dudacek

This is so far removed from the topic at hand - giving Sabre fans first crack at tickets over the fans of other teams - that it should almost be another thread.

It’s not hard to understand: we don’t have a problem with Leaf fans in our building, we have a problem with them taking over the building and ruining our in-game experience. We are powerless to prevent it and appreciate that the team is taking steps to protect us. Ive explained why “ice a better team” is overly simplistic upthread and I’m not going to repeat myself.

Clague was #7 in games played for the D last year with 33. Fitzgerald, 23, Stillman 18 and Pilut 17 were 8, 9, 10 The previous year it went Miller 38, Butcher, 37, and Fitzgerald 32. Bryson was actually #2 that year, after Dahlin.

While I’d have to agree with the bold, I don’t know that you’re seeing the point: the issue here is not preventing 2 or 3,000 opposition fans from showing up, it’s not allowing 12 or 13,000 of them to take over the building like they did last year.

So maybe the plan should be exempting those nearby Canadian postal codes that traditionally buy tickets when the Leafs aren’t in town, or implementing the policy only for Leaf games?

The plan is unfinished. As proposed, it doesn’t affect their season-ticket holder base at all. And it doesn’t even prevent those North of the border from buying tickets, it just makes them wait until the last-minute. Basically all it is attempting to do is make sure the local market has an extended opportunity to fill the arena before opening the gates to the invading Huns.

It’s not hard to get tickets for a Leaf game because the Sabres suck, it hard because there is an extra 5 million Leaf fans competing to get those tickets.

There will always be the fans of a visiting team; they exist in every market and it’s their only chance to see their team. There might be 500,000 Leafs fans within an hour of Vancouver compared to 2 million Canuck fans and 5000 Sabre fans. That’s a helluva lot different than the 2000 Canuck fans 2 million Sabres fans and 5 million Leafs fans within an hour of Buffalo. (Yes, my numbers are made up, but you get my point.) Your stance smacks of “why can’t the poor just get a job, then they won’t be poor any more.”

Maybe, but I don’t think there were 5 million Sabres fans within an hour of their arena. This is more about geography than demographics.

So much this, even if it makes things tougher for this Canadian fan to get tickets. The Florida/Carolina stuff is a false comparison because there is volume issue here that doesn’t exist there: there are literally more Leafs fans within an hour of the game than there are Sabres fans, which creates for those Leaf games a completely different market. That won’t change if the Sabres are good and the Leafs are bad. I don’t want those ***** in my building regardless of what it means to the bottom line of the team or that of the season tIcket holders, and I’m glad the Sabres brass at least recognizes that and agrees.

Statistically, a regression makes sense. Last year's numbers read like an anomaly over what history teaches to expect. But I'm going with the eye test and my sense that Tuch better fits the 'right place, right time" profile and will continue to do what he did last year as long as the team around him gives him the same support and his coach uses him in the same way. Tuch had only played 300 NHL games prior to last season and very few of those with any kind of leadership expectations. True character reveals itself under pressure and what we saw last year is who Tuch is.

Did anybody notice that JJ Peterka went through a 22-game stretch between Dec. 31 and Feb.26 where he managed zero goals and just 2 assists? It largely flew under the radar as it happened while the team was on a 14-7-2 run that seemingly put them firmly into the playoff race. When most people think of Peterka’s rookie year, they think more about a handful of highlight-reel connections with Cozens and Quinn, the overall production that was the 7th-most by a U21 Sabre in 20 years, and a stellar World Championship where he had 12 points in 10 games and was named the tournament’s best forward. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=226507 Don Granato put up with a lot of inconsistency from Peterka last year that might not be on the menu in year two with winning taking precedence over development. While he was nominally the left wing on the team’s 2nd line, JJ ranked 10th in ice time among team forwards. An opportunity exists for much more — consider the void left by the Jack Quinn injury and the open question as to who is the team’s #3 winger — but one suspects it won’t be handed to him. The -15 sticks out, but he was a relatively neutral possession player 5-on-5, while being only moderately sheltered. Peterka has finished each of his past two seasons on a high note on prominent hockey stages and has demonstrated real growth every year since being drafted. What do you expect from Peterka this year? (Last year’s takes here)

