Taro T

He was considered a scrub? Really? He was the best goalie in the 3rd best league in the world for 1/2 a decade. His stats were near the top in every league he ever played in including those NA ones he finally got to play in after the Iron Curtain fell. That he was considered expendable by the team he was on when that team had a 2nd year goalie who'd set team & league records as a rookie & got the majority of the starts on a run to the Final when there was an expassion draft & teams could only keep 1 goalie did NOT make him a scrub. (Without the expansion draft, Winnipeg isn't desperate to protect Beauregard & Chicago & Buffalo don't work out that deal.) Muckler being too dumb to realize what he lucked into isn't a knock on Dom either. That's squarely on Muckler and still chafes to this day. What useful pieces could Puppa, Andreychuck, & a 1st turned into that could've helped the Sabres past the Habs rather than another goalie? Really doubt Subban will be anything more than a tweener/ poor team's backup goalie. Too bad for him because he seems like a really good team guy.

It certainly appears they put need over BPA here w/ this pick and 2nd round by concensus is a reach on him. BUT he was, per Forton, their highest rated goalie by far and THEY'D ALREADY DRAFTED THREE OTHER PLAYERS. Adams rarely speaks of Portillo post Frozen Four when he actually got to talk to Portillo about his plans. Prior to that he seems to have spoken fairly often about him and even said right before the Frozen Four that the Muchigan HC thought he was the team's MVP & best player. He also said prior to the Frozen Four that he was OK w/ any of the college kids going back to school. You don't pull up anecdotes like that then forget the guy even exists overnight if he didn't say something/ give off a vibe that said there's a real chance he walks.. Which makes Levi their only true prospect. Agree w/ @Eleven that UPL is either NHL ready very soon or never and he isn't really in the prospect category anymore. So, w/ only 1 prospect and having already grabbed THREE other skaters that are fairly universally regarded as good picks, what is wrong w/ tking this kid when they did. Especially considering that Seattle was definitely going to take a goalie before the Sabres would pick again AND their 3rd & 4th round picks were supposedly 2nd round quality. They don't draft in a vacuum & it seems whichever of their analytics guys is the lead game theorist nailed it. Adams has now used 2 high-ish end assets (1/2 of Reinhart & 41st overall in what appears to be a deep overall draft) to land who he & his staff considered to be the best available prospect goalie in the year he obtained the rights to the goalie. Have no issue w/ that. Have tremendous issue w/ his lack of being able to pull that maneuver off for a non-prospect. Per GA, they've possibly landed 5 NHLers. That's fantastic. Yes, they still have 0 RHD prospects, but... They have IIRC 3 2nd round picks next year. Where's a good spot to draft D-men typically? Yep. Can see the RHD prospect pool restocked then.

Which is ironic because Murray has never come close to playing as well as he did w/ Bales as his coach. Reminds of how Zhitnik was legendary for putting shots into the blues & oranges and then the suites & 300s. Mike Ramsey made him change his stick blade & suddenly he could hit the net (the little one w/ the red border not the huge one hanging above the glass). Ramsey moves on to Minny and Zhitnik goes back to the blade he was more comfortable with & Jochen Hecht loses an ear. Moral of the story: sometimes hockey players are too ####ing stubborn to see what's good for them.

His last name wouldn't happen to be Botterill by any chance? 😉

Didn't notice the floor arrangement, but at the NHL Draft, typically when looking out from the stage, the team w/ the 1st pick is to the front right.

2021-22 Team: Kamloops Blazers (WHL) Date of Birth: August 26, 2004 Place of Birth: North Vancouver, British Columbia Ht: 6-foot-0 Wt: 176 pounds Shoots: Left Position: Defence

Fallout from Ken Linesman's legal challenges to the NHL Draft keeping 18 and 19 year olds unemployed.

You talking Buffalo or Seattle? Thought Buffalo has 3 2nd next year.

He can, but that's 2 years away. Portillo can walk in 1 year. Levi will be here.

Well, QBs drafted in the NHL are pretty much ALWAYS overdrafts. 😉

And it also seems to say that Portillo is out the door. The only goalie in the system down the road is Levi. Getting his potential battery mate in the 2nd makes sense when there's nobody else you're high on and you have nobody else.

And, does this mean the talks w/ Johnson's agents are going well, or does this mean w/ Chesley gone they didn't see any D w/ top of the 2nd round grades still remaining?

Well, that's fine. But, stating the obvious, he still needs to fix THIS YEAR's GTing.

Not positive, but pretty sure that's not the case. If the player goes to the CHL AFTER being drafted to the NHL, quite certain the AHL is an option in the 2nd year. Otherwise those players would look to the USHL to play in NA if not ready for the pros.

True. Again, the no AHL until age 20 is STRICTLY a part of the NHL/CHL agreement. It does not apply to other feeder / major league players. (Realize you know this, just stating for clarity for others reading this thread.)

Both would've at the cost. Would've had to give up more or something better than 70, but going from 41 to 46 wouldn't have been onerous.

Yeah, even Chara wasn't Chara until about 6 years after he was drafted. Of course, this kid panning out in 6 years fits almost ideally with the Yotes timeline. As their 3rd pick of the 1st, it isn't as crazy as it would've been if they were looking for a guy to be good in 2-3 years and it was their 1st selection. If he pans out, great. If not, who in Arizona will remember they made this pick 6 years ago?

Nor do they compare them to AHLers or guys that play in the Swiss League. Even more of them picked outside the 1st round have that for a ceiling. What's your point? They're selling the sizzle. Nobody wants to hear their team just grabbed the next David Cooper.

Well, outside the photo's frame, his feet are touching the floor. (He's just looking up, not laying back.) 😉 Congrats to the Thompsons. Hope baby and mom are both healthy.

Correct, which when combined with not having played in the CHL & not being under contract in a Euro league for '22-'23 is why the AHL is an option for him.

The no AHL until age 20 is a CHL/NHL thing. Euros that aren't under contract can play in the AHL if the player & parent club want. He has several options this year: Europe, CHL, AHL, & NHL (not necessarily in that order 😉 ).

Probably realistic. But thinking bigger, wouldn't it be something though if he were to Ryan O'Reilly his draft year? Doubt he can, but that would be sweet.

Liking the draft so far.. All 3 guys in the 1st seem to have high ceilings. Can any of you draftniks speak to what their floors are?

That post of yours stood out when the pick was made. Hoping you're right & he can up his game like Aho did when he fills out. Liking the draft so far. Would like to see a D at 41, maybe Chesley continues to slide.

Still 1 ticket left if anyone wants it. PM me if you do.