dudacek

Semantics maybe, but there’s no doubt that Mitts is this team’s #5 forward, and I think it’s highly like Quinn would be #6 if healthy. Peterka may beat out Olofsson and Krebs for #6 while Quinn is out, but JJ was #10 in ice time last season, regardless of the fact he was often on Cozens wing. Krebs Girgensons and Okposo was an effective line last year, statistically the only line on the Sabres that actually played good defence and the type of hockey you seem to like, but I guess mileage may vary.

I think Rousek was #14 on the depth chart before Quinn got hurt and the fact that he’s both a winger and a versatile one like Quinn should cement his spot on the opening night roster. But I do think he’s a spare, and he’s vulnerable to being leapfrogged by a number of younger, more talented players. Really, I see him being this year’s Hinostroza in terms of how I expect he gets used. Hopefully, he’s as serviceable.

I think you’ve nailed the debate right there: I like Johnson, Clifton, Jokiharju, Okposo, Krebs, Girgensons, Greenway, Peterka as a bottom half of a roster a lot more than I think you do.

I’m waiting for the discussion to play out before voting. But if the Levi/Miller parallel holds up the way I think it will, and Clifton, Greenway and Johnson do what they’ve been acquired to do, I think the pieces are there. I think we’re going to be good.

I think Lindy was a product of his era and experiences 20 years ago, and isn’t the same coach today that he was then. I think he was very strong on tactics and strategy then, but was also a good leader as defined by the times. I think there is no doubt Don is an excellent leader as defined by modern times. I’d sure as hell work for him. Tactically, I love the style he preaches. It remains to be seen whether he is a good game manager, and whether our flaws in our own end are tied to his system, or the learning curve of his players.

Same reasons most of the good ones step away: The frustrating conversations outweighed the stimulating ones. It’s too bad because he always ranked high on the stimulating end of the spectrum, and, for me, his loss tilts the balance in the wrong direction.

This is where I am as well. And most of Sabrespace, if the poll so far is any indication. This one is quite interesting to me because the board had left me with the impression there were plenty of people thinking Kulich could be a contributor this year.

Roy, Vanek Pominville, Miller, Gaustad...? Also had a few guys who were spot players for the Sabres the next year like Paille. Does anyone remember that was only a nine-game playoff run? I didn't. The 21/22 Amerks had Quinn Peterka, Krebs, Samuelsson, Rousek and UPL. They went on a 10-game run.

And i agree with you on this, just didn't want people don't think Patrick was suggesting Krebs wasnt good.

Not by the way is poll is going. I was hoping for a little more discussion around the similarities and differences but maybe you've got the right of it.

Being in a position to win the cup and being in a position to contend for the cup arent the same thing. It took Vegas 5 years and a lot of changes to win it, but it has been in a position to contend since day 1. The reason we arent discussing if we can catch and pass Toronto is not because it’s unrealistic. It's because - for the 3rd off-season in a row - we refuse to believe the players we have can be as good as they eventually prove that they are.

This is kinda why I started the thread comparing this team to the 2005/06 team. You never did buy into what development was doing. It wasn’t about biding time until we’re ready to bring in the missing pieces to go for it. It’s been about forging the missing pieces from the pieces at hand. This team - as it is constructed right now - should not be waiting for Kevyn Adams to acquire Connor Hellebuyck or Brett Pesce, or for Matt Savoie and Zach Benson to turn 25. Just like the group did in 05/06, Skinner Tuch Thompson Cozens Mittelstadt Dahlin Power Samuelsson Levi can be, and need to be a contender’s core right now. They have enough size and skill and they've reached the point where they can’t plead inexperience any more. The rest can be, and need to be, a contender’s supporting cast right now. They have talent and they have the depth. Being realistic is being able to say “Florida nearly did it, why can’t we be as good as Florida?” Being realistic is about saying we’ve reached a critical mass to where we can be in the mix every year, just like Boston and Tampa did 10 years ago, or the Leafs did or the Hurricanes did 5 years ago. It’s not about waiting for Boston or Tampa to slip and gift them a spot, it’s about playing the hand we’ve got, stepping up and taking it.