In the space of a little over three weeks, Bryson went from being perceived as a serviceable young NHL bottom-pairing defenceman, to being the unanimous whipping boy for Buffalo fandom. Other Sabres defenders got hurt, Bryson got elevated into the top 4, and promptly went -14 in an 11-game stretch right about the same time the Sabres lost 8 games in a row. Although he stabilized to the tune of going ‘just’ -9 the rest of the way, he never really recovered and became a frequent healthy scratch. From November on, the Sabres went 3-9 in games he played more than about 16 minutes, and 20-18 in those games he played less. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=187489 Surprisingly enough, Bryson was a tad over the magic 50% for his 5-on-5 Corsi last year despite his abysmal +/-. And it is hard to remember he was a relatively neutral performer over his 1st NHL season-and-a-half before his horrendous fall of 2022. Was he the victim of a bad month, under horrible circumstances, or was he exposed as a minor-leaguer who got off to a fortunate NHL start? The Sabres clearly liked him, given that unexpected $1.8 million deal he signed a year ago, but they clearly also aren’t going to count on a bounceback, acquiring three new defenders since the deadline. He opens camp as the #8 on most depth charts. What do you expect from Bryson this year? (Last year’s takes here)

After doing enough of these, I’ve found it inevitable that some people will not see their vision perfectly reflected in the choices. That’s why I’ve been going with “which best reflects” as the wording: the idea is that hopefully one option clearly better matches the poster’s take than the others and he or she is comfortable clicking that one. And then, of course, the comment offers the chance to clarify.

Great point. Savoie’s D1 year was on par with Cozens, and better than Mittelstadt’s (if you step past the WJC hype) and each played in the NHL in their D2 years. Im not sure he’s ready, and there’s no need to rush him, but there is a spot open and he will be in the running for it. Kid is not going to learn anything new back in junior. I wish they could somehow find him another place to play.

Maybe its because he was overshadowed by Tage and Dahlin rolling the highlight tape. Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching bad Sabres teams for so long, we only talk about the past and the future, not the present. Or maybe it’s because it’s too self-evident to spend much time talking about. But I think Tuch’s excellence last year has been kinda overlooked around here. His size/speed combination is outright elite, as in he’s rarely going to be in a situation where he is physically overmatched and he uses that advantage to dominate as a puck protector, puck retriever and zone-gainer. He also uses his linemates well, makes smart passes and has a sneaky good shot. Donnie deployed him like he’s a driver and expected him to perform like a driver. Alex realized he can be a driver and that he likes being a driver, especially for this team and this city. He is a case of a dominant toolkit finally being in the right situation and headspace to fully exercise that toolkit and I don’t see that falling off at all.

Most expected Alex Tuch to score 20+ goals and 50+ points last year and be a leader and an all-around good 2nd-line player for the Sabres. Instead, they got an all-situations beast and one of the best all-around wingers in the game. He was an outstanding 54% possession player despite playing hard minutes. He finished 5th among NHL right wings in points/game while dominating on the forecheck and the backcheck. His combination of size and speed proved extraordinarily difficult to contain. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=160632 The biggest question facing any breakthrough player is ‘can he do it again?’ And make no mistake Tuch was one of the NHL’s biggest breakthrough players last year. Can he maintain a scoring pace that was significantly higher than what he had shown in any of his 5 previous seasons? Can he continue to handle the bell cow workload Don Granato fed him last year and avoid the injuries that have seemed to crop up every season? Is he ready to shoulder the expectations of leading this team into the playoffs? What do you expect from Tuch this year? (Last year’s takes here)

Bringing this back as we emerge from a (too?) quiet summer to count down the final month until one of the more anticipated seasons sabre seasons in recent memory. Nine new names added to the stew as we run down the top 3 goalies, 8 defensemen and 17 forwards vying for roster slots. I will try to drop 2 a day if life allows. Gone from last year’s preseason roster are: Anderson, Lyubushkin, Fitzgerald, Pilut, Bjork, Hinostroza, Asplund and Sheahan. *** There’s a bit of a misperception that the play of the Sabres 2022 #1 pick plateaued last year, and that his D+1 year was more or less a carbon copy of his draft year. A more accurate interpretation is that Savoie started slow coming off a shoulder injury and finished playing the best hockey of his life. In his final 53 games (including playoffs) he ripped off 89 points – a 1.68 point/game pace that was significantly higher than the 1.38 of his draft year. https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=227300 The Jack Quinn injury provides an opening, and he is already an NHL skater with good defensive awareness and a squat, 180-pound frame. Top 10 picks make the NHL in their D+2 with some regularity. It’s less regular for them to make an impact. Savoie is clearly ready for a bigger challenge than what the WHL offers, but a pedestrian 2-game stint in the AHL semi-finals raised concerns as to whether he is physically ready for that challenge to be the NHL. Because of his age, he can't go to Rochester; it’s either the NHL or the WHL. What do you expect from Savoie this year?

