skill set at that size and weight. That is what makes Slaf a desirable prospect.

Folks like Erik Cole and Milan Lucic were so difficult to play against because of their ability to leverage their size and frame to create space for themselves and teammates, Cole doing so with his combo of size and speed, Lucic with his toughness, strength and size. Slafkovsky can potentially provide the same space while having superior skills to both players.

I'd be happy if he turned into a John Leclaire.

Just gotta give the big guys an extra year or two. There's no way Slaf was going to look smooth until he reaches ~23-25.. it's a crummy pick for an impatient fanbase, especially at #1... but the whole draft year was out of whack.. i was all over Wright, and he's looking like a complete bust atm.. Nemec was my 2nd choice, but never at #1oa.. i just fail to understand why teams don't simply trade back a couple of spots for an extra pick. Nemec and Jiricek were always safe picks.

 

[River Meadow]

you see MSL/Hughes/Gorton as ego-driven? not me

Everyone is such a great person and etc.

The proof is in the pudding though.

 

[RationalExpectations]

I think we have Heard all the pros and cons let us now about Slaf.

Let s see a) how they use him this year and b) how develops

To give a bit of perspective though : the Sedin brothers waited D+5 to have a significant impact in the NHL.

Regarding an argument which has been widely used : how weak 2022 draft is supposed to have been. 2019 was and is supposed to be a great draft so let us see where the top picks are at after D+4
- 1. Hughes was injured a lot and really put it together in D+3
- 2. Kakko who had a great Liiga season in D-1 and who was regarded as a future star winger is still a 3rd liner
- 3. Dach was injured so much and so disappointing that he got traded by CHI and is yet to play a full NHL season
- 4. Byram is supposed to be a future 1D but also gets injured a lot and cannot be considered a key piece of COL yet
- 5. Turcotte has yet to display a satisfying AHL season and was injured a lot too
- 6. Seider was seen as a reach and developed into a potential steal but he spent 2 years outside of NHL to start with and experienced a slump last year


My point is that expecting a meaningful impact of Slaf this season seems very optimistic, whether he is a star in the making or not

 

[Jaynki]

Ego. Seriously. That's the reason why they fail to see that their development pathway for him is not conducive to his success - merely the obliteration of his confidence.

Its only the fan that rush to this judgement.

It is way too early to conclude that his development pathway is not conducive to his success.

We should give him a fair shot at having success first and foremost, dont you think?

 

[SnapVirus]

If a fan here believed that Slafkovsky would become a 80-90pts player. Those fans need to evaluate themselves and maybe realise they cant assess prospects correctly.

Slaf will be a 45pts type of player who might in his absolute prime hit 60-65pts once or twice. But at the end of the day he’ll be a powerforward on a 3rd or 2nd line.

Yes. Everybody wish for Draisatl or Eantanen, but he never ever had their skillset. I wish i was 6’3 but im not. You cant be what you arent

 

[Jaynki]

I mean you can say rantanen was given time to develop in the ahl but could you really see slaf going over ppg in the ahl last season like rantanen did in his d+1 year?

Yes.

Rantanen went scoress after 9 NHL games. Slaf had production after 9 NHL games in very sheltered minutes.

Truth is we don't know. He might have won the hobey baker if he went to the NCAA or he might have been over a PPG in the AHL. Or he might have been a huge disapointment down there also.

Going one way or another simply expose the bias. We dont know and we cant know and there is not any valid speculation because the step between leagues is immense.

I'd be happy if he turned into a John Leclaire.

Just gotta give the big guys an extra year or two. There's no way Slaf was going to look smooth until he reaches ~23-25.. it's a crummy pick for an impatient fanbase, especially at #1... but the whole draft year was out of whack.. i was all over Wright, and he's looking like a complete bust atm.. Nemec was my 2nd choice, but never at #1oa.. i just fail to understand why teams don't simply trade back a couple of spots for an extra pick. Nemec and Jiricek were always safe picks.

Wright is not looking like a complete bust.

He will surely disappoint relative to the early label and expectation we put on him but he has NHL tools and he will have a career.

Cooley has star potential. Slafkovsky also. Nemec and Jiricek have top pairing upside. Gauthier had a terrific NCAA season.

