Ottawa @ Montreal Tuesday October 4

[HabsRuleForever]

Suzuki!!!

[HabsRuleForever]

Slaf skating with Suzuki & Caufield.

[H_T_L]

21 minutes ago, HabsRuleForever said:

Suzuki!!!

I have a brother into biking who says a rusty Suzuki is better than a well-oiled Honda. Waiting on Kinot for confirmation. 

[kinot-2]

Montreal Canadiens starting lineup 

1) Cole Caufield - Nick Suzuki - Juraj Slafkovsky
2) Rem Pitlick - Jake Evans - Rafael Harvey-Pinard
3) Emil Heineman - Owen Beck - Joel Armia
4) Michael Pezzetta - Brandon Gignac - Jesse Ylonen

1) Corey Scheuneman - Jordan Harris
2) Arber Xhekaj - Chris Wideman
3) Kaiden Ghule - David Savard

Goaltender: Cayden Primeau
Backup: Sam Montambeault
 

[maas_art]

51 minutes ago, HabsRuleForever said:

Slaf skating with Suzuki & Caufield.

Part of me hopes Slaf doesnt do well tonight.  I worry that if they come out & score 5 goals we'll suddenly think "see, he's ready" when it seems clear that overall he is not.  Im confident he can get there... he's a special player, there's no doubt about that, but he needs to work on a few things based on what ive seen. 

Id love to see them develop a powerhouse in Laval. The secondary bi-product is that the big club will be crappier = higher draft pick.  

 

[electron58]

1 hour ago, maas_art said:

Part of me hopes Slaf doesnt do well tonight.  I worry that if they come out & score 5 goals we'll suddenly think "see, he's ready" when it seems clear that overall he is not.  Im confident he can get there... he's a special player, there's no doubt about that, but he needs to work on a few things based on what ive seen. 

Id love to see them develop a powerhouse in Laval. The secondary bi-product is that the big club will be crappier = higher draft pick.  

 

Well, if HUGO is true to his word, and the long range goal is to have the best player from the 2022 draft, then, I see Slav starting in Laval. I think it's the best decision all around. But then the decision to draft Slav was a surprise,  so, what do I know?

[maas_art]

21 minutes ago, electron58 said:

Well, if HUGO is true to his word, and the long range goal is to have the best player from the 2022 draft, then, I see Slav starting in Laval. I think it's the best decision all around. But then the decision to draft Slav was a surprise,  so, what do I know?

Yes and no. The best thing is to make sure his development is done properly but only the experts know if thats in Montreal or Laval. I agree with you that on the surface that seems to be the best (and certainly should get his confidence way up) but maybe they think tutelage from MLS, Nicholas, Poulin, Boulion etc is worth more than sending him down. I dont know.  I guess we have to put our faith in them to know what is right but i dont think we can say they went back on their words if they choose to keep him around.  Its tough to know what the right move is at this point.

I think if he plays super well next to CC and Suzuki he'll get a few games to start the year and then down to Laval. If he doesnt blow us away in the next few preseason games, then I think he goes down right away.   Either way, I htink there's a good chance he's up with the big club by January - probably, for good.  We might actually have some spots by then.  They may want to wait till the TD too.

Everyone talks about 9 games - and its important because it blows a year of the cheap ELC but the other really important number is 40. If you play more than 40 that gets you 1 year closer to UFA. In Slaf's case, if he plays 40 this year he'll be UFA when he's 26. So ideally, unless he's burning things up & developing well with the NHL team, you kind of want to keep him down in the minors at least for 43 games. 

[kinot-2]

[kinot-2]

[claremont]

Guhle unlocking Savards potential 

[Regis22]

not a good night for #20 on Twitter

Some Twitter comments that this is his worst game as a hab.

stu Cowan saying he’s never seen another player play with one had on his stick as much as him

 

 

[kinot-2]

[kinot-2]

[claremont]

10 minutes ago, Regis22 said:

not a good night for #20 on Twitter

Some Twitter comments that this is his worst game as a hab.

stu Cowan saying he’s never seen another player play with one had on his stick as much as him

Game seems too fast for him at this stage. I don’t think he’s used to the tight spaces and the physical play of the pro game yet. He’s big but not strong on his skates yet and needs to develop his vision and confidence. He’s probably been used to roaming and not moving his feet.  All the more reason to consider time in Laval 

[maas_art]

2 hours ago, claremont said:

Game seems too fast for him at this stage. I don’t think he’s used to the tight spaces and the physical play of the pro game yet. He’s big but not strong on his skates yet and needs to develop his vision and confidence. He’s probably been used to roaming and not moving his feet.  All the more reason to consider time in Laval 

Agree. I still think he's a special player. I wanted a centre or a D but we got what we got but I dont think thats necessarily a bad thing.

I think his huge frame made some things easier in Finland but here he's dealing with much better players (Many almost his size) so that is something he's going to have to adapt to. I stilll think he'll be fine, longterm but i dont think he's going to start the year here & there's a chance he doesnt even get called up till next season unless he can make some big developmental strides.