Grant McCagg adds on about Juraj Slafkovsky
In the category of people who were happy to hear Juraj Slafkovsky’s name ranked first in the last draft, Grant McCagg is pretty high. It had been clear before the amateur auction to say that Slafkovsky was by far the best player available and since then, let’s say he hasn’t hesitated to add a layer of it.
Even if technically, we still do not know if Slafkovsky will have been the right choice. We will only know in a few years.
Today, McCagg made two statements.
First, Slafkovsky was clearly the best player available, as he is the only winger to be selected in the top 13 and he was selected first overall (in a draft that McCagg considered strong for wingers).
I thought the 2022 NHL Draft was stronger on the wing than any other position in the top 12. Yet only one winger (Gauthier moving to C) was taken in the top 13, and he went #1. An indication that Slaf was the clear-cut BPA/top winger by draft day as position was a big factor.
—Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) July 30, 2022
In my opinion, it shows more that the leaders of the NHL prefer to have a center or a defenseman than a winger, but hey…
Then he said that he thinks Slafkovsky will start the next NHL season.
This shift exemplifies why I think Slafkovsky makes the Habs out of training camp, and will be ready to prosper on whatever line MSL puts him on. His 200-foot game, competitiveness and intelligence are very underrated. I like his all-around game more than Wright’s at this point pic.twitter.com/GDoTyGKBuk
—Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) July 30, 2022
Good…
It’s been how many young people that the Canadian escapes by raising them too quickly in the NHL? Kotkaniemi, Galchenyuk, Mete and so on. And don’t tell me it’s because they weren’t talented players: Kotkaniemi and Galchenyuk were both selected third overall. They were full of talent.
And that wasn’t enough.
What do we lose by sending Slafkovsky to Laval for the start of the season? In the best case, he dominates and we bring him back to Montreal. At worst, it thrives without having all the pressure in the world on its shoulders.
I know we want to see him play and it will come. But I don’t really see the point of throwing him into the lion’s den right away (unless, of course, he completely dominates training camp and preseason games).
