Grant McCagg sees Slafkovsky as an 80-point player in his prime

By earthnews
10 months Ago

Grant McCagg sees Slafkovsky as an 80-point player in his prime

This afternoon, the Canadiens were crushed by the Blues.

Cole Caufield, like his teammates, did not have a strong game. He didn’t collect a point, and his streak of games with at least one point ended at 11.

At least Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky have a streak, and it continued until (at least) Tuesday.

With his goal (assisted by Slaf), the captain increased his sequence of games with at least one point to seven. As for the Slovak, he has a point in five consecutive games.

A true first trio.

Juraj Slafkovky with the feed and Nick Suzuki with the goal!

Habs trailing 2-1! pic.twitter.com/JHmDfgTnSX

– Scott Matla (@scottmatla) February 11, 2024

As for Slafkovsky, he continues to impress.

The 19-year-old became the fourth 19-and-under player in the glorious Canadiens organization to get at least one point in five straight games.

Juraj Slafkovsky (4-2-6 in 5 GP) became the fourth teenager with a five-game point streak in @CanadiensMTL history, following Doug Wickenheiser (6 GP in 1980-81), Alex Galchenyuk (5 GP in 2012-13) and Stephane Richer (5 GP in 1985-86).#NHLStats: https://t.co/LNqxKidbZW https://t.co/6ykrgguzNk

– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 11, 2024

He’s so impressive that Grant McCagg, a former team scout, thinks he’ll become a point-per-game player in his prime.

That’s a big prediction!

It’s true that playing with Suzuki and Caufield, he’s started to produce, but the 82-point-per-year plateau isn’t within reach, let’s say.

We are getting a better read on his potential now, and it’s difficult not seeing him being an 80+ point scorer in his best seasons. I am not going to put a cap on how many points he can get iin his best seasons…who knows for sure?

– Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) February 11, 2024

We know the young winger has potential, and it often takes a while for first overall picks to completely break through.

That’s the case with Alexis Lafrenière and Jack Hughes, in particular, who didn’t dominate immediately, like Connor McDavid, Connor Bedard and Auston Matthews.

Lafrenière still hasn’t dominated, but he’s been playing much better since the start of his fourth NHL season.

The Habs protégé is in his second season… and was injured in his first.