dudacek

Except when Samuelsson and Power were added, Jokiharju kept eating up the minutes. Joki was the #2 defenceman last year. He averaged 22:17 in April with Power and Mule in the lineup. Lyubushkin averaged 16:28 on the Leafs and 18:07 on Arizona. As far as math goes, your math doesn't fit what actually happens in a hockey game. Pairs are split up for 4 or 5 minutes of PK time and of PP time each game and get scrambled due to injuries and penalties. What you describe shows no resemblance to what happened in Buffalo last year. Just because you want the bold to happen does not mean it will.

I think Okposo is the best captain for now and the most likely successor is still forming. Okposo gets named now because he is the captain, he's the guy the room looks to. His potential successors get the As while continuing to grow into role so one is ready when the C becomes available. It's a process that is natural and organic, one that represents what is, rather than what is hoped for.

I think this mindset — "you can't play (insert name here) 10 minutes a night with 4th-liners" — needs to shift. First off, look at the coach and how he has used his players: Anders Bjork got 12 minutes a game. Brett Murray got 13. Cody Eakin and Mark Jankowski 13 1/2. Even John Hayden, the least-used forward on the team got just under 11 minutes. Secondly, who are these 4th-liners people are worried about? Girgensons? Hinostroza? Okposo? Asplund? Quinn? Peterka? The first 4 are all guys who played 13:52 or more last year, and who have demonstrated the ability to score 10 or more goals and 30 or more points over a full season. The final 2 are two of the best forward prospects in the game. Our "top 13" has no outright plugs any more. There's no rule that your 4th line has to remain nailed to the bench, or that it can't have 3 good players on it.

I know this is off-topic and you aren’t alone in your views of Jokiharju not being a top 4. But the idea of Don settling Henri into 15 minutes on the third pair is laughable to me. In his final 38 completed games, he was under 20 minutes 3 times. His lowest TOI was 18:45. He played less than that just 4 times, all of those in the fall, all more than 16 minutes. He was over 22 minutes 26 times, over 24 9 times. He’s just not going to be getting 12-15 this year.

I get the sense you don't watch many player and executive interviews. The overarching theme of yesterday's from camp — largely unspoken, but clearly visible, Fairbairn wrote about it in the Athletic — is that these guys think they are good and are going to prove people wrong.

Thus the "?" Personally I'm looking forward to the possibility this might be the first year in a decade where I can watch a Sabres game without a gaurantee I will spend 10 minutes a night begging for a line to get off the ice. Assuming Peterka and Quinn don't flame out, the healthy Sabres should have 13 forwards I will be happy to watch. That's not something you can say about a lot of teams and one of the primary reasons I think they will be better than most outside Buffalo think.

And Okposo Girgensons Asplund would be among the best "4th" lines in the league.

Donnie said stuff yesterday about "accelerating the development process" and a goal of this part of training camp being put the kids in a position to be the best versions of themselves before he starts making judgements. Rosen is being shown what it looks like to play on an NHL line, that he has the skill to keep up, and what he needs to do to make the jump. Rosen Quinn and Krebs are all being given an opportunity to see how good they can be. Separately, love the look of Quinn/Tuch/Krebs on paper and I've been calling for Peterka with Tage and Skinny all summer. Add in a VO Mitts and Cozens combo? I haven't bought in to the "Quinn or Peterka will have to be sent down because there's not room for both in the top 6" school because this team looks much more suited to wearing opponents down by rolling over 4 lines

I think those comments (like most offered the media) are calculated for the consumption of the audience: in this case, the players. I think there is an organizational position that putting the players in the best position to succeed requires them to focus entirely on the process — today as opposes to yesterday or tomorrow. Do the right things and the results will talk care of themselves. It's worked for the Bills.

Division for me. I should learn to read. I'll go 9th

In his 3rd pro season, Bryson established himself as a full-time NHLer, ranking 7th on the team in games played and 4th in total ice time, accomplishing the latter despite not playing much short-handed and barely at all on the power play. Only Rasmus Dahlin had more even strength minutes for Buffalo. His 49% possession numbers were middle of the pack for the team, and most of his counting numbers — defensive and offensive — ranked outside the team’s blue line leaders. His playing time dropped significantly in April to under 15 minute a game after the arrival of Owen Power. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=187489 Any questions about what the Sabres brass think of Bryson should have been answered in July when he signed a 2-year deal with a 1.85 AAV. The deal — notably higher than those signed this summer by higher-scoring peers like Sean Durzi and Timothy Lillegren — put Bryson 142nd among NHL defencemen; a ranking that says he should perform as a solid #5. He has no upward mobility among LHD on the depth chart behind Dahlin, Power and Samuelson. He may face some pressure from Lawrence Pilut for his current 3LD spot, but has shown the ability to play on his offhand should he be needed at RD. What do you expect from Jacob Bryson?

