dudacek

Yeah, tell that to Adam Mair, and Jerry Forton, and Nathan Paestch and Kevyn Adams.

SO NHL.com has us keeping last year's Thompson and Krebs lines together and plugging Kulich into Quinn's spot on the kid line. Which leaves Mitts at centre between Olofsson and Greenway. Which, as much as I dislike the VO/Casey combo, is a pretty obvious grouping based on what we saw last year. (And they are yet another group not pencilling Jokiharju into the top 6)

What would happen if, instead, the Sabres considered extending contractions?

If I remember correctly, he was listed just over 170 when he was drafted? Coming in to camp at 190ish should make a huge difference. I was not expecting Kulich to make the team this fall, but this article combined with the Quinn injury has adjusted my expectations a bit. The concept of Kulich would click quite nicely with the concept of Krebs. There is an opening and he just might seize it.

Doesn't seem like you are responding to my point directly. There are several guys 'bigger' than Dahlin and a few bigger than Tuch and Thompson. How many of them are big AND talented in the way those three are? None of the guys you listed come anywhere close. Lots of teams have a Tuch? I found just four NHL forwards who are 6'4" 220 pounds and scored even 40 points. Tuch had 79! (For the record 2 of those 4 are Sabres) The Sabres defence is big; it's not arguable: Power 6'6" 220, Samuelsson 6'4 230, Johnson 6'4" 225, Dahlin 6'3, 215, Lyubushkin 6'2", 200 —these are big men. I get it, you have a perception: "I wish the Sabres were meaner and other teams were scared of us" and your entire argument revolves around that. Because it's a perception, it's impossible to quantify, so there's no point debating it further. But the Sabres are not a small team. And their best players are huge. Those are facts.

