dudacek

Also, is there a cap squeeze issue? Not sure how LTIR works exactly for a 10-week injury.

So he can’t follow in his footsteps because he’s 10 months younger, full stop?

Oh, I think they signed Cooley and Tokarski because they expect one of the top 3 to be moved and everyone involved knows it.

It might also matter if they can get something for either in a trade. Meaning they keep the guy with the lesser trade value because the difference between the 2 in their mind is negligible

Things like this matter if he ends up playing at a level somewhere in vicinity of Vinnie Hinostroza to JJ Peterka. What if he's capable of being Clayton Keller, who put up 65 points as an NHL rookie when he was 10 months older than Benson and about the same size?

I don't think it's an even battle: two games each, winner take all. i think the job is UPL's unless he whiffs completely over the entirety of camp while Comrie shines.

Not really arguing with this. I was just responding to the "did nothing to help carry the squad" by pointing out that the sabres were badly outplayed for more than half the game and until Power's awful play setting up the shortie, he kept them in it.

i think he stopped something like 22 of 23 shots in more than half a game where his team had about 10?

A lot of bubble guys getting equal shots against NHLers. Good litmus test. back to back for Johnson and his 3rd game in 5 nights? Plus all 3 prospects games? Really giving him a hard look.

Here’s what Donnie thinks: “How would you stick around?” Granato said. “You look at young players and size and strength is an automatic. You can’t put a guy in the NHL no matter how talented he is if he can’t keep up with the size and strength of players in the NHL. He stripped and stole some pucks and forced some plays against guys that are 30 or 40 pounds heavier than him (against Washington). He pushed them back, forced them into bad ice and eventually there were turnovers. That was impressive. … That was something I never would have guessed a player would have done that quick.”

All the junior players are now gone save Benson. AHL guys are still needed for tonight and maybe Saturday, but I suspect they’ll be a massive cut soon where they’ll break off into their own camp by Sunday or Monday and the main camp will get down to about 30 I suspect most of Rosen, Kulich, Benson, Johnson will survive that cut. It will be interesting to see how many of the guys like Weissbach, Davidson, Biro, Rousek will.

I think people are letting their overall opinion of UPL colour their picture of last nights game. He let in one long shot, and 2 breakaways. He stopped 25 shots, including several flurries down low and for the most part looked controlled. The team in front of him was badly outplayed and he was OK. That game didn’t win him any ground, but I doubt it cost him any either.

I have to add, that I probably shouldn’t have lumped Lukas Rousek in with the AHLers and longshots because I had him pencilled in to the NHL lineup this year. But if you watched him, you can’t really blame me. He had the best spot in the lineup beside Cozens and did absolutely nothing to distinguish himself from the crowd. I’d say Murray and certainly Biro have been better, never mind the “real” prospects.

It was like reconnecting with the ex night: all the players we worry about reinforced why we worry; Bryson got overpowered down low like Bryson does UPL whiffed on a long shot, like UPL does Olofsson failed to assert himself in any appreciable way like Olofsson does Jost looked like a JAG, like Jost does Krebs hustled a lot and accomplished a little, like Krebs does. Most of the rest of the lineup consisted of minor leaguers and longshots, who looked like minor leaguers and longshots (I thought Brett Murray was the best of that bunch). The notable exception was Ryan Johnson, who is a legitimate prospect and continues to show it. He will be an NHL regular.

And our only key guys who would be playing a back-to-back would be Cozens and Power. We will have ability to respond with a pretty solid lineup of our own.

I’m implying that many 18-year-olds can and do chart their own paths even into such risky, demanding vocations as forestry, fighting wildfires and the military (I also think that a lot of what you posit is only reflective of those in positions of privilege, but that’s not a discussion for this thread). Keeping it strictly to hockey and the discussion at hand, I think the structure and support system an NHL team is capable of putting in place for its $3 million asset is far superior to what one would find at most colleges. And I’d argue that even in the “prove the exception” scenario that you think should be the base point, that collecting data to make a determination on a case-by-case basis on how Benson should proceed is exactly what the Sabres are doing and a process I support.

And I agree with all of this in terms of precepts. The one thing you haven’t tied in for me is why Zach Benson is clearly at risk here and others might not be. 18-year-olds going off on their own to live as adults is a fact of life. Benson has been living away from his family, travelling around the country, playing against significantly bigger and stronger opponents since he was 15. He has been preparing to make this step, literally, for years. What criteria should be used to make that determination who is ready and who is not?

No, I think you’ve expressed your position very well: Benson is (at least for the purposes of this particular debate) a child and therefore not ready for the adult endeavour that is NHL hockey. I disagree that it’s his age and/or physique should automatically make that call and instead think that his play should be the determining factor. I think ultimately you’re arguing that the NHL might need to rethink its eligibility rules because allowing 18-year-olds is exposing at least some of them to unnecessary risk. Good talk.

You realize this argument holds for every single player in every single contact sport?

I'm saying maybe Benson isn't the helpless little boy you've decided he is. The preseason is helping to determine whether or not he has the ability to cope, just as it is for the similarly sized Connor Bedard — who everyone has pencilled into an NHL lineup — and just as it did for Keller. I'm using the Gerbe example to point out that the risks of the game are inherent to it, and aren't necessarily a product of physical development. We could talk about the Lindros brothers or many other mammoth human beings whose careers were cut short.

The bold is short-sighted. If he makes the team better, that is the best reason, and should be the only reason that matters. Gerbe was 24 in 2011. the analogy doesn't follow. On the other hand, Clayton Keller is the same size as Benson is right now. When he was an even smaller teenage rookie he put up 65 points. He's survived for 6 years at that size in the NHL without significant injury. I'm not saying Benson is ready. I am saying his play should determine that, not any bias about small players.

Agree completely. Of course, the same applies to Rosen, Kulich, Rousek and anyone else competing for a spot.

I think people need to spend less time thinking about their pet theories on development and their master plan for the roster and more time watching Zach Benson play. This team has developed a culture/environment that will allow any young player to thrive if that player is ready. Quinn's absence has created a hole. The pertinent questions are the on-ice questions and so far the answers are 'yes'.

i thought his intensity came and went, although he ramped it up more often than the other top vets in the lineup. Couldn't disagree more with "invisible" though. He had 2 assists, one of which was a beauty, was easily the best Sabre along the wall, and probably had the puck on his stick more than any player out there. To me, he was very noticeable.

Disappointed there’s no Clifton or Johnson. No Girgs or Okie yet either. Donnie letting the vets ease in. VO, UPL and especially Power get a turn to step into the spotlight as the regulars to watch closely tonight. Important game for Rousek. Let’s see if Ryan Johnson can keep impressing.