Former director of amateur recruiting for the Anaheim Ducks, Alain Chainey likes to glean information from his ex-colleagues as each draft approaches.
This year he noticed something curious when he mentioned the name of Slovak Juraj Slafkovsky.
“When I was asking questions left and right and interested in his case, there was a little moment of silence, says the brilliant hockey man. There was a moment of reflection that made me say, “Oops, I just struck a chord.”
During his successful career of more than 20 years as a scout and head scout, Chainey never had the privilege of drafting with the very first choice of an auction. The TVASports.ca gave him the chance to do so: the former scout lent himself to the game by making the highly anticipated selection of the Montreal Canadiens.
“I looked quite closely on video at the five headliners of the vintage: Shane Wright, Slafkovsky, Logan Cooley, Simon Nemec and David Jiricek. Obviously, when you see a player on video, there are things you can miss, like his defensive game and his body language when he comes to the bench, because the camera always follows the carrier of the puck.
Nevertheless, the TVA Sports analyst has seen enough to advance on the podium. With the first overall pick, Alain Chainey is proud to pick…
“Slafkovsky. He’s the guy who struck me the most in all of this. And I disagree with those who say that Shane Wright is just good, nothing more. He is an excellent player who is going to have a long and successful career, but I saw in Slafkovsky something more.
What appealed to our man was that element of rarity: how many 6’4″ power forwards with that much talent exist in the National Hockey League? The specimen is unique.
Rare licorne
“What I see in Slafkovsky is a upside, a potential, a growth development that is truly impressive, marvels Chainey, who sees in him a more imposing version of Andrei Svechnikov. He needs to improve his explosion on skates a bit, but his top speed is very good. He’s not a slow skater. He has good hands, a very good shot. He’s a physically committed guy. A player who protects his puck very, very well. He has a long stick and uses it very well.
“It is difficult to contain in the corners of the rink, along the ramps. It’s a rare combination, ultimately, of size, speed, skill and physical involvement. He’s not the kind of player you find very often…”
Another factor taken into consideration in the evaluation: the performances of Slafkovsky against men, during international tournaments, even if the caliber at the Olympic Games and the World Hockey Championship is not the highest, because the best players in the world are not necessarily there.
Even before he turned 18, Slafkovsky was named the Olympic tournament’s most valuable player, having scored seven goals in as many games. He gave back to the World Championship by amassing nine points, including three goals, in eight games. In the history of this tournament, Patrik Laine is the only player 18 and under to have been more productive.
And Chainey isn’t overly alarmed by Slafkovsky’s disappointing production in the Liiga (5 goals, 5 assists in 31 games), Finland’s top circuit.
“It doesn’t scare me. I have already seen excellent players on the end of the bench in the elite leagues in Europe. These are things that happen.”
The other red flag frequently raised by observers less fond of Slafkovsky’s game has to do with his sense of the game, more specifically his creativity with the puck.
“I don’t see a major problem with that,” Chainey replied. It is sure that it is not the most creative player with the puck, with the best vision. On the other hand, he is able to make good games with it. He’s not as creative as Logan Cooley, who is very dynamic, or Shane Wright, who is a great passer who can slow down the game. It’s not necessarily his style. But you can’t be perfect everywhere. Slafkovsky, it’s not necessarily his strength, his creativity with the puck, but I can’t say it’s a dummy no more. He is able to make good plays.
“He arrives in the corners and we see him very often succeed in extracting the puck from the opposing players, manage to move with the puck and make a good pass to his teammate. Now is he crafty with the puck and makes fantastic plays like Nick Suzuki can? It doesn’t compare. It’s not his style at all. But in a hockey club, you need all kinds of players.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy, Dan Hickling
In defense of Wright
Although he prefers the power winger of the draft, Chainey does not want to be involved in some smear campaigns against Wright that are carried out on social networks.
If some quidams on the internet take malicious pleasure in denigrating the character of the young man, other more reasonable detractors are content to reproach him for a lack of intensity, while recognizing his offensive qualities.
However, lingering doubts about Wright’s level of effort and commitment may have something to do with the fact that he has been closely followed for years.
“There are players who seem nonchalant [sans forcément l’être], mentions Chainey. It’s in the way they move, the way they act. The mistake that many scouts make when they watch a player too often is to end up seeing only his flaws.
But Wright should not be seen as the savior that several class leaders before him have become.
“Is he going to be a star player? That may not be the case with Shane Wright. People say: “Maybe a second or a first center player.” But listen, he has a good sense of the game, a very good shot and he still places himself well.
By the way, every National League team, even the ones that aren’t supposed to draft in the first round, build an A-Z roster starting from number one overall. This means that the 32 teams on the Bettman circuit will be asking themselves, in the coming days, the question that the Canadians will have to answer: Shane Wright or Juraj Slafkovsky?
Photo credit: Photo archives
“Ideally, the CH would manage to make a transaction to have the choice of the New Jersey Devils, launches Chainey. I would offer the moon for that! Okay, Jeff Petry, Flames pick, two second-round picks, do you want them? Here they are! Do you want another player? We’ll give it to you!”
For the curious, here is how Chainey ranks, in order, the five headliners he has observed up close in his viewings: Slafkovsky, Wright, Cooley, Nemec, Jiricek.
Our expert actually prefers Nemec to Jiricek among defenders.
“I find him more complete compared to what he does without the puck and with the puck. He is an excellent passer, he supports the attack well. He is very calm with the disc. He makes good decisions; that’s what I liked about Nemec. But the other defender is dynamic too. It wouldn’t surprise me if people got Jiricek before Nemec.”
Be that as it may, don’t be too rigid and don’t rely excessively on the various lists available to the general public. Every year there are surprises…
“The team lists are really different from the ones you see on the internet. It’s day and night, downright, ”warns Chainey.