Great look at what Kulich thought of his year and what he still needs to do, from a Czech article, courtesy of Google translate. *** His career can soar even higher. Much higher. Jiří Kulich (19), who was able to get a hold of himself in the extra league and shined in the 18 and 20 teams, with which he won silver, imagined that he would experience the draft to the NHL already last year. "It took me a while to get over the frustration," reports the Buffalo hopeful. Even so, he has had a good season on the farm. And now they will announce a frontal attack on the first team. He was wearing the jersey of his team in the AHL and already in the role of mentor he was showing younger players a lot of hockey cuisine. As part of the talent camp organized by his agent Aleš Volek, Jiří Kulich had a different role than before. "It's great for the boys. I know very well that it helped me a lot too," recalls the youth star, who was taken 28th overall in last year's draft. You were here at the camp recently as a player, right? "I took pictures with Paste (David Pastrňák) and Chýťa (Filip Chytil). I was putting it on Instagram at the time, it was amazing. It was a huge motivation for me. Even when these guys played half throttle against us, I was always happy to maybe take the puck away from them. It was surreal.' Do you already feel like a mentor? "Not really. I still have enough time for that... After all, I don't have that much more than the guys on the ice. I still have a lot to learn. When I see how Filip (Chytil) has stepped, it's amazing. I wish him the best. So it was an honor for me to be able to stand here next to him. I know for a hundred percent that I still lack a lot to reach his level." As much as possible? "We are different players, but if I have to take it in general, I don't have his game experience. Look at how much he has already played, including at Rangers. Whereas I still have the main goal in front of me, to keep myself in the main team." Last season on the farm went well for you, didn't it? You were praised. "I got some confidence, but I know that I have a new year ahead of me, so I have to be better again. I don't want to rest on my laurels, as they say.' A year ago, you were drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres. Can you remember what you were thinking then? Were you hoping to at least get a glimpse of the NHL? “To tell you the truth, I was hoping that some chance would come. So for the first fortnight after I was sent to the farm I was frustrated. Which was reflected in my game too, so I was also bad about it. I wasn't as fast as I imagined. I was average…” So you didn't have a clear head. "No. I thought I would just snap my finger and I would be fine and get a chance in the NHL. But then it dawned on me that it's not worth dwelling on it anymore. That I have to let it go and what has to happen will happen. The only way I can influence it is to give it my all and play as well as I can." what did a year on the farm give you the most? "I mainly had to gain weight. Because from the beginning I was still lying on the ice. Whoever touched me, I fell. I gained eight kilos and felt much better. I already had the feeling that no one would just stop me. I also started skating, I suddenly felt better overall. My head was also set correctly at that moment.' What else have you honed? "It gave me a lot in every way. I also had to work on the things I thought I was good at.” Maybe? "Shooting. The bullet is my main weapon, I thought I was good at it. But all of a sudden I came on and couldn't shoot past players or create any chances. So I've been really grinding and I think I've made pretty decent progress. At the end of the season, I already felt comfortable and confident." Until then, your career was flying high. You played well in the extra league, in the round of 18, then silver with the round of 20. Did you have to fight a lot with the fact that the road is now a little bumpy? "Overall, it was mentally demanding. I was far from home, hockey is completely different overseas. But everyone has to go through that. The lifestyle is different, I had to set my head to really just be positive. Which I managed only after half a year." Have you struggled with this before? “The first month I was on the mat about three times because they could tell I was frustrated. They said that they understood, but that I would get used to it and that I had to work hard. I'm glad I got through it. But not until the end of the season, so I'm expecting another fight." (laughs) Will it get any easier? Or is the last year being erased? "I know it will be challenging. I've built up some position there, but I'm not betting on it at all. I want to be even better.” Did you register the words of praise from Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams praising you for the progress you've made during the year? “I didn't even read that. But I think I have grown both as a person and in hockey. The main goal is to stay in the main team as long as possible. Already after a year in America, I know what to work on. I believe that if I go against it and give it one hundred percent, it will succeed." Is it hard to accept that there are ten other wolves next to you waiting for one spot at the top? "I take it as I want to be the best. So I have to go through the others as well. I see it as healthy competition. This also drives me forward to perform at my best.” And how do you struggle with English? "Pretty good, I think, even though I messed up a few interviews." (laughs) Didn't you express yourself accurately? "Rather, sometimes the word I need doesn't jump out at me. So sometimes it looks like I'm talking like a base... But it helps me a lot that I have my Swedish teammate Isak Rosén there, with whom I'm in daily contact. So I only speak English with him. We discussed a lot during the season as well, for example five hours straight on the bus we talk about hockey and life. So it's better in that respect too." The new national team coach Radim Rulík mentioned that the players around you from the successful 20 will also get space in the A team. That must be fun, right? "Such words are very nice to hear. So I didn't hear them, but my mother was showing them to me. It's nice, but then again, it's not like we get something for free. We have to earn the space. As for me, I've had a year on the farm, but I want to be in the NHL! So I know I still have a long way to go.” What is the magic of the successful coach Rulík? "The entire implementation team was very positive. Everyone knows when to raise their voice and when not to. We played attacking, skating hockey. As a team, we sat down a lot. We were all pursuing a common goal. It's not really a phrase. We fought for each other. We were also very close to the entire implementation staff, who were always with us."

Some good info from Hoppe https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/new-amerks-assistant-coaches-vinny-prospal-nathan-paetsch-offer-sabres-prospects-notable-experience/

Here’s the report: https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2022/07/18/more-players-step-forward-in-hockey-canada-sex-assault-investigation.html Guess the investigation will confirm if that was in fact accurate.

Not comfortable this is fact, but pretty sure I read Clague was not at the banquet or even in town that night.

They bring in two guys whose games line up in the physical side of the ledger and you think that means they will bump the puck-moving #4 who got 20 minutes a game instead of the stay-at home #5 who got 15? And not just from the starting lineup, you’ve got him all the way down to #8. if the starting 5 is what you expect, Jokiharju is more useful in the lineup than a 4th stay-at-home guy, no? Who’s carrying the puck on the 3rd pair? Or god forbid if Dahlin or Power gets hurt?

I guess the grind gets to us all. To be clear, I think your opinions are fair comment and I see where you’re coming from. I’m talking about what you choose to post about, and I’m just not seeing the hope here, sorry. If I missed the hopeful posts, please share.

I can see that working too. I continue to be surprised at the number of people who don’t see Jokiharju among this team’s 6 or even 7 defencemen. Its so unanimous now, I’m starting to 2nd-guess myself, but I don’t see how, if he was (way) ahead of Boosh and Stillman last year, he ends up behind them now?

