Slafkovsky

[Fighting_Emu]

Just acquired slaf in my lifetime keeper. He slots alongside the "wtf is happening!" Winger group of Lafreniere, Holtz, Nick Tobertson' Puljujarvi and now him- lol! I'm not even joking when I say i might be wedding Zadina to that list haha!!

Anyways..

What do we think of his upside? His timeline? A reasonable floor?

My biggest concern might be what I've read about his "hockey iq" which can be a divisive trait at the best of times hahaha! One crtitic/sckut i like a lot responded negatively to a comparison of slaf to rantanen. He said that while they have a similar builds, and while they might strategically use that physique at times (although maybe he could stand yo utilize it more apparently)- the scout said he didn't have nearly the hockey iq or werwithal to get that any assists. He said the shot might be better so add on 5-10 goals but subtract 10-20 assists from Rantanens totals which is a bit alarming for what were hoping for from an "elite" player imho.

Another criticism that was echoed by a few other poster was that hes got a pretty serious issue with keeping his head up- they cited he seems to get clobbered at least once a game right now lol!

Anyone have some good news/reason for optimism? I know he's not your prototypical first overall but he had a helluva an Olympic series and he had some success in the big as well with 10ish in 30 or so but then again that 4th line demotion doesn't sit well either so far.

What are people thinking???

[senryu]

His performance in lower leagues to date suggest a lesser version of Kakko. He didn't put up big points in the years preceding his draft year. The only thing he brings to the table at the moment is that he is 6'4". If he's to develop, it will probably be several years from now. I might be on the low end, but I have little faith that he's going to be an above average NHL player.

[finnys_fanatsy]

ya, i feel his play at the Olympics prior to the draft and his size really drove his draft stock up. perhaps so much so hes not quite in the Nail Yakupov realm but maybe closer to the Kakko side. its still way to early to tell if hes gonna produce huge umbers but hes a keeper for now..

[FFleming5]

I think he's a big guy and is 18 years old so you won't know for about 4-5 years - he looked pretty good for his age and experience this year until his injury but very early to tell. I'd hope for a Chris Kreider type of a player but with more upside. Not saying he'll pot 40 regularly but he seems to have the toolkit to do it in the same manner.

[ross10019]

I think he's a big guy and is 18 years old so you won't know for about 4-5 years - he looked pretty good for his age and experience this year until his injury but very early to tell. I'd hope for a Kris Kreider type of a player but with more upside. Not saying he'll pot 40 regularly but he seems to have the toolkit to do it in the same manner.

Good take.

Positives with him is he’s got a great work ethic and is coachable, and well-liked in the room. And he’ll be given a chance to succeed as early as next year, likely with Suzuki Caufield or alongside Dach.

He’s got size to withstand the heavy play despite his tender age.

One knock i’ve seen is that he isn’t aware enough to avoid big hits - still has a bit of tunnel vision which makes him vulnerable. And everyone guns for him, partly due to his 1st overall thing - he’s a big target for hits (and chirps) for that reason among others. So there’s a concern he might end up with concussion issues if he isn’t more careful.

My feeling is slow progression just like other big fwds, but in 3 years, when he’s 21, if he’s not on PP1 and putting up somewhere around 20-25G and 55 pts, that’s not a great sign for his offensive upside.