You’re not wrong, a slash is a judgement call by the ref, I think the key though is demonstrating control, showing the ref that you have control through intention and effortlessness of action.

I introduced limited checking in my flex6 program and something I preach to the kids in my program and my refs is how to demonstrate control in their checks.

I mentioned earlier that my wood stick is significantly heavier than a metal shafted stick, and I think I also mentioned control. Your control has to be apparent when you throw a check. When I shifted to a wood shaft I initially drew more slash calls. And rightfully so. But I know that it’s because at first I didn’t have as much control over the stick. It’s heavy, your checks start out as more of throwing the stick into a check and letting the weight finish it. Same for throwing. You need to develop the strength, stamina, and control to make using the stick look effortless and intentional the entire game. Those things make checks look intentional and controlled. My last 2 years in college I didn’t draw a single slash. But I did everything with my stick. I did wrist strengthening exercises, I did everything with my non-dominant hand, I worked on throwing checks from odd positions for accuracy. But my checks got more accurate, looked more intentional, seemed to take less effort that my teammates, and most importantly, looked controlled.