dudacek

The intent is what do you think will happen. I'll reword the question slightly.

We got a month until the season starts and a roster full of question marks. I'm going to post one of these a day leading up to the start of the season to see what Sabrespace thinks about our roster. *** A 2017 2nd-rounder, UPL was crowned the Sabres goalie of the future thanks to a remarkable D+2 season where he was named OHL MVP and led the Finns to a World Junior gold medal. Since then, hip surgery and the pandemic have conspired to limit him to only 54 games over his first two professional seasons. He was very good in 23 games in Cincinnati, OK in 13 in Finland, and underwhelming in 24 with Rochester. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=196751 He also got 4 starts late last year in Buffalo. The Sabres are very high on him even as his star has fallen among various scouting services. They seem prepared to let him challenge for a spot in the NHL this year. What do you expect from him?

Pretty low, given the absolute quiet out there. Maybe it shouldn't be because the window remains wide open; there are still nearly two weeks until training camp and it is prudent for the teams considering dumping that type of player to see what develops during their training camps first. But it really feels like Adams wants to see the return from a Jack trade before tying up any loose ends.

Sabres site now lists him as 77. That’s new

I dont know. I’m still hoping Artem Kryukov can make the jump.

Peterka will be a useful middle six winger who might score 20 in an NHL season if he hits his ceiling. (and figures out how to deal with crowd noise 😜)

Unless their names are Robert or Gare. Or Glenn Anderson, or Bill Barber, Neil Broten, Wendel Clark, Dit Clapper, Ken Daneyko, Hap Day, Bernie Ferderko, Clark Gillies, Bill Goldsworthy, Butch Goring, Al Hamilton, Milan Hejduk, Lionel Hitchman, Yvon Labre, Jere Lehtinen, Keith Magnusson... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Hockey_League_retired_numbers The established standard for jersey retirement is shamefully low, but under that standard Miller is an easy yes.

Notable ommision is Lukas Rousek. I saw an Instagram post that he was en route to Buffalo, so I wonder if there was an immigration- or COVID-protocol-related issue.

I can’t get past the goaltending. I think the defence can move the puck well enough and forwards can skate and work hard enough that a season like Ottawa’s last year may have been in reach. But unless UPL pushes the clock forward 5 years, or Anderson rolls it back 5 years, I don’t see how it can’t be a disaster.

Glad to see our 4 2021 CHL picks will be taking part. Excited to see what Quinn and Peterka might show. And that has to be the most no-name defence corps to ever wear a Sabres jersey.

Scott Wheeler @scottcwheeler Working on my annual Calder Trophy ranking and as part of that process I’m poring over rosters to try to gauge where the opportunities are and… my God the Sabres are going to be bad. However bad you think they’re going to be, they’re going to be worse. Scott Wheeler @scottcwheeler · Sep 10 Replying to @scottcwheeler We know Buffalo's openly tanking. We know that the Coyotes are too. But when you look at the roster in Arizona, you can still say “Hey, there’s Phil Kessel, and Clayton Keller, and Jakob Chychrun, and Nick Schmaltz.” The Sabres are just going to ice a team of broken players. I don't think the above sentiments (from an Athletic writer) are too far off from what the general perception is around the league. People think we are heading for an absolute tire fire. What do you think?

PIttsburgh defence looks real good and well-prepared for us. Buffalo defence looks even better. Allen to Davis (twice) looked pretty ***** elite to me.

Sorry, I was asking a legitimate question. I don’t know how his numbers compare to other 17-year-old USHL defencemen or 18-year-old college freshmen and thought you might. You’re kinda my go-to for that stuff.

Have you done a deep dive into comparables there? 14 points in 26 games as an 18-year-old college freshman seems pretty good to me. Cale Makar had 21 points in 34 games as a college freshman and he was 19. Quinn Hughes had 29 in 37 in his freshman year, also at 19. Power had 40 points in 45 games to lead all USHL defencemen in scoring as a 17-year-old.

