I get the comparison in the points earned by each player during their first 92 games. Fine. But there really could not be two more different players offensively.

Jack Hughes uses a combination of speed and skill to shred teams defensively. Juraj uses his size to win the puck along the boards and his vision and skill to protect the puck and setup his linemates.

Hughes can do it alone. Juraj really can't. It's ok because it's a team game. But why are we even talking about this?

i believe this is becasue they are both 1t oa that took a minute to get going,
both quite young...
both ..forwards...

"Why are we talking about the thing I have decided to call attention to and talk about?"

something weird has happened in montreal over the last couple weeks. Slafkovsky decided to shoot 50% for a few games, and habs fans (at list on twitter it was nuts) were going crazy saying he's elite, and the best player in the draft by a mile etc etc. I'm guessing Hughes has been brought up as a, "this is what a first overall pick is supposed to look like," comparison. It's justified because the chatter out of montreal is ridiculous. Right now he looks like the third best player in the draft, and i'm guessing that number will go higher as more prospects make it to the professional ranks.

I dont think we are comparing him to Jack Hughes, rather just comparing his path with Hughes’ path. I think we relize that Slaf had completely elite potential, even though he started slow in the NHL. Just a completely different player from Hughes on a similar development path

Every single beat reporter is comparing him to Jack Hughes. It's annoying.

Most are stupid, the real ones aren't

I don't think the development path is similar at all the only thing they have in common is they sucked as rookies. Hughes was a slam dunk franchise player at least 2 years before he was drafted Slafkovsky was a serious riser that probably shouldn't have played as much as he did in the NHL last year. Hughes having the rookie year he did was surprising Slafkovsky's was understandable to an extent and only blown out of proportion because he was in Canada.

Oh the irony of it all. Seriously though, Habs fans & media are even more unhinged than usual if they think Slaf is gonna turn into Jack Hughes.

I think in pure talent, Hughes is clearly the better player, especially with where the NHL is going (speed and skill over size & skill).

and here we have what i see as a huge divide. no, the writers aren't comparing him to Jack Hughes in a positive manner. If they are, they're either horrible, patronizing, or making fun of you.

Let’s put it this way Slaf isn’t Hughes, but at 19 years of age he is figuring out the NHL, gaining confidence and looking like a legitimate 1st line winger. He seems to be doing just fine so let’s let him carve out his own development path.

I agree with most of your analysis except for the part about "looking like the 3rd best player in the draft". Which 2 players look better than him please and why?

Agreed. The comparisons to Cooley are fine, but the comparisons to Hughes place unreasonable expectations on the kid.

Do people pay to watch Slafkovsky play? That’s all I want to know.

(In all seriousness I haven’t seen anyone compare the two…other than # points in # of games)

nemec and cooley. both seem far more dynamic to me with potential to be a top of the lineup guy.

I think your analysis is extremely biased sir, but thank you for sharing.

i'm not a fan of any of those teams - it's just extremely obvious in my opinion that those two guys are performing at a higher level with a higher ceiling.

Um…what? Slaf has outperformed both those players this season especially recently not that it’s surprising since they are both rookies but they are all the same age. I think you mistaken who is currently the better player with who you personally believe has the higher potential.

I mean, it's called a breakout, a progression or a gain of confidence. And you try with somes '' biased '' arguments that's just a fluke.........


He haves 21 pts in his last 23 games, that's represent 1/4 of a total season (means that's a lot.......).

Yep

nemec has been head and shoulders above him this season - that's undeniable. stop looking at a couple weeks of shooting 40% and thinking it changes things.

no.

A breakout would be getting himself into a position to shoot a lot more. A breakout would mean creating considerably more chances.

Scoring 5 goals on 13 shots in his last 5 games is an unsustainable hot streak.

if we're comparing Slafkovsky to Hughes we gotta compare Slafkovsky to Pettersson as well. Those are the rules.