Some frank talk from James Patrick with Marty and Duffer: On Krebs: loves his energy and his constant thirst for getting better. Credits him for establishing the winning culture in Winnipeg. Said training him to not do it all him self was one of his major coaching challenges. Says Peyton still thinks he can be a top 6 NHL forward but Patrick believes the league will tell him what he is. Compared his situation to Guy Carbonneau and the transition Carbonneau had to make from QMJHL stud to the quintessential 3rd-line centre. On Savoie: 50/50 on whether he can be in the NHL this year. Respects his effort and his all-around game and says he could have been the best point producer in junior hockey this year. Says he needs to raise him game a level and learn how to get inside. On Benson: Unequivocally, the best junior-age player he's ever coached. Consistently created more offensive chances than anyone else on a stacked team, didn't give anything away on defence, and made everyone he played with better. He said he couldn't believe he dropped as far as he did, and implied he wasn't at all in the Sabres plans prior to the draft, but they just couldn't allow his talent to slip by.

Thank you for this thread.

Virtually none of the goalies rumoured to be trade bait have moved, the Sabres could have picked up DeSmith and picks by laundering money as easily as Montreal did. So I’d say no: he’s neither last hope, nor much hope.

No. My understanding is the lack of a Russian transfer agreement means the Sabres keep his ELC rights in perpetuity. Another Poltapov tidbit for those concerned about his KHL offence. Here are the KHL numbers last year from high pick forwards in the past few drafts. None are what you call impressive, not even Michkov. Matvei Michkov 30 9/11/20 Ilya Fedotov 42 9/5/14 Danila Yurov 59 6/6/12 Victor Neuchev 57 4/8/12 Prokhkor Poltapov 56 5/5/10 Ivan Mirosechenko 23 3/1/4 Fedor Svechkov 27 2/2/4 Daniil But 15 2/0/2 Young players don’t get big roles on KHL teams, particularly the strong teams. Michkov ended up in Sochi because of lack of playing time in St. Pete’s. Poltapov was on the best team in the league.

As our threads have shown, preferences are different as individuals. Control the factors you can: being a good organization that treats people the right way and has a chance to win and you will have a good chance of competing for those players who appreciate what your city offers. Sabres have leveraged Granato and Okposo and focused on young players who put hockey first and brainwashing them about the Sabres and Buffalo, which seems a sound strategy.

I'm curious if anyone thinks we have any actual stars in the pipeline? And by stars I mean players who are in the conversation when people are talking about NHL stars, not really good players and local heroes: Dahlin and Thompson last year emerged as stars. Eichel is a star. Miller was a star. Skinner and Vanek and Reinhart and Pominville and Drury were very good first line players, but not stars. Hasek was a superstar. I think Power could be a star and if anyone might join him it will be Levi. I have very high hopes for Quinn reaching that Pominville level and Cozens is already close, but it's no guarantee. Beyond that, many others could get there, but I suspect most of our best prospects will fall somewhere between Rasmus Asplund and JP Dumont.

I agree entirely with the bold. That was kinda the point of my initial post, seeing what we have in Kulich, Mitts, Krebs and Östlund (and others) before deciding who is disposable. Also, this is true as well: I see no reason why Savoie can't play 3rd line center. Also, Mitts and Krebs are still in the picture, and if Peterka breaks out as the 2nd line winger this year, the road to the NHL gets even harder for Kulich. And this: I see no reason why Östlund can't play 3rd line center. Also, Mitts and Krebs are still in the picture, and if Krebs breaks out as the 3rd line center this year, the road to the NHL gets even harder for Savoie.