Nice segment. You gotta like how he appears to be able to make plays at high speed, yet never seems to be playing the game too fast for his brain or his skill set. From what I’ve seen of Poltapov, he has similar qualities in his game. I’ve seen less of Rosen, but he’s also described as being cut from similar cloth. If this is the type of team Adams is building, I can get on board with that.

Well, the Kings already have $15.5 million invested in two veteran centres for the next three years, so what’s another $10 million centre, right? And they signed LD Edler to go with Bjornfot and Maatta, so they definitely need to add Hagg. And they have $2.7 million in cap space, so they shouldn’t have any problem fitting another $11.6 under the cap. I mean everybody thinks Eklund makes stuff up, but you think he could at least put in a little more effort. Personally I don’t really see the Kings making an offer, but if they did Johnny Quick would almost certainly be included as a cap dump. Something like Eichel and Dell for Quick, Turcotte, and 2 other good prospects/picks might be in the ballpark of what might be on the table, but even that leaves the Kings over the cap. Looks like Eklund is going to make the rounds for Eichel. New York last week, the Kings this week, maybe Minny next?

🍻

Very interesting conversation about Power (and also Dahlin) in the Athletic’s Pronman best Under23 podcast. https://theathletic.com/podcast/240-the-athletic-hockey-show/?episode=132 (starts around 24 minutes) Pronman ranks Power 9 and the host grilled him on how he could be ahead of Miro Heiskanen (11) given what Heiskanen has already accomplished in the NHL. The answer, essentially, was his toolbox. Pronman believes that Power can do everything Heiskanen can do - skate and move the puck and think the game - at a similar level, but with all the added advantages of length and strength that a 6’6” frame provides. He’s not saying Power will be Hedman, but there is a 50 per cent chance he could. He also said because of Power’s unique toolkit that no one else has, there is a very realistic chance that he is a key piece of a championship team. He said a lot of NHL people look at history, then look at Power’s tools and conclude there is no way he is not a top pairing defenceman at the minimum, with an upside of being absolutely top echelon. Interesting take.

I don't see how trading, say Lafreniere and Schneider for example, for Eichel wouldn't make the Rangers a better team, now, obviously, but also for the next five years. Yes, other pieces would have to be involved to make the cap work, but if I'm a Ranger fan, I'm all over a deal like that; I win that deal. Yet most wouldn't even consider it. They either have a much different opinion of Jack Eichel than I do, or they are outright liars.

Anaheim has always been the most attractive partner from our perspective, but the Rangers, Wild and Vegas should be the most interested buyers. The Rangers still make the most sense in terms of a team where Eichel is a perfect fit for where they are and what they need, and where they could afford to pay a fair price yet still 'win' the trade. Just don't pay attention to their fans.

Sorry for unintentionally creating drama. @Thorny's opinions about my opinions are always considered, frequently dissected, and usually enjoyed. I thought his post missed the forest for the trees and my reply was an attempt to tell him so. I have no intention of stopping posting.

I don't "know' anything about these guys. Obviously. Entirely narratives I've built in my head from what I've seen and read, to occupy myself in a dull stretch of off-season. Like most of my posts since April. I'll shut up until training camp starts.

Samuelsson and Cozens look like the types you want in command of your dressing room. Quinn and Levi are confident yet humble and take nothing for granted. I like the early signs of some of the personality types the Sabres are bringing in. These are four guys I'm really rooting for. Means nothing if they cant play.

From Samson to Samuelsson. Hot take: Mattias is in the starting lineup opening night, quickly becomes a go-to penalty killer and is cemented in the Sabres top four by the end of the season.

Somewhat surprised by this chart, though I probably shouldn't have been. https://theathletic.com/2809249/2021/09/05/jesperi-kotkaniemis-perception-of-his-own-development-is-something-the-canadiens-must-address-immediately/ The Sabres 2nd in the NHL in games played by 1st-round picks since 2012 with 1877. They have more than twice the number of 12 other teams. They also lead the league in 1st-round picks over that stretch, with 14.