All of these guys looks like upcoming stud so far and 4 of these 6 will play NHL this year.

It does not look as weak as it was advertised in my humble opinion.

 

[Jaynki]

If a fan here believed that Slafkovsky would become a 80-90pts player. Those fans need to evaluate themselves and maybe realise they cant assess prospects correctly.

Slaf will be a 45pts type of player who might in his absolute prime hit 60-65pts once or twice. But at the end of the day he’ll be a powerforward on a 3rd or 2nd line.

Yes. Everybody wish for Draisatl or Eantanen, but he never ever had their skillset. I wish i was 6’3 but im not. You cant be what you arent

He has the Sundin/Malkin/Draisaitl skillset.

Its quite arrogant to ask fans to reevaluate themself then cap him as a 45points player with 60 in his prime. You are betting against a player with a unique skillset who already displayed it in a stellar fashion.

And so far, this training camp, he displayed some things that made him stellar in the WC, that we havent seen last year.

I was team Wright but i have learned that its a bad idea to bet against Slafkovsky and i think he will take many with their pants down. World Cup Slaf was a true 1st overall pick.

We are traumatised by KK and Galchenyuk and we are not used to have a truly great prospect. Too much have been drawn from his 1st season.

It would be nice if we could have a RemindMe on HFBoards.

Dont say you were not advertised when he breaks 50 points this season and has PPG+ season.

 

[SnapVirus]

He has the Sundin/Malkin/Draisaitl skillset.

Its quite arrogant to ask fans to reevaluate themself then cap him as a 45points player with 60 in his prime.

So far, he displayed some things that made him stellar in the WC, that we havent seen last year.

I was team Wright but i have learned that its a bad idea to bet against Slafkovsky and i think he is pretty confident he will take many with their pants down. World Cup Slaf was a true 1st overall pick.

We are traumatised by KK and Galchenyuk and we are not used to have a truly great prospect. Too much have been drawn from his 1st season.

It would be nice if we could have a RemindMe on HFBoards.

Dont say you were not advertised when he breaks 50 points this season and has PPG+ season.

Puljujarvi showed more than him. He was also considered better than him. Look where he is now. One showing kn the WJC dont mean shit. Will Slaf suck as much as Pulju? Nah.

Slafkovsky do not have high offensive material. His shot is similar to KK. He is a good skater, he has a good frame, he can make a quick pass. But he cant deceive, deke and dangle a puck like Drai and the other you named does. Hell be a long time nhler. But not a superstar.

I watched him before he was drafted and I ranked him 5th OV. And everything he is showing so far is on par with that.

 

[Jaynki]

Puljujarvi showed more than him. He was also considered better than him. Look where he is now. One showing kn the WJC dont mean shit. Will Slaf suck as much as Pulju? Nah.

Slafkovsky do not have high offensive material. His shot is similar to KK. He is a good skater, he has a good frame, he can make a quick pass. But he cant deceive, deke and dangle a puck like Drai and the other you named does. Hell be a long time nhler. But not a superstar.

I watched him before he was drafted and I ranked him 5th OV. And everything he is showing so far is on par with that.

Not sure you watched him because he can actually deceive, deke and dangle. Its especially impressive at his size.

Listen i have nothing else to say at this point than we will see. You compare him to Puljujarvi which i don't believe showed more than him.

I compare him to Jack Hughes, Rantanen, Draisaitl, Lecavalier, Thornton, Stutzle. Players who struggled mightily in their 1st season who had massive, massive growth in their 2nd season.

So that is what i expect from Slaf. Massive, massive growth. We will see.

You might be right in the end but its way too early to cap his career at what might be considered his floor but also especially since slaf ceiling is immensely high and even difficult to grasp. You should never sell short a bio tech stocks because it can explode like no other stock overnight. You should never sell short a player with Slafkovsky skillset, he can go full tage thompson overnight.

 

[Pacciosoftie]

I think we have Heard all the pros and cons let us now about Slaf.

Let s see a) how they use him this year and b) how develops

To give a bit of perspective though : the Sedin brothers waited D+5 to have a significant impact in the NHL.

