dudacek

Didn’t take long for Benson to do Benson things

I’m just hoping his body holds up over the season.

Erik Johnson sitting out concerns me. He’s 35. How available will he be? The plus side is I’m really looking forward to test-driving a Mule/Ryan Johnson combo: once Ryan finds his footing there could be a lot of reliable minutes for blue and gold right there.

Kinda makes me think this is more due diligence on Benson: how much of his performance has been the product of his linemates; can he play further down the roster; how does he compare to Rousek in the same situations against the same opponents? Everything they’ve done so far with this kid indicates he’s getting very real consideration for making the team.

This ^^^ I think Freeman’s take, while factual, is missing some context. Mitts did not play poorly then pile points in garbage time 3 years ago, he was marginalized by a ***** coach who squandered the talents of many players during that season’s first half, then he started to blossom under a good coach. Two years ago, he was hurt in the very first game of the season, missed a ton of action, and never fully recovered. And last year his “slow” start still represented a “good” player. And his finish wasn’t just good, it was excellent. As @GASabresIUFAN points out, this a three-year journey of steady improvement through adversity, not 2 1/2 years of poor play followed by a surprising 1/2 season leap. It’s a testament to his perseverance and Granato’s coaching. If the Sabres make a leap this year, Mittelstadt will almost certainly be a big reason why.

I’m sure I posted about this before, but to me the litmus test was the Florida teams. Historically, any time we’d give them a game, they’d ratchet up the dirty and we’d wilt. That didn’t happen last year, we matched them elbow for elbow and slash for slash. (Head-to-head, I got a real sense that we may have passed Tampa last year. Hoping to see proof of that this year) Cozens, Dahlin, Krebs…these guys aren’t skinny, timid little kids any more. They give as good as they get. Nobody is pushing around mammoth human beings like Tuch or Tage or Samuelsson. Erik Johnson and Jordan Greenway are 2 of the biggest men in the NHL who can actually play. Clifton and Stillman will pop you first. More importantly, these guys have each other’s backs. There are 3 guys on the roster (4 if Benson makes it) that I worry about being able to show up when the bullets start flying - Jost, Bryson and Olofsson - and none of them are likely to be everyday players.. This team is not going to be pushed around this year.

What I want see is more acknowledgement that Stillman, Greenway, Levi, Johnson and Clifton represent an attempt to do exactly that: size, strength, defence, experience and a #1 goalie on sensible contracts at the cost of some secondary futures. Five players on a 23-man roster represents a 20-25% turnover. It remains to be seen if they’re the right players, but, on paper, Adams has done exactly what you wanted him to. The time is now.

To be clear, I think Cozens is a better player and has a higher ceiling. I was mostly referring to my sense that a lot of Sabres fans don’t think they’re “in the same stratosphere” when the numbers last year said they kinda are. Production-wise, Cozens was the 28th highest scoring centre in the league last year. Mitts was 45th - basically a great 2C and a good one. In terms of puck possession, Mitts had a 51.5% to Dylan’s 49.4%, so a little above average and a little below. Mitts also had better defensive analytics last year in the models Ive seen. Analytics show each has an elite trait: Cozens as an entry guy (96th percentile), Casey as a setup man (98th percentile).

Again, being the 1RW on the opening roster does not mean he’ll be there tomorrow, or even in the 2nd period. Lines are pretty fluid things. Also, the Sabres have 13 veteran forwards (including Quinn) and 9 veteran defencemen (including Clague). They will have Levi and one other rookie on the opening night roster, which is easily absorbed by any team, even cup contenders.

As much as I dislike getting fixated into line hierarchies, if we’re going to label lines the Mitts line is pretty clearly the second line. The difference between Cozens and Mitts mat not be as wide as this board seems to think, and Greenway and Tuch are light years better than VO and Peterka, especially in the defensive end. I put a fair amount of faith into the preseason practice combos, that’s where players are getting the reps and learning how to connect. That said, people might be surprised at how little time “fixed” combos like Tage/Tuch/Skinner and Peterka/Cozens/Quinn actually spent together over the course of a season between penalties, injuries and special teams, never mind actual line juggling. Are we thinking Benson s sitting out this one, just making the trip as the spare? The others have all been linemates in practice. Same for Power?

We bought our 2008 brand-new. Still have it and it has never given me a lick of trouble. Easily the most reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned

Looked to me like Ryan Johnson has been playing on the right side during exhibitions. I remember reading he had played there in college, but over the past 2 years he’s been playing the left with Brock Faber on Minny’s first pair. Dahlins flexibility should give them all kinds of options, but I expect them to at least start the year with that R/L base

I liked Asplund a lot as a prospect: thought he was smart and hardworking. Never saw him as a key guy, but I did have hopes he could be a useful bottom 6 centre - kinda like some today project Kozak. When push came to shove he wasn’t talented/fast/strong/mean enough to translate his game to the NHL level. Don’t know that he was overrated as a player (don’t recall much angst about him being benched or traded) as much as he never fulfilled his promise as a prospect.

