rkgoalie
Little Viking
If it was easy, it would not be fun
Posts: 85
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Post by rkgoalie on Mar 23, 2024 1:12:17 GMT
he is looking like a great pick up now , and like you said only 19 wow x2
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Post by ramcharger440 on Mar 23, 2024 1:35:52 GMT
It is interesting to read some of the comments on the first page and a half or so of this thread! many were really down on the kid and seemed ready to throw in the towel. At the end of the day he is still a kid! and I think we may have really found something special here! you can see when he gets kind of pissed he can really play with some grit too!
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Post by jenniferrocket on Mar 25, 2024 12:01:05 GMT
The nice thing about Slafkovsky is that he seems to be steadily improving every few months. Curious to see if can keep it going in 2024-25.
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Post by maasart on Mar 25, 2024 14:13:16 GMT
It is interesting to read some of the comments on the first page and a half or so of this thread! many were really down on the kid and seemed ready to throw in the towel. At the end of the day he is still a kid! and I think we may have really found something special here! you can see when he gets kind of pissed he can really play with some grit too! Absolutely. I didnt love the pick because there were clearly 5 guys who stood out and, positionally, you had two centres, 2 RHD and one winger. We had needs at all positions but our biggest need was centre and RHD. So it would make sense to have picked one of those 4 guys, but hughes went a different direction. His scouts clearly felt Slaf was the best choice & he knew we needed help at centre so... romanov for 13th, 13th for Dach &... well, looking pretty smart now.
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Post by maasart on Mar 25, 2024 14:17:33 GMT
The nice thing about Slafkovsky is that he seems to be steadily improving every few months. Curious to see if can keep it going in 2024-25. Agree. 3 distinct seasons for him. The first 12-15 games where he looked absolutely lost but was clearly working on something(s) the team wanted him to. At this point, sending him to the AHL seemed like a good choice. The next 12-15 games where he looked better but was getting almost no points. You could see something changing though. he looked more confident and was starting to play defensively very well. The last 40 or so where he's been one of our top 3 player night in, night out, and our best player on several occasions. Really curious where his ceiling is now, especially considering he and suzuki and CC take on the hardest matchups every single night. When dach is back & we add in a bit more talent, i think that line will flourish even more.
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Post by ramcharger440 on Mar 25, 2024 15:40:24 GMT
The nice thing about Slafkovsky is that he seems to be steadily improving every few months. Curious to see if can keep it going in 2024-25. Agree. 3 distinct seasons for him. The first 12-15 games where he looked absolutely lost but was clearly working on something(s) the team wanted him to. At this point, sending him to the AHL seemed like a good choice. The next 12-15 games where he looked better but was getting almost no points. You could see something changing though. he looked more confident and was starting to play defensively very well. The last 40 or so where he's been one of our top 3 player night in, night out, and our best player on several occasions. Really curious where his ceiling is now, especially considering he and suzuki and CC take on the hardest matchups every single night. When dach is back & we add in a bit more talent, i think that line will flourish even more. 100% right now they are pretty much it! once we have a viable second line they will have a bit more freedom and if we manage to put together a reasonable third line it will be even better. I am not too worried about our D we have enough really good prospects to have one of the better D corps in the NHL soon we seem to be ok in nets so all we really have to flesh out is our forward group and we seem to have a good core to build on. Add a good veteran sniper on the wings and a couple more top tier forward prospects and we would be a good team quite soon we have some resources and a bit of money to make it happen. I expect that next season we will be looking at a much better season probably more of a transition season but still better with the goal of being quite good the year after.
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Post by BigTed3 on Mar 25, 2024 15:54:11 GMT
It is interesting to read some of the comments on the first page and a half or so of this thread! many were really down on the kid and seemed ready to throw in the towel. At the end of the day he is still a kid! and I think we may have really found something special here! you can see when he gets kind of pissed he can really play with some grit too! Absolutely. I didnt love the pick because there were clearly 5 guys who stood out and, positionally, you had two centres, 2 RHD and one winger. We had needs at all positions but our biggest need was centre and RHD. So it would make sense to have picked one of those 4 guys, but hughes went a different direction. His scouts clearly felt Slaf was the best choice & he knew we needed help at centre so... romanov for 13th, 13th for Dach &... well, looking pretty smart now. I think it was not only organizational needs but just about positional value too. Teams value their top 6 centers and top-pairing RHD much more than they do wingers, so it really takes a special winger to challenge that. It's much easier to trade for a supporting cast winger who can score goals (eg Tyler Toffoli) than it is to find a 1C or 2C.
In the end, full credit to HuGo for finding a guy who looks like he's working out, whether it's the position we wanted/needed or not. I'm still not 100% sure we're better off with Slafkovsky/Reinbacher compared to say Nemec and one of Michkov/Leonard/Benson, but at the very least, we don't look like we got fleeced with the way we put things together. It's so rare to get top 3 choices that you just can't miss on those and hope to become competitive.