Regarding an argument which has been widely used : how weak 2022 draft is supposed to have been. 2019 was and is supposed to be a great draft so let us see where the top picks are at after D+4
- 1. Hughes was injured a lot and really put it together in D+3
- 2. Kakko who had a great Liiga season in D-1 and who was regarded as a future star winger is still a 3rd liner
- 3. Dach was injured so much and so disappointing that he got traded by CHI and is yet to play a full NHL season
- 4. Byram is supposed to be a future 1D but also gets injured a lot and cannot be considered a key piece of COL yet
- 5. Turcotte has yet to display a satisfying AHL season and was injured a lot too
- 6. Seider was seen as a reach and developed into a potential steal but he spent 2 years outside of NHL to start with and experienced a slump last year


My point is that expecting a meaningful impact of Slaf this season seems very optimistic, whether he is a star in the making or not

Great point… one could say that we all need a little bit of rational expectations

 

[Jaynki]

I think we have Heard all the pros and cons let us now about Slaf.

Let s see a) how they use him this year and b) how develops

To give a bit of perspective though : the Sedin brothers waited D+5 to have a significant impact in the NHL.

Regarding an argument which has been widely used : how weak 2022 draft is supposed to have been. 2019 was and is supposed to be a great draft so let us see where the top picks are at after D+4
- 1. Hughes was injured a lot and really put it together in D+3
- 2. Kakko who had a great Liiga season in D-1 and who was regarded as a future star winger is still a 3rd liner
- 3. Dach was injured so much and so disappointing that he got traded by CHI and is yet to play a full NHL season
- 4. Byram is supposed to be a future 1D but also gets injured a lot and cannot be considered a key piece of COL yet
- 5. Turcotte has yet to display a satisfying AHL season and was injured a lot too
- 6. Seider was seen as a reach and developed into a potential steal but he spent 2 years outside of NHL to start with and experienced a slump last year


My point is that expecting a meaningful impact of Slaf this season seems very optimistic, whether he is a star in the making or not

I will cut the apple in half.

Statisically speaking, present superstar who struggled in their D+1 pretty much all showed sign of growth in their D+2.

KK and Galchenyuk stagnated there and its abnormal, we all know how that ended. It might be indicative of a problematic.

Although its not the end if Slaf stagnate and disapoint this season, the clock will start to massively tick.

At the end of the day, Slafkovsky is a 1st overall pick because he has a special talent and he is a special player. Its one thing to not be McDavid or Matthews. But he has a status to assume and to be in line with former star, we need to see this massive growth.

Slaf is at the bat right now and its time he swings it otherwise the concern and criticism will start to be validated by data and jurisprudence, which is not the case right now.

Expecting a massive surge in his impact is normal for his talent, his status and what jurisprudence indicate us.

 

[Andy]

Any comparison with Puljujarvi is kind of silly. Slaf's skating, first step, agility, hands and passing ability are all superior to Puljujarvi who has cement hands and moves like his feet are made of lead.

Other than size, Puljujarvi and Slafkovsky couldn't be more different stylistically.

 

[Andy]

I will cut the apple in half.

Statisically speaking, present superstar who struggled in their D+1 pretty much all showed sign of growth in their D+2.

KK and Galchenyuk stagnated there and its abnormal, we all know how that ended. It might be indicative of a problematic.

Although its not the end if Slaf stagnate and disapoint this season, the clock will start to massively tick.

At the end of the day, Slafkovsky is a 1st overall pick because he has a special talent and he is a special player. Its one thing to not be McDavid or Matthews. But he has a status to assume and to be in line with former star, we need to see this massive growth.

Slaf is at the bat right now and its time he swings it otherwise the concern and criticism will start to be validated by data and jurisprudence, which is not the case right now.

Expecting a massive surge in his impact is normal for his talent, his status and what jurisprudence indicate us.

Since the Dahlin draft, none of the 1OA were ready to make an impact in their D+1 year. Dahlin, Power, Hughes, Laf, and Slaf have all had a slow start to their careers.

Even other players drafted in the top 3 during those years have had slow starts (Byfield, Stutzle, Kakko, Berniers, McTavish, Kakko, Dach, KK, Svechnikov).

Everyone needs to chill and give the player time to develop.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Did he get rekt or something?