Mine too. Well, not as big a Bills fan, but she makes a point of watching with me every Sunday.

I’m not sure there is a combination that includes VO that we’d like. I kinda look at it as he’s the placeholder for Quinn. I will say that a Tuch/Mitts/Greenway line has the potential to be a load in all three zones. As in, I’d be comfortable matching them up against top lines in a way that takes the sting out of breaking up Tuch/Tage/Skinner. Also, we’ve seen variations of the above so frequently I will be kinda shocked if we don’t start the season exactly like the Tweet says. In my opinion, Benson making the roster, where Greenway and Olofsson slot in on the lines, and who the spares will be are the only things still up for debate.

Not arguing your point, which I think is valid. What I’ve heard from Adams is his goal of giving Granato options, and what I’ve heard from Granato is a desire to create mismatches: forcing the opponent to choose which line to target with its best defenders, and letting his other line(s) profit. In speaking to the latter, he’s specifically spoken about breaking up Tuch and Thompson, who he seems to regard as our 2 best forwards, and have each driving their own line. I think the success of Mitts with Tuch down the stretch - and the team’s success during that run - is feeding the thought process. I also wonder how much of it is analytically driven. Regardless of what they’ve shown in games, Thompson/Skinner Tuch/Mittelstadt have been consistent pairs in practices. Benson’s attraction for Granato under this plan comes from the fact his pesky two-way game may prove to be a much better fit with Thompson and Skinner in a top-six role than VO’s more passive offence or Greenway’s more plodding defence. Donnie doesn’t expect Benson to be Tuch, but he really wants him to be able to be at least Quinn because it would effectively give him the ability to ice 3 dangerous lines (Cozens/Peterka being the 3rd) instead of a situation like last year where neither the Cozens line, nor the Mitts line proved capable of succeeding 5-on-5 when used as line 2. Basically, I think Plan A for the above template was to plug Patrick Kane into the top 9. I don’t know that they planned for Benson to be his placeholder (or even to make him redundant), but his play is making it an argument.

If Benson makes the team, why can’t it simply mean that: a) they think he’s ready? and b) they think he helps them win? And if he doesn’t, why can’t it mean they think he’s not, and they don’t?

Paul Hamilton asked about that: Being new to the team, it takes time to get to know the system and the other players on the ice. Clifton thought there was a better way to do that. "Honestly [Don Granato] asked, and I only wanted to play a couple. It was more productive for me to get into practice, get reps, and learn the systems before I jump out there for a little preseason live action," said Clifton following Friday's practice. "But yes, I’m itching. The more games you watch, the more you want to be in, but soon enough." When it comes to veteran players, Granato makes it his business to find out exactly what they need to get ready. The Sabres head coach felt Clifton and Erik Johnson are in the same category, as neither has played yet in a preseason game, "They know what they need to get ready for a NHL season, and if they feel two games is enough, then it’s enough," said Granato following Friday's practice. "The other side is that the practices, the number of reps they get of system motions and movements in practice, far exceeds what you’re going to get in a game. There's tons more reps, and they’ve liked the practices and they’ve extracted that out of practice. And then the communication, they’re getting a rep and then 30 seconds later, they’re getting another rep and another rep. And every time they’re communicating back with their defensive partner and that scenario that just happened, they value that most."

Looks like they’ve updated heights and weights. Rousek is now a 200-pounder, as is Cozens. Kulich a sturdy 6’1, 186. And how about Rosen at 6’0” 173? Isn’t that like 2 inches and 15 pounds since he was drafted?

Stillman, Johnson, Bryson and Clague have been playing about as much as the schedule allows, while the actual top 6 have played 4 games combined, 5 after tonight.

Only thing surprising about that roster is that they’re still giving Cecconi and Davies a shot. The forwards are a very interesting group. Looks like the 5 most likely candidates (benson, Biro, Kulich, Rosen and Rousek for the last 2 spots on the roster. And my god, are they giving Johnson and Benson a hard look. They each played 3 games in 4 nights for prospects tourney and I think they’re each playing their 4th in 7 nights tonight. That’s 7 games in two weeks with a lot of hard practices mixed in. Donnie definitely wants to see what he has.

Not disagreeing with you, i just wonder what people thought of those players at the time (Crosby nothwithstanding). Would Jonathan Toews be Jonathan Toews if he hadn't won cups? Won't Jack Hughes be Patty Kane if he wins a cup and Mitch Marner if he consistently pukes all over the 1st round? Who knows what history will say about Power Dahlin, Cozens, Quinn, Thompson, Benson...in 15 years?

I’m with this, a Thursday game against a vanilla opponent in October still 3 weeks away has already sold 11-12,000 tickets? That seems way ahead of where they’ve been.

Right, but we want to know what he is in the 23-24 season 😜

I thought the clock was set by age at the start of the season? That’s what I’ve used and I thought that’s what Elite Prospects uses as well. Legitimately don’t know if there is an NHL standard, although I suspect there should be something defining age for purposes of the CBA. @Taro T might know for sure, if you aren’t. (Levi turns 22 on Dec. 27, for anyone wondering)