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Post by maasart on Mar 25, 2024 17:11:41 GMT
Absolutely. I didnt love the pick because there were clearly 5 guys who stood out and, positionally, you had two centres, 2 RHD and one winger. We had needs at all positions but our biggest need was centre and RHD. So it would make sense to have picked one of those 4 guys, but hughes went a different direction. His scouts clearly felt Slaf was the best choice & he knew we needed help at centre so... romanov for 13th, 13th for Dach &... well, looking pretty smart now. I think it was not only organizational needs but just about positional value too. Teams value their top 6 centers and top-pairing RHD much more than they do wingers, so it really takes a special winger to challenge that. It's much easier to trade for a supporting cast winger who can score goals (eg Tyler Toffoli) than it is to find a 1C or 2C.
In the end, full credit to HuGo for finding a guy who looks like he's working out, whether it's the position we wanted/needed or not. I'm still not 100% sure we're better off with Slafkovsky/Reinbacher compared to say Nemec and one of Michkov/Leonard/Benson, but at the very least, we don't look like we got fleeced with the way we put things together. It's so rare to get top 3 choices that you just can't miss on those and hope to become competitive.
Yeah the tricky part with selecting 1st overall in a year when there's no consensus #1 is walking away with a pick who is - at very least - a top 5 guy from that draft. If there's no McDavid or Hughes, there's probably a better chance you *don't* end up with the best player but at very least you want one of the best. In 2020 there was talk of a few diffent players going 1st. The Rags took Laf & while he's clearly an NHL player, would they have been better with Stutzle or Raymond or Byfeld? Too early to tell but it looks like it may not have been the best choice. In Slaf's case its also too early to tell. If Nemec turns into an elite 1st pairing dman or Cooley a 100 point centre, maybe its a mistake but right now, its looking 10000x better than it did in October of this year.
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Post by habsalways on Mar 27, 2024 3:48:09 GMT
Most pts by a teenager in club history. 32 pts in his last 40 games
If he keeps this up and Caufield can start scoring again ... Nick gets more than a ppg next year.
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Post by ramcharger440 on Mar 27, 2024 3:54:03 GMT
Most pts by a teenager in club history. 32 pts in his last 40 games If he keeps this up and Caufield can start scoring again ... Nick gets more than a ppg next year. Imagine if there was a second line to move some of the D coverage off of them! No matter what anybody says Nick is the real deal!
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Post by habsalways on Mar 27, 2024 20:56:54 GMT
Of all players in the NHL who are under 20 at the moment
Slaf 2nd in pts to Bedard, 1st among 19 yr olds. Slaf 3rd in blocked shots behind 2 defencemen, top amongst forwards at 59 Slaf 1st in hits at 122, double the 2nd place guy.
He's developing into on of the best rounder players you can have.
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Post by ramcharger440 on Mar 27, 2024 22:11:52 GMT
Yep I can't wait to see where his game is at when he is 21-22 years old!
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Post by habulator on Mar 27, 2024 22:17:12 GMT
Yes - I'll just come out and say it - Slaf is the best 20 or under forward I've seen in a long - long- time. I'm excited to see what he might become.
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Post by graeme on Apr 10, 2024 5:17:21 GMT
I'm not ready to call Slafkovsky a bust,
Ya it's way too early, but there's a chance this could be a historically bad first overall pick: just based on points he seems to be trailing both Stefan and Yakupov. The optimistic argument is Joe Thornton who had 7 points in first 55 games and later went on to win a Hart. Although I hedged a little bit with the "way too early" and Thornton optimistic-case, not my finest post ...
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Post by ChiLla on Apr 10, 2024 13:16:32 GMT
Ya it's way too early, but there's a chance this could be a historically bad first overall pick: just based on points he seems to be trailing both Stefan and Yakupov. The optimistic argument is Joe Thornton who had 7 points in first 55 games and later went on to win a Hart. Although I hedged a little bit with the "way too early" and Thornton optimistic-case, not my finest post ... Pretty sure you weren't the only doubter, don't be too hard on yourself
Close to 50 points and 20 goals in his sophomore season... I honestly don't think anyone saw that coming.
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Post by maasart on Apr 10, 2024 16:35:04 GMT
Although I hedged a little bit with the "way too early" and Thornton optimistic-case, not my finest post ... Pretty sure you weren't the only doubter, don't be too hard on yourself
Close to 50 points and 20 goals in his sophomore season... I honestly don't think anyone saw that coming. Definitely. Some were not happy at all with the pick and some of us were not very optimistic but still had faith Hughes & co. knew what they were doing. I dont remember anyone thinking it was a "great" pick though - all of us were concerned to some degree. Part of that has to do with our recent drafting. look at the players we've drafted or traded for that were high draft picks: Kotkaniemi - looks like a bust at 3rd. Galchenyuk - has the skills but major issues between the ears - bust at 3rd Drouin - Decent middle six guy but not a great 3rd overall Sergachev - great player... and we gave him away etc etc Its not surprising so many of us were bracing for the worst! Back in January I was "dreaming" of a 30-35 point season(and thats after he already was starting to score more). But 20g 50 points in year two (especially after starting the year with 3 points in his first 17 games...he's had 45 points in the last 61 games since then. Since the ASB he's been scoring at a 75 point pace.... and that doesnt even mention his board work, defensive work other non-scoring stats. He's a beast.