I always thought Levi, Power as real 2D and Quinn as a legit top sixer were the keys to improvement next year. Looking at the lineup without Jack, I think a lot of pressure is mounting on Krebs to seize the 3C spot the way Cozens became a legit 2C last year.

I'm endorsing the job Adams is doing because i believe it will help us win now, not 3 years from now. That it will also help us win 3 years from now is a bonus. As for the rest of your post, I suspect we will both have the same opinions next year after the Sabres make the playoffs and fail to win it all. I think I will always find reasons to hope and you reasons not to. And you will always be right until they win it all.

Who are the smaller guys? Peterka and Skinner are 5'11" 190 pounds. Krebs is 6'" 185. They all get their noses dirty. I'll give you Olofsson. Every team has one. How many teams have a Dahlin, a 6'3" 215-pound *****-disturbing #1 defenceman? plus a 225-pound point-per game locomotive first-line winger like Tuch? and a 6'7" unstoppable tree like Thompson in the middle? That's right, nobody. Sabres' size advantage at the top of their lineup is a lethal weapon. It's time people around here recognized it.

I’m holding out hope for another move or two, but I’m more or less on board with @Thorny‘s take, save Stillman - there’s no way he’s starting over Johnson and Boosh given what I saw from Granato last year and heard from him last week. Who gets the Quinn slot to start is the biggest question. It should be Olofsson based on ability, but it should not be Olofsson based on fit. Having Vic in the lineup might really push Donnie to scramble things up. Would a Jost Girgs Vic spare parts line survive judicious 4th line matchups, with the latter 2 getting their ice on special teams? Because I don’t mind Kyle Peyton JJ as line 3.

I need to become the voice of truth for this: The Buffalo Sabres are poised to become a force because far and away the have the most talented group of big men in the NHL. I defy you to find a group of 6’3” players anywhere close to Thompson Tuch Cozens Dahlin and Power. We are a load!

These things are constantly shifting, but there is no doubt that last year he was a top 10 centre. Matthews was not better than him last year, neither was Crosby. Injury was the only thing making the case for Hughes and Pettersson. Stamkos, Malkin and Bergeron aren’t the players they were. There are smarter centres, but there is no one outside of McDavid and maybe MacKinnon who better combines stickhandling and shooting, or creates more a more challenging physical matchup for the defence. He needs to repeat to cement his status, but I have no problem putting him in my top 10.

That’s really the key to this defence, having at least one of those 2 on the ice 40 minutes a night is going to be a huge advantage. But I also think this summer Adams did to the defence what he did to the offence last summer: pushed the JAGs (Clague, Bryson, Stillman) out of the starting lineups. However they end up being used, Mule, Cliffy, Joker, EJ and Boosh are all legitimate NHL defencemen.

They did and I was wondering about that myself. Don't think it means much though; neither Power nor Rosen signed immediately the previous draft.

Looking over his numbers since he was a junior, I don’t know that Devon Levi has ever had what I’d call a slump. He’s had the odd off game and occasionally even sprinkled a few close together, but he has been incredibly resilient and consistent. Fingers crossed that will carry over to the Sabres.

Patches has already been working with Johnson and our other young D, so there should be a nice transition there. I guess we now need a new development coach. Prospal had a good NHL career and 3 years as a head coach in the Czech league. Smart, versatile player no idea of what sold him for this job. All the young Euros in the system may have been a consideration.

Detroit and Boston are #2 and #4 with 36 and 32, respectively. St. Paul is #3 at 34 and Minneapolis leads with 39. Buffalo is actually #6 with 22 (I was reading from a wrong column earlier), Chicago #5 with 24. St. Louis is behind both with 16. Thunder Bay Ont, population 108,000 stands out on the overall list with 96, good for #8. Toronto, predictably leads with 429, well ahead of #2 Montreal at 267

#1 and #4, respectively.

Lalor is the correct answer according to my source: https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/city/nhl-players-career-stats.php?city_id=3731 Another interesting one is Buffalo is the 7th-ranked American city in terms of producing NHL players. Can anyone name the top 6?