At the end of the day Slavakov doesn’t really have to try when it comes to preseason anymore. Being a veteran in the SHL for so long his roster spot is secure, and being the assistant captain to boot means he’s going to be in the lineup no matter what. There’s no need to try in preseason because the games don’t mean anything. The GM’s already know who’s made the team and who hasn’t so why try and beat a teams 3rd string goalie? What does that really show I can bring to the team? The best value that comes out of preseason is getting some ice time with the rookies, and this season that was very useful for San Francisco with Doug and Scholz coming up from the SMJHL. Slavakov will be playing with Bara this season after Wilson was paired with Doug, so learning to play with a new D partner has some value too I suppose.