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Post by claremont on Apr 10, 2024 20:22:32 GMT
Some summary stats to ponder for Juraj, considering he is coming off a D+2 (Draft plus 2 years following), season and I will round him to 20g, 30a, 50 points Also, I will ignore the so called generational players McDavid, Matthews Bedard who clearly outscored Slaf in their D+2 seasons. Nobody in Slaf's draft year of 22 has done better. Cooley a bit behind.
2021 - Owen Power drafted #1 but is D-man 4g, 31a so did outperform Slaf comparatively speaking in his D+2 season. Matty Beniers D+2 - 24g, 33a, but has slumped this year - did outperform Slaf but not massively. McTavish did not outperform Slaf - 17g, 26a
2020 - Lafraniere - 19g, 12a fell short. Sutzle - 22g, 36a not a large outperform. Same with Lucas Raymond - 23g, 34a.
2019 - Jack Hughes - 11g, 22a fell short. No one else in that draft class comes close in their D+2 year.
2018 - Svechnikov #2 overall as Dahlin #1 - marginally outperforms Slaf - 24g, 37a. Brady Tkachuk - 21g, 23a. No one else close.
2017 - Hischier - 17g, 30a but played fewer games it is close to Slaf. #5 Elias Peterson outperforms Slaf - 28g, 38a No one else close.
So my summary points are; 1) Slaf is quite young 2) He has not massively underachieved - was anyone expecting him to be "Generational" in the draft years of the comparative Bedard / Matthews / McDavid ? 3) Other than Elias Peterson, every one of those players in my comparative were developed on North American (NA) rinks and immersed in the NA culture. Slaf has had to adjust from the Olympic rinks where he had more time and space plus the culture. I would say he has handled it quite well so far in his journey and the arrow is pointing up.
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Post by maasart on Apr 10, 2024 21:21:01 GMT
Some summary stats to ponder for Juraj, considering he is coming off a D+2 (Draft plus 2 years following), season and I will round him to 20g, 30a, 50 points Also, I will ignore the so called generational players McDavid, Matthews Bedard who clearly outscored Slaf in their D+2 seasons. Nobody in Slaf's draft year of 22 has done better. Cooley a bit behind. 2021 - Owen Power drafted #1 but is D-man 4g, 31a so did outperform Slaf comparatively speaking in his D+2 season. Matty Beniers D+2 - 24g, 33a, but has slumped this year - did outperform Slaf but not massively. McTavish did not outperform Slaf - 17g, 26a 2020 - Lafraniere - 19g, 12a fell short. Sutzle - 22g, 36a not a large outperform. Same with Lucas Raymond - 23g, 34a. 2019 - Jack Hughes - 11g, 22a fell short. No one else in that draft class comes close in their D+2 year. 2018 - Svechnikov #2 overall as Dahlin #1 - marginally outperforms Slaf - 24g, 37a. Brady Tkachuk - 21g, 23a. No one else close. 2017 - Hischier - 17g, 30a but played fewer games it is close to Slaf. #5 Elias Peterson outperforms Slaf - 28g, 38a No one else close. So my summary points are; 1) Slaf is quite young 2) He has not massively underachieved - was anyone expecting him to be "Generational" in the draft years of the comparative Bedard / Matthews / McDavid ? 3) Other than Elias Peterson, every one of those players in my comparative were developed on North American (NA) rinks and immersed in the NA culture. Slaf has had to adjust from the Olympic rinks where he had more time and space plus the culture. I would say he has handled it quite well so far in his journey and the arrow is pointing up. Great breakdown. I think one of the things that is really promising about Slaf isnt just his totals of (likely around 20g/30a) but also how we got there. He had 3 points in his first 17 games. Then a good turn-around for the next 30 or so (roughly .5 ppg) but its the last 30 where he's been over a point per game. Its only 1/3 of the season & no guarantee he'll do it again for next year but 31 points in 30 games as a just-turned 20 year old is a hella-impressive way to end the season.
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Post by ramcharger440 on Apr 10, 2024 23:43:18 GMT
I was always big on the Slaf pick for sure it was a crapshoot that year with the Covid screwing things up but his skill set and size were just what we have been missing for decades! I know there were some D prospects out there that looked good but I was also pretty happy with some of our D prospects and felt we needed a forward I still do! Even I have to admit this second half of the season is ahead of where I thought he might be at this point but I am more than happy to take it! I live near Kingston and had the chance to see Wright play a couple of times in the OHL I never understood the hype? for sure he was really good but he did not blow my mind at all he was just the best player on an average team to me.
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Post by HTL on Apr 11, 2024 0:01:36 GMT
I have no doubt Wright will be a decent NHL player, but i too didn't see all the hype surrounding him at the time of the draft. Every game i saw him play said average to me. Never seen him holding on to the puck like i see Slaf, nor do i see the same level of physical play. I knew very little about him when we drafted him but what impressed me was how he handled himself with the media. That one answer to the question he was asked about how he felt about beeing booed at the draft said it all for me. I'll change their minds. Classic.
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