Eleven

That's not going to change the speed of when July 1 gets here.

Yes, that's why there was a thread about it just yesterday.

I really, really want this kid to make it here. "Get rid of the guys who don't want to be there" and "it's an honor to fight" [for your teammates]?! And he seems VERY smart, too. Please, David, get a little faster and get here soon.

Likely so, but you get the idea.

10: Print "this is stupid." 20: GOTO 10. RUN This was our AI and it was better.

Yep. C U Next Tuesday.

Also, palm trees.

Yep. There's a man in charge now. Two, if we count Jarmo.

No question about it!

Saros is the one I'd want. I don't care about Stamkos. And I think it would be pricey. Like two 1st round pick pricey. If Nashville wanted a single 1st rounder plus UPL, and sent back something else in addition, it would be worth a thought.

No. See my draft review thread.

TY

Goalie in the 4th is tough to argue with.

Me too. Give him a nice bridge while Scrabble-tiles marinates in juniors and then Rochester.

Opinions are mine, if that's not obvious. 1/9 Radim Mrtka, RHD, Seattle (WHL). 6-6, 207. As I said in Mrtka’s thread, I don’t know whether this kid will become Tyler Myers, Rasmus Ristolainen, or Zdeno Chara. What I do know is that for as much as they get dragged on this board, Myers and Risto have had very solid NHL careers, the types of careers most kids dream of. So I have to think this is a pretty solid pick. But I would have preferred packaging the pick for a difference-maker in 2025, not 2028. 2/39: Trade, together with Conor Clifton, for Conor Timmins (RHD, PIT) and Isaac Beliveau (JAG, PIT). Timmins has 150+ NHL games under his belt and is at a position of need. Picks at this spot typically hit (as in 100 career games) about 30% of the time. This is a no-brainer, so it’s not surprising that a GM with no brain was able to pull it off. And even if you think Timmins is deadweight (I disagree), cheaper deadweight is better than more expensive deadweight. As for Beliveau, I hope he enjoys Rochester, if he is able to stay in the A. 3/71 David Bedkowski, RHD, Owen Sound (OHL). 6-5, 220. This ill-tempered wookie is exactly what the Sabres need. Picks in the early third round are hardly locks to play 100 games in the league, but if this guy is a hit, he will be a HIT. Sort of like Levi. This was the right swing for the fences at pick 71. 4/103 Matous Lucharcik, C, Slavia Jr. (CZE), 6-4, 180; 4/116 Samuel Meloche, G, Rouyn-Norunda (Q), 6-2, 190. It’s always a good idea to take a goalie around this point in the draft. They take forever to develop, so it’s important to keep a few in the system. Good pick on Meloche. Lucharcik probably never will see NHL ice, and he definitely won’t see it if he doesn’t start packing pounds on his young but thin frame. Rounds 5, 6, 7. I’m not going to look up these guys’ heights, weights, etc. They have little chance of contributing to the big club, but hey, one hopes they make it! 5/135 is Noah Laberge, D, Acadie-Bathurst (Q); 6/167 is Ashton Schultz, C, Chicago (USHL); 7/195 is Melvin Novotny, generic F, Leksand Jr. (SWE) (also played Muskegon USHL); 7/199 Yvegeni Prokhorov, G Dinamo-Shinnik Jr. (USSR); and 7/219 Ryan Rucinski, C, Ohio State (NCAA). Just a couple of notes: I like that Adams mostly stayed away from Soviet players here. My *hypothesis* (that is, not supported by evidence) is that late-round Soviets usually end up in their home system, where they have a MUCH better chance of making the big league and don’t have to learn another language. Guys like Laberge, Schultz, and Novotny (no, he’s not Jiri’s son, according to my research) are more likely to want to play in the A. (If you’re a Soviet kid, would you rather a career in Moscow or in Utica?) The exception to the Sabres’ strategy is Prokhorov, and, as above, it’s always good to have the rights to goalies. Depth at C and D is good, so not bad picks here. Again, these are swings that probably won’t connect—but at least they’re swings in the right direction. All in all, not a bad draft. It’s almost like the Sabres hired someone to supervise Adams or something.