The goal this season and every season from here on in should be the Stanley Cup

Bouncing back nicely from a North American debut season almost entirely lost to injury, Rousek emerged as a savvy, versatile leader for Rochester. His NHL debut didn’t come until late in the year due to the unnaturally good health of the Sabres forwards, but he looked like he belonged in his two-game appearance. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=207535 At 24, Rousek might lack the top end talent of some of the other rookies contending for a roster spot this season, but he is the most mature and has the most complete game. No longer waiver-eligible, Rousek signed a 2-year contract extension this summer comes with a one-way salary in its second year. What do you expect from Rousek this year?

Very few 2022 draft picks pushed their way further up the prospect rankings over the past 12 months than Kulich. His 46 points in 64 games ranked as the best production by a U19 AHL player in 25 years and the 4th best of all time. Although most believe work still needs to be done on his defensive game, one of the most notable things about Kulich is his performance on his last 3 big stages. U18 Worlds: 9 goals and 11 point in 6 games (MVP). U20 Worlds: 7 goals and 9 points in 7 games (all-star). AHL playoffs: 7 goals, 11 points in 12 games. This is a kid who consistently shows up when it counts. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=245580 At least one spot is open on the big club due to the Jack Quinn injury. Kulich has made clear his intention is to claim it and a case may be made that his skill set and AHL success last year make him a prime candidate. That said, it should be noted that his production (.74 points/game) lagged significantly behind where both Quinn (1.36 points/game) and JJ Peterka (.96 points/game) were two years ago as AHL rookies. What do you expect from Kulich this year? (*With 27 and 25 taken, I arbitrarily gave Kulich 15, as the only available number that I know he’s worn previously.)

#1 is mostly about experience, I assume? Miller had played 11 more NHL games than Levi. He was 4 years older and 160 AHL games under his belt. #2 Drury had played 80 playoff games. Hecht 27 and McKee 35. Numminen had played 54 but had never won a playoff series. That was the extent of that team's playoff experience. Erik Johnson has won a cup and played 55 playoff games. Alex Tuch has been to the finals and played 66. Connor Cilfton has also been to the finals and played 46. Tyson Jost has 46 playoff games, Kyle Okposo has 24. #3: In terms of games played, it's not as different as you might think Johnson 920 Numminen 1160 Dahlin 355 McKee 460 Jokiharju 273 Lydman 289 Clifton 232 Kalinin 273 Samuelsson 109 Campbell 187 Power 87 Tallinder 120

I think most of the conversation around here seems to be about whether the Sabres did enough to make the playoffs this year. I'd like to see some conversation to about whether the Sabres have enough pieces in place to break out and become a contending team. What are the differences between this years Sabres and the Sabres of 2005/06? Both teams are loaded with young players breaking in together on the verge of breaking out. Both teams are coming off a year where they missed the playoffs, but showed signs down the stretch. Neither team made significant veteran additions, but sprinkled in a big checking forward late the previous season and added a few judicious pieces on defence in the off-season. Both teams had uncertainty in goal. Can this edition of the Sabres follow in that edition's footsteps? For reference, Forwards: Tage Briere Tuch Dumont Skinner Max Cozens Drury Mitts Connolly Okposo Hecht Krebs Roy Quinn Vanek Peterka Pominville Greenway Grier Olofsson Kotalik Girgensons Gaustad Jost Mair Rousek Pyatt Kulich Paille Defence Dahlin Campbell Power Tallinder Samuelsson McKee Clifton Lydman Jokiharju Kalinin Johnson Numminen Stillman Fitzpatrick Goalie Levi Miller Comrie Biron Luukkonen Noronen

Just so others are aware, the guy Patrick talked about in context was Hall-of-famer Guy Carbonneau, not Johan Larsson.