But is he gruntled?

So it was confirmed by Adams and Granato today that there will be a captain, it’s been discussed extensively this summer. It will be announced before the start of the season. Adams made reference to finalizing “the leadership group”. Donnie talked about Okposo Anderson and Girgensons being great veteran leaders who aren’t threatened by the younger guys, but also how there is a large group of guys following them who can be leaders and who they want to clear the way for them to continue being leaders. He also talked about a captain not being the same as being a leader, about a captain needing to get into the faces of his teammates, and about the difficulties of younger guys acting like a captain toward older guys. I found it interesting how the next two questions, maybe coincidentally, led him to launch into descriptions of Thompson and Dahlin that made them sound a lot like players who would be on that next tier. It occurred to me that the three veterans that they trotted out to the media today - Okposo, Thompson and Dahlin - struck me very much as the likely C and 2 As.

Granato said the breakdown of lines and squads in the early days is mostly about making sure rookies were matched up and interacting with vets. It’s cultural. Lines will start becoming a thing as they head into October.

Interesting how Donnie put some of the injury issues from last year on the team being young, eager to overachieve and not yet versed in their ability to be efficient. Ice time over the last month of the season: Dahlin 24:05 Jokiharju 22:17 Power 22:05 Samuelsson 21:41 Fitzgerald 15:11 Bryson 14:21

Quotes from Donnie on Quinn and Peterka: “I don’t think about them showing me they’re ready…they’ve earned the right, we know them, these are guys that are going to help us. We know they are going to help us.” “Where they’re at in the process, that’s what we need to evaluate.” ”We want them to be in our lineup.” Sounds to me like there’s a pretty wide landing pad.

The results on the ice have been inconclusive, though they seem pointed in the right direction. But that's not all Terry and Kim care about. The results in the market have been good: the media have largely bought in and the results are showing in ticket sales, attendance at fan events and the general buzz in the community — in the streets and on-line. It's amazing how far attitudes have come in just a year. And the results inside the building seem to be outstanding: we're attracting and keeping off-ice talent and people seem to like working for the Buffalo Sabres. If you don't believe the words coming out of the mouths of players like Tuch, Cozens, Dahlin, Thompson, Anderson, Hinostroza and Okposo, go back and watch Jerry Forton's interview at the end of the draft again. I think it's pretty standard in the NHL for an owner to extend a GM going into the final year of his contract if he's happy with the job being done. It's not much more complicated than that.

This is true. But what he is calling “soft tanking” is different, It’s about not using all the assets (cap space, picks, prospects) at your disposal to make the team as good as you can right now. I think Adams believes it will accelerate development of the prospects and build culture. I think @PerreaultForever thinks Adams believes it will keep the team low in the standings where they can accumulate more and better assets.

I don’t think for Adams it’s about making the playoffs this year versus 24/25; they are looking to build a team that once it makes the playoffs will stay there for a decade. There’s been no lying involved. Separately, I think Adams has more faith in his staff, his players and their development than you do. You’ve posted a lot on here about culture but you don’t seem to have lot of patience for the time and effort it takes to establish it.

Fantastic piece. Really showcases what I like about this kid: smarter than everyone else with the hands to execute.

Nothing I’d like to see more than Zemgus to be here for the good times. He deserves it. The guy’s been suffering as long as we have and never stopped pushing.

I think the fan base loves JJ but is still underrating him a tad. My lasting impression of JJP was his playoff dominance. He was so good against a couple nasty teams. He is such a strong, explosive skater, his hands and vision are very good and he competes hard. He has all the elements, including the intangibles, to be a legitimate first-line NHL winger. His ceiling is as good as any forward in the organization. For this team to become a true contender someone will have elevate beyond their hype like Bergeron and Kucherov did. JJ’s our best bet to be that player. I think he makes the team and is a making an impact by the end of the season.

Or for Gold: Olofsson Mitts Asplund Peterka Cozens Hinostroza

Gold has the top D, Blue the 1st line. Guessing combos from today’s groupings: Skinner Tuch Thompson Olofsson Cozens Mitts Quinn Krebs Okposo