dudacek

Point blank, but that puck went through UPL.

Tage has probably been the most dangerous Sabre so far during the exhibitions. Of course that’s definitely a double-edge sword.

LOL, ^^^ and how Connolly transformed is exactly why I have hope for Casey.

Most interesting opinion Ive read is an AHL Carl Hagelin. Sabres obviously hoping they can develop him in to an NHL Carl Hagelin.

That would be fantastic. I wouldn't bet on it, but to my way of thinking it's still possible.

So this has no effect on future waiver claims right? Like we're not all of a sudden last in line now if, say, Alex Nedjelkovic comes available on waivers?

Well that's a weird one. Kinda doubt he played with Donnie at the USNDTP. Dude's got a head of hair on him. That's about all I've got.

A loss to the Chiefs doesn't make the Bills a pretender any more than three blowouts over losers makes them a contender. It's clear they are a very good team. How good will be determined by the playoffs, nothing else.

Is Jack Eichel's surgery going to affect the health of anyone other than Jack Eichel?

His development this year will be one of the the keys for the team moving forward. Kid has talent. Just not sure if it's Derek Plante talent, or Derek Roy talent. What I liked about the end of last season was that he was starting to look like the player he was in junior, in terms of how he attacked the game and he did it without a ton of support; he was the driver.

I know I've been in the minority around here, but I think Skinner has been ineffective for a long time now. He didn't produce away from Eichel; he didn't even really produce his last few stints with Eichel. And he's not getting anyone remotely like Eichel to play with now. I just haven't seen any signs of him turning this around. Hope I'm wrong, but I think he will continue to be a non-factor.

A 7th round draft pick who has done nothing but improve since being plucked out of Sweden in 2014, Olofsson has carved a reputation based around his elite shot. He's perceived largely as a power play specialist, scoring about 40 per cent of his points and nearly 50 per cent of his goals with the man advantage. Despite that he's put up good possession numbers on a bad Sabres team, with a career Corsi of 56% His career NHL scoring totals equate to 25 goals and 32 assists over an 82-game season. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=142605 Unlike a lot of Sabres, Olofsson did not increase his production after Ralph Krueger was fired. He finished the season with 11 points, — only 4 of them goals — over his final 25 games. What do you expect from Olofsson this season.

This clip needs more love. Can I say Power could be Larry Robinson?

Easy kid to pull for.

Hagg apparently a card-carrying member of the "something to prove" gang. https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/trade-to-sabres-energized-robert-hagg-i-cant-wait-to-get-to-buffalo/

Jeff Skinner jumped immediately into the NHL after being the 7th overall pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft, scoring 31 goals and winning the Calder trophy as rookie of the year. He either paced, or scored outright, a minimum of 24 goals in 7 of his 8 Carolina seasons, and has topped 30 goals four times in his career. Even after his recent struggles , he still sits at 5th overall in the entire league in even strength goals over the past decade. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=116085 Over the past two seasons however, that ranking dips to 103rd as Skinner lost his spot on the first line under coach Ralph Krueger, then was dropped to the 4th line and even sat in the press box for a few games. Like many of his teammates, he got a stats bump after Krueger was fired. However, that still only amounted to 4 goals and 9 points over his final 26 games. His struggles scoring actually date back to midway through his 40-goal Buffalo debut season. He's on a current run of 31 goals in his past 151 games. What do you expect from Skinner this season?

Kisakov was actually a second-rounder and wasn't a reach there because he has a ton of skill and competes. Kisakov has also played three games already this year in the KHL. But any player drafted at 150 pounds is clearly a pick based on projection. He is literally 60 pounds smaller than Novikov

I don't think it's strange at all, I think it's highly relevant. Career years by current Sabres: Okposo 69 Skinner 53 Butcher 44 Dahlin 44 Olofsson 42 Miller 41 Eakin 41 Hinostroza 39 Girgensons 30 Mittelstadt 25 Caggiula 20 Bjork 19 Jokiharju 15 Thompson 14 Cozens 13 Hayden 13 Asplund 11 The entire roster could have career years and we could still end up with the worst offence in the NHL. And even that's misleading, because there's no way Okposo, Skinner, Eakin, Butcher and Miller are going come close to their career years. Without Jack and Sam on the PP, it should shock no one if Dahlin leads this team in scoring with less 50 points. He and Mittelstadt are the only two of the above, in my opinion, who have any chance of even hitting 40. I'm squinting real hard and hoping for a rookie of the year type campaign for R2. How is this team going to score goals?

I hope so. He had it in him, and given what he did to finish the year in Chicago, he still does.

This game featured our likely starting goalie, five of our 7 best defencemen, and 9 forwards who will be on the opening night roster.

Whatever else Craig Anderson is, he is a testament in perseverance. A 3rd-round pick by Calgary way back in 1999, it took Anderson a full decade and four NHL organizations to finally emerge as an NHL #1 goalie with Colorado in 2009-10. Traded to Ottawa the following season, Anderson spent the better part of the past decade as the Senators' number one, compiling some very good results, including a Masterton trophy-winning performance leading the team on an extended run to the semi-finals as his wife battled cancer in 2017. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=42354 Anderson's star faded after that run. He put up mediocre numbers for three consecutive seasons on a fading Sens team and was not offered a contract coming out of the pandemic last year. He signed a minimum-wage deal with Washington in a taxi squad role, playing just 4 games. Now 40, most expected him to retire this summer, but when the Sabres offered him a another minimum-wage deal in the wake of failing to re-sign Linus Ullmark, he jumped at the chance. What do you expect from Anderson this season?

Most of you are familiar with the "best prospect in hockey" edition Casey Mittelstadt, the 8th overall pick who blew up the World Junior Tournament with 11 points in 7 games and game-breaking, clutch plays. You are also familiar with the "Ralph Krueger" version of Casey Mittelstadt, the one who put up 7 points in 40 games, bouncing in and out of the press box, between centre and wing, and from Buffalo to Rochester, and looking pretty much lost while doing it. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=192483 Last year finished with a tantalizing glimpse of a 3rd Casey Mittelstadt, one that scored 9 goals and 17 points over the final 22 games, mostly in a top-6 centre role. What do you expect from Mittelstadt this season?

Miller was a 5th-rounder who the Los Angeles Kings flipped to the Bruins in the Milan Lucic package, after he earned some notoriety by winning both the hardest shot and fastest skater competitions at the AHL all-star game. He was picked by Vegas in the expansion draft, and broke out along with his team, anchoring their PP and scoring more than 40 points during that Cinderella debut season run to the Stanley Cup finals. He earned a fair amount of notoriety as an analytics darling with Vegas and Jason Botterill spent a 2nd and a 5th to add him to a growing collection of puck-moving RD. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=130532 Miller's season last year echoed his first in Buffalo, as he failed to cement a spot in the top 4, or time on the PP and instead bounced in and out of the lineup. He is a pending UFA. What do you expect from Miller this season?

I look at the depth chart and I can see him getting a lot of ice time this year. I think he'll be like Torrey Mitchell and Bryan Flynn during the tank years: you can't fault his effort but he won't accomplish much.

It definitely happened around that time. He was bad to finish the season and everyone forgave him because he was so good in the first half. He was bad the next season and everyone blamed Krueger. He was bad last season and everyone blamed Krueger. He was bad after Krueger got fired and everyone blamed Krueger. This isn't a new thing at all.