Agree with every sentence of this post save the last. Nobody is talking about these statements and they should not be left unnoticed: “Should our goal be to make the playoffs, to be 2 points better than this year? No. That’s expected now. You set the goal of winning a Stanley Cup and then you don’t touch that. You don’t run from that. You don’t let that weigh you down at all. The time is now.” - Kyle Okposo "I honestly think we can go for a (Stanley) Cup, so I think that's the attitude everyone has got and the attitude we have to have.” - Owen Power Pretty sure you’re talking about management, but I think it’s more important what’s coming from the room.

It think Jost is more skilled than most skating on NHL 4th lines. He’s also got a ton of NHL experience for his age. These are nice qualities to have when one of your top centres gets hurt and the guy stepping up the chain isn’t an overmatched AAAhler or a wide-eyed kid. He also seems to be a good fit with the vibes. Im just not sure his actual game is what this particular roster needs most; I’d rather have “hard-to-play-against” in that slot. One thing I do wonder is where his head is: he made no bones about wanting to be here, and he has to realize that his career is at a crossroads. A best-case scenario is he comes in highly motivated and provides the type of competition at the bottom of the roster all good teams need.

Clague played 18, 36 and 33 NHL games the past three years. The Sabres projected him as their 7/8/9 (forgot Fitzpatrick) and he did about as well as you'd expect an 8 to play. Not saying this about you particularly, but I'm generally reading that people have inflated opinions of other rosters — that they have NHL defencemen regularly sitting in the press box.

I think last year's Sabres believed they had 2 complementary top 4 guys in Joki and Mule. They still believe in those 2, but discovered they had nothing behind them. This year they believe they have 3, with the addition of Clifton. I think last year's Sabres believed they had 2 decent 3rd pairing guys with Bryson and Lyubushkin and OK depth with Clague and Pilut. They were wrong on all counts except maybe Clague. This year they believe they upgraded Lyubushkin with Johnson and Pilut with Stillman. And they hope Ryan Johnson pushes Bryson and Clague. I don't think there's any doubt they are deeper. We'll see if they're right on Jokiharju and the Johnsons I like Bush better than Bryson and Stillman too. But I think the difference is negligible. and we have a couple intriguing kids pushing now too. i remember Bryson's first 100 NHL games as being better than what we saw last year. I think his failures when elevated into a top 4 role in the 8-game losing streak shattered his confidence. I suspect he'll be better this year.

I know this won't be a popular opinion, but Bryson would among the better #8s in the league. He's a mediocre #6 and an awful #4, but not many 8s have his skating ability and NHL experience.

I was surprised how much the numbers demonstrated he has. In his first year we complained he was weak, turned over the puck too much, and wasn't a good possession player. The statistical improvements in all 3 areas last year were huge. it's a credit to both the coaches and to Krebs' coachability. i really see this kid growing into a valuable middle-six glue guy for a good team, and that happening as early as this year.

The 10th-overall draft pick in 2016, Jost failed to elevate beyond 26 points in five NHL seasons and washed out in Colorado. Seeing NHL talent superior to what he was getting from Vinnie Hinostroza and Rasmus Asplund, Kevyn Adams plucked him from the waiver wire from Minnesota in mid-November. He was an NHL regular for most of the rest of the year, split between a defensive line between Okposo and Girgensons and an offensive one with Mittelstadt and Olofsson. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=170552 Don Granato said it was his mission to rid Jost of the too-conservative tendencies that had been drilled into his head under previous coaches and re-ignite the creativity in his game. He certainly supplied more punch from the bottom 6 than most players cast in that role over the past decade in Buffalo. The question was whether he contributed enough in terms of the shutdown/energy elements more typically supplied by a player in that role. He re-signed as a UFA to a contract that paid him better than most players of his stature, but only committed the team to a single year, making it very much a prove it deal. What do you expect from Jost this year?