2024-02-14 22:18:10
Juraj Slafkovsky’s name is on the lips of every fan in Montreal.
The young man, who had a strong game once morest the Ducks last night, is really starting to gain confidence…
And that’s why there are so many positive comments regarding him at the moment.
It’s encouraging because on the ice, it doesn’t look like the same player as on this date last year.
He understood that he can use his body and his skills to control the puck in all three zones of the ice, and in my eyes, that is the biggest difference.
It comes with time and it comes with confidence. But he seems to have reached this stage of his progress if we rely on his last matches.
I’m not necessarily a fan of the comparison game, but there is still an interesting parallel to be made between the start of Slaf’s career and that of Jack Hughes.
In fact, both guys have the same number of points (37) in their first 92 games played in the NHL, but Slaf scored one more goal and also has one more goal with the man advantage:
File under: ꜱᴛᴀᴛꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴇᴇᴍ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴜᴘ ʙᴜᴛ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ᴛʀᴜᴇ ????
(via @SNstats) pic.twitter.com/jLxi7bGV2P
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 14, 2024
Will Slaf become a 100 point player like the Devils? Not necessarily.
But it reminds us of one thing, though. It is sometimes difficult to judge the first matches of a young player of 18-19 years old.
And seeing that Jack Hughes subsequently exploded allows us to believe that Slaf will become a very, very good hockey player.
Hughes really came into his own in his third season, when he scored 56 points in 49 games (2021-2022).
That said, the Devils star had respective seasons of 21 points (61 games in 2019-2020) and 31 points (56 games in 2020-2021) to start his career…
And the New Jersey organization still offered him an eight-year contract extension, valued at eight million dollars per year.
Hughes signed his contract at the start of the 2021-2022 season (November 30), the one where he exploded.
My point in all of this is that we might have to start wondering regarding Slaf’s next contract.
We clearly agree that it is too early to offer him an eight-year contract at this time, because the young man has proven “nothing” in the NHL for the moment.
He has been excellent in his last 20 meetings… But it is not these 20 meetings which will dictate his career however.
On the other hand, if Slaf continues to perform as he has since mid-season and at the start of the next campaign, we still see a clear improvement in his game… That’s where it might become quite interesting.
And that’s where Kent Hughes might have to come out with the big bucks.
A lot of
– The style!
Sunglasses, hair in the wind…
we’ve landed ????#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ftjdDNckjQ
— Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) February 14, 2024
– It’s sad.
Kids can’t go to school.
Believers can’t go to church.
Families can’t go to the grocery store.
Friends can’t go to a concert.
And now fans can’t go to a SUPER BOWL PARADE without the real fear of being a part of a mass shooting in America. WHAT ARE WE DOING?— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) February 14, 2024
– Great news.
Fernandez surprises the 7th player in the world
— RDS (@RDSca) February 14, 2024
– So much the better, honestly.
Mathieu Betts and the Lions are made to get along
— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) February 14, 2024
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#NHL #games #Slafs #stats #Jack #Hughes
