dudacek

I've got no problem admitting I was wrong there. From what I've seen since the draft (I watched a fair amount of Holtz in Utica last year), there is no competition. Still not sure if we're going to see the type of growth out of Lundell as we will see with others in that draft, but he's clearly better than Holtz and I suspect always will be.

I don't know man. They also seem pretty comfortable with Samuelsson and Bryson on their off-hand as well. (I know two games played with 5 isn't going to change your mind)

“Body of work” means it will take more than a poor game or 2 to seat anyone other than Peterka, Krebs, Quinn and Hinostroza. They are the “rookies” and the designated “13th forward” Quinn will play at least one of the next 2, probably because someone will be nursing a minor injury. If not, Krebs most likely to sit because he’s been outperformed by the other two.

This might very well be true. It might very well also be true that we are not “in season” mode yet either.

I get where @Flashsabre is coming from. Guys like Mule seem to have skill that seems to go unrecognized as such because it doesn’t create offence. They get undervalued compared to guys who have the opposite skill set.

Some highly skilled goals being scored this year. I’m thinking of Tuch’s 2nd, Casey’s breakaway and Tage’s versus Edmonton in particular, but virtually every goal this year has been rushes or snipes, very few that you’d call greasy, or deflections or lucky bounces. Team has averaged over 4 a game so far. They’ve certainly looked the part of a “highly-skilled team”, which isn’t the same thing as, say Edmonton, with a handful of elite players. It will be interesting to see whether that continues over the long-term. It certainly reflects what Don has been preaching and building toward.

Sportsnet’s Goalie guru Kevin Woodley was on Vancouver radio today singing Comrie’s praises. Said he’s completely biased because he’s worked with him and trained with him and is close to him. Also said he has elite skating skills for a goalie and he’s been expecting a breakout from him for quite some time.

In order to have exclusive rights to sign him, probably with the understanding they can. It's happened multiple times, most recently last year with with Arizona acquiring Jack McBain from Minnesota

To me the plan is made obvious by the contracts: Anderson is the mentor and insurance policy in Buffalo this year. Comrie will be given every opportunity to seize control of the crease this year. UPL will be given all the playing time he can handle in the AHL this year while the door stays open for him to move up if and when circumstances dictate. Subban is the mentor and insurance policy in Rochester this year. Next year Comrie and UPL are starting duo in Buffalo, with a pecking order TBD. Next year Levi and (hopefully) Portillo share the crease in Rochester, with a pecking order to be determined (even though everyone knows Levi is the favourite and Portillo will probably be gone). Other signings/moves TBD. My hot take prediction: Portillo is traded to Chicago or LA at the deadline

Are you one of those people who lets the facts get in the way of a good narrative? 😜

Stop trolling

I look forward to all the hand-wringing in the spring of ‘24 when all 3 of them plus Comrie are headed toward free agency and we are melting down over who to pick and who to trade.

I take Dahlin again without hesitation.

Probably the wrong thread, but Jeff Marek was giving Dahlin a big shoutout this morning during a segment where he and Greg Wyshynski were talking about the NHL’s top defencemen. Basically said Dahlin seems to have arrived in that tier. Wyshynski seemed kinda skeptical, but didn’t argue. Marek gave the Sabres a lot of love; sounded like a lot of us - seeing signs that good things are on the way, little hesitant to buy fully in because so much is still projection.

Mule's placing is one of the biggest shifts I've ever seen Pronman make. He's previously always ranked him as a Mike Weber-level bottom-pair stay-at-home type

Yep. Gotta admit a smiled a bit when I saw he’d made the Bruins. Absolute *****.

Had a chance to watch Matt Savoie in person last night. He was the first star: beautiful short-handed assist on a 2-on-1, and a goal, burying it off a cross-ice pass from the right circle. wouldn't say he dominated, but he mostly looked good and produced. Looks pretty small live, but focused and intense both ways. Looked like he was winning every faceoff.

I only watched the first game, but the player that caught my eye was Kisakov. Language+age+size should give him the steepest learning curve, but the dude is sneaky, not afraid, and he makes plays.

Does that mean the Cozens line gets McDavid if Donnie can make it happen or will it be head-to-head with Tage? Or does he basically roll ‘em? There’s at least one weak spot defensively on each line, but the bottom 3 are pretty balanced. Hino in for Quinn shows that it’s not entirely about development over wins. Will be looking to see how Power is adjusting. Thought he was steadier in game 2, but part of that may have been playing with Mule. I imagine Mule and Ras will be getting a steady diet of McJesus all night. Great barometer.

Sure would like to see Casey rewarded for his efforts. He’s been working hard.

PIttsburgh and Boston are still good. Washington appears to be the most vulnerable team from last year.

Am I wrong to think I see more criticism of Krebs than any other Sabre? Maybe Jokiharju?

Remember when you said the Sabres killed the 2021 draft? Corey Pronman disagrees. Rather than a bunch of players who should have been picked higher, the Sabres reached for a lot of their picks, according to Pronman’s reranking of that draft, recently published in the Athletic. https://theathletic.com/3682561/2022/10/17/2021-nhl-redraft/ Owen Power should not have gone number 1; the best player that year was Luke Hughes. Power should have gone #3 after Hughes and Matty Beniers. Prokhor Poltapov was a huge reach at 33. Pronman ranks him 82, 3 picks ahead of Aleksandr Kisakov who was another reach at 52. Yes, Josh Bloom was a steal at 95, but basically only petty cash, ranking 74 “has a chance to play NHL games”. Late round studs Kozak and Novikov? There are 127 players listed. They didn’t make the cut. Neither did Sardarian Marjala or van Barnekow. And I haven’t forgotten Rosen. The 14th overall pick is all the way down at 47 “Projected to play NHL games.” The Sabres only true mover was Nadeau, who was in the same category as Rosen and a few spots ahead at 41, after being drafted at 97

Pat Lafontaine comes in at 94. https://theathletic.com/3637201/2022/10/18/nhl99-pat-lafontaine/

How does one develop such a strong dislike for a 21-year-old kid trying to find his way in the NHL that they feel compelled to post about it regularly on a message board, regardless of his play, or even if he’s playing?